By Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23)
The unmistakable sign of God’s enduring presence is the Incarnation of the Son of God, namely, the eternal Son of God taking on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The eternal God assumes a permanent, eternal dwelling in a human body in the Person of Jesus Christ our Savior. As Christ declared to His apostles shortly before His ascension into heaven: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). The Apostle Paul writes: “For in [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead (i.e., divine nature) bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:9-10).
Every Orthodox Church has a Table of Preparation in the Sanctuary (Altar area behind the Icon-screen) where before each Divine Liturgy the Priest prepares the bread and wine which will become the Body and Blood of Christ. Over that Table of Preparation is an icon of the Nativity of Christ (Christmas) because just as God became Man in the womb of the Virgin and was born into the world at Bethlehem, so at each Divine Liturgy the God-Man manifests His presence in the lives of the faithful, literally at Holy Communion.
Likewise, almost every Orthodox Church has an icon of the Archangel Gabriel and Virgin Mary (the Annunciation) either on the Holy Doors between the Nave (main part) and Sanctuary of the Church, or above the Icon-screen and Sanctuary. This indicates that just as Christ was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary at the word of God through the Archangel Gabriel (Lk. 1:26-38), so at every Divine Liturgy the bread and wine become the very Body and Blood of Christ, and Christ is revealed as continually with His people in word, in flesh, and in Spirit. Therefore, the Virgin Mary is a sign of God’s enduring presence enacted in the fundamental activity of the Church of which she is the prime example: the faithful gathered to receive Jesus Christ, the God-Man, with us in true communion.
Two other signs of God’s enduring presence accompany the Incarnation of the Son of God: the humble conditions of His birth, and the witness of the heavens. An angel of the Lord said to the shepherds: “And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:12). The Magi came to Jerusalem, saying: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matt. 2:2).
“Wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” – this is a sign of Christ’s dwelling among human beings in humility. The fact that Christ is swaddled shows His willingness to be bound in human weakness, an Infant wrapped immovable and dependent upon His Mother Mary and guardian Joseph. The Apostle writes: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation (lit., emptied Himself), taking the form of a slave, and coming in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:5-7).
Christ was placed in a manger, a feeding trough for livestock. Not only is the Creator’s resting place humiliating; after all, the Son of God created the livestock and feeds them by His goodness. Even more so, as expressed in the prophet Isaiah, the Son of God resting in a manger is humiliating for human-kind that fails to recognize its Lord and Redeemer. “The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know Me, and the people do not understand Me” (Isa. 1:3). “A man being in honor did not understand; he was compared to the senseless cattle, and became like them” (Ps. 48:13, 21). The relegation of Christ to a stable (cave) for livestock shows His willingness to save those who denigrate themselves lower than the animals in their failure to honor their Savior. This is a sign of God’s enduring presence among us sinful human beings to humble us and lift us out of our low estate.
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jam. 4:6; Prov. 3:36). “What kind is the place of My rest? For My hand made all these things, and all these things are Mine,” says the Lord; “and upon whom will I show respect, but to the humble and the peaceful and to him who trembles at My words” (Isa. 66:1-2). The sign of the swaddling cloths and manger points to our Lord who says, “Come unto Me, all you 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” (Matt. 11:28-30).
The third sign at Christmas of God’s enduring presence is the star which led the Magi eventually to Christ; this is the witness of the heavens. Already in the first week of creation, the true significance of the stars is stated: “Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven for illumination to divide day from night. Let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years” (Gen. 1:14-15). The stars are not just astronomical phenomena confined to a naturalistic explanation. Rather, “[t]he heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament shows the creation of His hands” (Ps. 18:1).
In the ancient world the Magi were known for their astronomical expertise, which by definition in pagan cultures, also included what we call astrology. They presumed to glean supernatural knowledge from naturalistic observations. Among ancient and modern pagan cultures, this knowledge necessarily expressed itself in the false worship (idolatry) of the stars and/or the divine forces governing the stars devoid of the one true God (see Deut. 4:19; Zeph. 1:5; et al.).
So God directed the Magi who perceived the importance of the stars to seek out the Maker of the stars as the object of their search. They knew the prophecy given through the pagan diviner Balaam: “A Man shall come forth from [Jacob’s] seed, and He shall rule many nations; and His kingdom shall be more exalted than Gog, and His kingdom shall increase…I will show Him, but not now; I bless Him, but He is not near. A Star shall rise out of Jacob; and a Man shall rise out of Israel. He shall break in pieces the rulers of Moab and plunder all the sons of Seth” (Num. 24:7, 17). The Magi came to Israel seeking the Fulfiller of this prophecy, turning them from idolatry to the worship of the true God.
Notice that in order to finally arrive at their destination, the Magi had to be further directed by the Word of God. The chief priests and scribes quoted the prophet Micah to them: “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah…out of you shall come a Ruler” (Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:6). And so the Magi went to Bethlehem and found Christ, the star going before them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem only a short physical distance away. The sign of the star could only be properly followed in the broader context of the Word of God pointing to the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.
Likewise for us today, the starry hosts still lead to Immanuel – God-with-us – for those with eyes to see this true Light. Jesus Christ is the “Sun of Righteousness” who has risen “with healing in His wings” (Mal. 3:20), and all the stars adore Him. “Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the highest. Praise Him, all you His angels; praise Him, all you His hosts. Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars and light” (Ps. 148:1-3). All the heavens reveal and point to God our Creator (Rom. 1:20) who was literally born for us and dwells among us enlightening all mankind with His grace and love.
God gives signs of His enduring presence among us. These signs were revealed when the Son of God was born of the Virgin. Yet these signs persist so that the world might come to know the true God and His Son, Jesus Christ, so that knowing Him all might have everlasting life in His name.
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
