Patriarch John X of Antioch: The Holy Church calls us to reflect on the birth of Christ
In his heartfelt Christmas message, His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East, calls on the faithful to reflect deeply on the birth of Christ, emphasising the profound mystery of God’s condescension to humanity.
He reminds us that, while the world was enrolled by the command of Caesar, believers are enrolled in the name of Christ, the Savior who came to restore humanity to its original glory.
The Patriarch speaks of the significance of the divine child born in Bethlehem, who, in His humility, came to speak peace and salvation to a world consumed by pride and conflict. Amidst the ongoing struggles and wars, the Patriarch urges us to find hope and peace in the eyes of the child of the cave, whose mercy and love offer a refuge for all who long for true peace.
Read below the Christmas message of Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East:
To my brothers, the priests of the Holy Antiochian Church,
and to my sons and daughters wherever they are in the lands of this Apostolic Throne,
“The command of Caesar enrolled the peoples, but we, the believers, have been enrolled in Your Name, O Lord.”
With these words and the hymn of praise by Kassiani, the Holy Church calls us to reflect on the birth of Christ. It invites us to contemplate the Word of God’s descent during the days when the census or enrollment of the world took place. It places this before our eyes and invites us to enroll ourselves in the Name of Christ, body and soul. It calls us to be witnesses of His love, witnesses of His great condescension, witnesses of His Gospel, witnesses of His divinity that did not hesitate to descend and speak to a humanity that had fallen into pride and had lost its glory but was met by the Savior, who restores it to its original glory.
In Bethlehem, resting to the sound of the shepherds’ song, the God who watches over the universe came to us from the heights of His glory. He came from a Virgin Mother, clothed in humility and gentleness. He came as a meek child, speaking to humanity, slumbering in the caves of their hearts, yearning for the light of resurrection and the overflow of hope.
From a cave deep within the earth, the One who dwells in the heights and the Lord of glory appeared to humanity, wrapped in its weakness and adorned with its pride. He came to them as a child, speaking to their children. He came, resting in the womb of the Virgin, to fill every human mind. He sought to meet them with the good news of salvation, while they wandered in the wilderness of arrogance and pride. He came humbly, to those who had exalted themselves with the falsehood of their pride. He entered with power, breaking down barriers, to those who had clothed themselves in walls of oppression and false strength.
Every year, humanity remembers the birth of that child amid the clamor of its wars and endless conflicts. Today, as wars rage on, humanity recalls Him. In this remembrance, there is a prayer for the Lord of Peace. We remember Him through the eyes of every child longing for His peace. We remember Him in the land where He was born, and from the East that embraced His disciples and spread His Gospel throughout the world. We remember Him as we yearn for His presence, as we sing the angels’ hymn: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.”
We remember Him today, and in this remembrance, the cruel wars that claim lives and steal the joy of people flash before us. We remember Him as we stumble through the muck of politics and the swamps of interests that trample the dignity of humanity, commodifying it in the marketplace of the powerful of this age.
Yet, despite all of this, we remain hopeful, for the hope that springs from the eyes of that divine child, from the eyes of the child in the cave, whom we ask today to have mercy on His world. We ask Him for mercy for this humanity, which staggers under the bitterness of its wars and longs for the sweetness of His peace. We ask Him to extinguish the fires of war with the gentleness of His peace and to place within souls a measure of His calmness.
Be with us, O Jesus, and touch our hearts with the sweetness of Your heart. Be with us, as You always are, and bless our lands with the spirit of Your peace. Watch over this East where You were born with Your divine care and preserve it with the fullness of Your mercy. Be with us, as You always are, with Your suffering people who endure the ravages of war—killing, terror, hunger, destruction, displacement, and abduction. Calm, O Lord, the turmoil of this world and quell it with the power of Your silence. Rest the souls of those who have gone before us to meet Your holy face.
May God return these days to all of you, our children in the homeland and the diaspora, and to all people, with blessings filled with goodness, prosperity, and the blessings from the Child of the Cave, the Lord of mercy, and God of all comfort. Amen.
Source: Patriarchate of Antioch
