Behold My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen, in
whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon
him, he will bring forth justice to the nations. He
will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the
street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly
burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully
bring forth justice. He will not fail or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth; arid the
coastlands wait for his law. Thus says God, the Lord
who created the heavens and stretched them out, who
spread forth the earth and what comes from it, who
gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those
who walk in it: “I am the Lord, I have called you in
righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept
you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a
light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the
prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord, that is
My name; My glory I give to no other, nor My praise
to graven images. Behold, the former things have come
to pass, and new things I now declare; before they
spring forth I tell you of them.” (Is 42:1-9)
Jesus is the chosen servant of God. He is the one anointed with God’s Spirit. The very word “Messiah” means the Anointed One. He is the light to the nations. In Him shall all of the gentiles hope.1 For, as the Lord says through Isaiah, in a line quoted by Saint Paul, “I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ to a nation that did not call on My name” (Is 65: 1; Rom 10:20- 21).
When the Christ appears on earth, God is truly with us, all of us; not only with the Jews but with the gentiles, not only with the Orthodox Christians and Christians generally but with all people, including those who do not ask for Him and do not seek Him. All peoples and nations are called to understand this and to submit to it, not for God’s sake but for their own. It is their honor, not their humiliation. It is their dignity, not their degradation. It is their freedom, not their enslavement. It is their very life.
All things have been delivered to Me by My Father;
and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no
one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to
whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me,
all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me;
for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy,
and My burden is light. (Mt 11:27-30)
This is the message of the Winter Pascha. God is with us on earth. He is in our very midst as the man Jesus, whose name is Emmanuel. He has revealed His unknowable, inconceivable, ineffable, invisible nature in the most tangible way: as the Child who is born for us, as the Son who is given to us. To understand this and to submit to it is man’s greatest glory and JOY.
Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One,
And the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One.
Angels with shepherds glorify Him;
The wise men journey with a star;
Since for our sake the Eternal God was born as a little Child!2
~Adapted from Thomas Hopko, The Winter Pascha: Readings for the Christmas-Epiphany Season
1 See Mt 4:15-16, 12:18-21; Lk 2:29-32, 3:4.6; 4:1&-19.
2 Kontakion of the feast of the Nativity.
