Nativity Homily 2004
Selections from the Hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian on the
Nativity of our Lord, God
and Savior Jesus Christ in the Flesh
For
the poll tax, our Savior descended
And enrolled people in the Book of Life.
He
enrolled them, and they enrolled Him. On
high He enrolled us;
On
earth they enrolled Him. Glory to His
Name!
Faithful: Glory to His Name!
Priest:
Blessed be
the Child Who today delights
Blessed
be the Newborn Who today made humanity young again.
Blessed
be the Fruit Who bowed Himself down for our hunger.
Blessed
be the Gracious One Who suddenly enriched all our poverty and filled our need.
Blessed
be He Whose mercy inclined Him to heal our sickness.
Faithful:
Blessed be the Holy Child of
Priest:
Glory to
the Heavenly One Who mingled his salt with our mind, His milk with our souls. His body became bread to revive our
mortality.
Whoever
eats the bread of the Heavenly One will become heavenly without doubt.
Great
is the treasure house of Thy birthday.
[Hymn 4]
Faithful: Great is the treasure house of Thy birthday O
Christ!
Priest: Glorious is the Wise One Who allied and
joined Divinity with humanity, one from the height and the other from the
depth. He mingled the natures like
pigments and an image came into being: the God-man.[Hymn
8]
Faithful: Glory to the God-Man!
Priest:
This is the
night of reconciliation; let us be neither wrathful nor gloomy on it.
Faithful: Neither wrathful nor gloomy!
Priest:
On this
all-peaceful night let us be neither menacing nor boisterous.
Faithful:
Neither manacing nor boisterous!
Priest: This is the night of the
Sweet One; let us be on it neither bitter nor harsh.
Faithful:
Neither bitter nor harsh!
Priest:
On this
night of the Humble One, let us be neither proud nor haughty.
Faithful:
Neither proud nor haughty!
Priest:
On this day
of forgiveness let us not avenge offenses.
Faithful:
Let us not avenge offenses!
Priest:
On this day
of rejoicings let us not share sorrows.
Faithful:
Let us not share sorrows!
Priest:
On this
sweet day let us not be vehement.
Faithful:
Let us not be vehement!
Priest:
On this
calm day let us not be quick-tempered.
Faithful:
Let us not be quick-tempered!
Priest:
On this day
on which God came into the presence of sinners, let not the just man exalt himself in his mind over
the sinner.
Faithful:
Let us not exalt ourselves!
Priest:
On this day
on which the Lord of all came among servants, let the lords also bow down to their servants lovingly.
Faithful: Let us bow down to others!
Priest:
On this day
when the Rich One was made poor for our sake, let the rich man also make the poor man a sharer at his table.
Faithful: Let us share with the poor!
Priest:
On this day
a gift came out to us without our asking for it; let us then give alms to those who cry out and beg from us.
Faithful: Let us give alms!
Priest:
This is the
day when the high gate opened to us for our prayers; let us also open the gates to the seekers who
have strayed but sought
forgiveness.
This
Lord of natures today was transformed contrary to His nature; it is not too difficult for us also to overthrow our
evil will.
Today
the Deity imprinted itself on humanity, so that humanity might also be cut into the seal of Deity. [Hymn 1]
His
swaddling clothes gave a robe of glory to human beings. [Hymn 5]
Priest: Christ is born!
Faithful: Glorify Him!