What shall we offer Thee, O Christ? Jesus Christ presents us with the gift of citizenship in his kingdom. What gift will we present to the son of God?
A Quiet Advent
The Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches begin to prepare for the feasts of Christ’s Incarnation somewhat quietly, without fanfare. The rhythm of liturgical gatherings remains essentially the same, with the appointment of the singing of the canon for the Nativity feast at Matins (beginning with the Feast of Mary’s Entrance into the temple on November 21) the most noteworthy change.
There are many commemorations during this season – of the Holy Prophets, Saints Nicholas and Ambrose on consecutive days, and the feast of the Conception of Mary by Anna on December 9. The Church whispers the approach of the first Incarnation feast, Christmas, on the two Sundays preceding Christmas: the Forefathers and the Holy Ancestors of Christ. The feast itself is intense, with Royal Hours, a Vesperal Divine Liturgy, Vigil, the Divine Liturgy on the feast day, and the afterfeast commemoration of the synaxis of Mary (December 26).
The Inner Meaning of Christmas
Pastors have spilled plenty of ink over the last two millennia exhorting the people to receive the real meaning of Christmas. The problem was never the people’s tendency to make the feast a glorious domestic celebration. A robust domestic celebration with shared food, music, dancing, and fellowship is in the DNA of every Christian feast, anchored in the tradition of Jewish festive meals. The Church appoints a strict fast to the eve of the feast (as it does with the second of the three Incarnational feasts – Theophany). Yet the faithful’s celebration on the eve of the feast was festive and sumptuous, even as they followed the dietary rules of the fast.
Domestic Feasting…and Fasting
The people’s desire to honor God with their own gifts of food and song is uncontainable. So the Church honors the domestic feasts and festive fasting. Public messages have become memes – keep Christ in Christmas – tone down the commercialization of the serious message of Jesus’ birth. It is easy to manipulate any religious occasion for one’s own benefit. Your family needs several bottles of wine for all of these holidays- come and get the best wine from our store, at a steep discount, of course. You don’t want to disappoint your fiancée by underdelivering on your gift to her on your first Christmas together – the jewelry in our store will guarantee satisfaction.
Christmas as Commodity
The commodification of the feast transforms its meaning. The public messaging claims to honor Christmas by making sure it will be the best family gathering you ever had. Even attempts at keeping the theological messaging in-house can come off the tracks. Come and worship with us, here, because we have the true Christ (and not one of the false ones making their way throughout other communities out there).
The Restoration of God’s Kingdom
One of the messages of Christmas that is often silenced by the constant bustle of seasonal activity is that God sent Christ into the world to restore his reign and his kingdom. The commemoration of the prophets in the preparatory season along with the readings on the Sunday before are quite telling. God chose Israel, liberated them from captivity, and gave them their own land (Deut. 1:8). Israel would have a king – the uncircumscribed uncontainable God, whose temple is the universe he created. They had been captives and strangers in foreign lands, so now they would follow the law of the king who redeemed them by providing for widows and orphans and welcoming strangers (Deut. 10:18).
The people of God were familiar with this message. God wouldn’t leave them destitute because of their desire to replace him with their own kings (1 Sam). He would resolve the crisis and restore them by returning his reign to his people on his own (Ez. 34.11). The reading of the genealogy account in the Gospel of St. Matthew on the Sunday before Christmas doesn’t try to wash away the sins of the kings. Manasseh is included in the genealogy despite his wickedness, along with the deportation to Babylon. St. Matthew mentions David, but also refers to his wicked act of betraying and murdering Uriah so he coveted Uriah’s wife (Mt. 1:6). God fulfills the promises made through the prophets by restoring his reign in Christ, the righteous shepherd who will tend to his sheep.
The Hymns of Christmas: Proclaiming God’s Kingdom
Christmas is a celebration of the inauguration of this reign which has no pause and no competition. The hymns of Christmas do not mince words – Christ is born to put an end to all other kingdoms. The stichera at Vespers state it bluntly: “Thy kingdom, o Christ our God, is a Kingdom of all the ages, and Thy rule is from generation to generation.” Again, there is no pause to the rule that the only-begotten son of God inaugurated on earth. He alone is king and has restored his rule of righteousness and mercy, expressed with great eloquence at the doxastikon on Vespers.
The assignment of the lesson from the Prophecy of Daniel at Vespers (2:31-26; 44-45) has Daniel interpreting a dream to king Nebuchadnezzar, telling him that God will restore his kingdom which will have no end; and not only endure for eternity, but overcome all other realms. The paradox is complete with the conversion of Babylon. The very people who had taken Israel captive now send the Magi to worship the true shepherd whom God has sent to establish his eternal kingdom. The second troparion on Canticle eight of the Canon for Christmas Matins expresses this paradox:
The daughter of Babylon once led captive from Zion the children of David, whom she had taken with the sword; but now she sends her own children, the Magi bearing gifts, to entreat the daughter of David in whom God came to dwell. Therefore in praise let us sing: let the whole creation bless the Lord and exalt him above all for ever.
Heaven and Earth, United
Perhaps the most telling part of the Christmas hymns are the constant references to the joining of heaven and earth. We take this for granted as Christians, as we sing “heaven and earth are full of your glory” almost absent-mindedly. Yet this mainstay feature of our liturgies is a reminder of the inner meaning of Christmas – God has restored his reign.
Christians proclaim God’s reign all the time. Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christians announce it every week at Resurrection Vigil: The Lord is King, he is robed in majesty! The Church proclaims this central mystery in many places and with particular fervor on the feast of Christmas. It seems, however, that our song is all too often mere lip service to what we want to be true – that God sent Christ into the world to validate the political philosophies and kingdoms of our construction. It makes it that much easier to pray for victory over the enemies of the Orthodox Christians by the sign of Christ’s cross.
Whose Reign? God’s or Ours?
How are we to meet this challenge, of overcoming ourselves and our desire to replace God’s reign with our own while continuing to claim that it was God’s all along?
Our Gift to God: Accepting His Reign
In closing, I will turn to one final song, once again from Christmas Vespers, the final sticheron before the doxastikon. The hymn opens with an invitation: “What shall we offer Thee, o Christ, who for our sakes hast appeared on earth as man?” The hymnographer answers their own question – “we offer Thee a virgin Mother.” The Church continues to pose this question to the body of Christ. The question itself brings us into the societal messiness of Christmas and the vicious cycle of the gift exchange. We, dwelling on earth but citizens of heaven, are always in the same position – we receive the gift of Jesus Christ and his reign.
What do we discover when we open this gift? The fulfillment of God’s promise – the final return of his kingship. He will neither change his mind nor abdicate his throne. He has offered us the most precious gift of all – eternal life in his steadfast love.
All that is required of us is to accept this gift and to resume becoming citizens of heaven who dwell on earth. To invite God to reign over all aspects of our lives. To recommit ourselves to fulfilling our promises of the covenant – as God’s free people, once held captive, and remembering the bitter tyranny of captivity, welcome strangers to enter into God’s reign (Deut. 10:19).
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
Resources
For Hymns:
The Festal Menaion. Translated by Mother Mary and Kallistos Ware. Introduction by Georges Florovsky. South Canaan, PA: St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 1990.