We spent 40 days in tremendous anticipation of the coming of the Savior to the world. I have to admit that I was overcome with such tremendous encouragement, to see the climax of the anticipation come to fruition with a packed Church for the Christmas Eve Vigil and for the Divine Liturgy on Christmas Day! This of course was not just happening in our own little slice of paradise, but many of the priests that I spoke to this week said that the Church’s were packed full of people, who like us, gathered together to celebrate a special kind of joy that can only be found on the Feast of the Nativity…where Christ came to illuminate the world in the midst of a cool and damp cave in Bethlehem!
We now stand in the middle of a second feast of Joy and revelation, as we celebrate next week the Feast of Holy Theophany or the “unveiling”, when Christ descended into the waters of the Jordan…and the world saw the heavens open up with a voice coming down from the sky proclaiming: “This is my beloved Son of Whom I am well pleased!”
The joy of these two feasts comes from one striking truth that is heard multiple times in the services of Christmas and of Theophany: “God is with us.” He stands in the midst of His Creation. He isn’t just some omnipotent being in the heavens who plays with His creation like pawns on a chessboard. God is with us when we are experiencing the greatest joys in our life. His arm is around us when we are shrouded in the darkness of despair. When we spend a majority of our days with our backs turned from Him and towards the fallen world… “God is With Us.”
Those four words, that wonderful reality, is what unites the Feasts of Nativity and Theophany together. It is why we can all agree with Andy Williams when he sings in that beautiful baritone: “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
On January 1st, we also celebrate the coming of the secular new year, which comes with its own unique traditions and celebrations. One of those traditions is to make various New Year resolutions…coming up with ways that we are going to change our lives for the better in 2025. In light of the Feasts that we are celebrating, I want to offer a resolution that we as Orthodox Christians simply cannot break this year. There is a habit that needs to be formed within us NOW, while it is fresh. One change that we can make in our lives that is guaranteed to give us the strength that is necessary to draw closer to God: Take the Joy of Christmas and Theophany with you throughout the rest of the year.
That child-like joy and innocence that we experienced during the Feast of Christmas…the tears of happiness that we saw in the eyes of those in the nursing home when we sang on Christmas Morning…that special feeling that somehow makes Christmas Day stand out from all of the rest: Take it all, bottle it up like Holy Water, and sprinkle it throughout the next 365 days. All of that joy, all of those smiles, and the glorious reality that is the coming of Christ cannot cease in our hearts once the Christmas Tree has been taken down.
2025 is setting up to be an incredibly joyful year, but we know from experience that there will also be times this year where life will become rather difficult. With every new birth and wedding, there will be loved ones who come down with serious illnesses. With every joy, there will be stress that will make us all want to pull our hair out. But through it all, we have to remember and lean on those words that we sang during Compline: “God is with us!” He is here! He is present in the Church! He is present in our lives! His Holiness is found within each and every one of us!
God is With Us and We are with Him! May that be the reality that is remembered and celebrated not just during the 12 days of Christmas, but throughout every day and every moment of our lives as we embark on our journey through the New Year.