St. Ephraim the Syrian: On the Nativity of the Lord

Joyous is this day, and desirable for kings, priests, and prophets, whose prophecies it has fulfilled and justified in deed. Today, the Virgin has borne Emmanuel in the city of Bethlehem; thus, He is born who has fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). Today, He is born of whom the Lord has written in the records of men: The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there (Psalm 87:6). What the prophet David once sang of as a future hope, today brings to pass in reality.

The prophecy of Micah is fulfilled: that from the house of Ephrath shall come forth a Shepherd who shall feed His flock with His rod (Micah 5:2–4). Balaam foretold, There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel (Numbers 24:17); and now, what he foresaw in the distant future, this day reveals in the present. That star, long hidden, has finally appeared, and its divine light shines forth from human flesh. The Dawn, whose future rising Zechariah foresaw, shines forth today in Bethlehem; and after the dawn of the coming King illumined Ephrath, Jacob now truly beholds the blessings for which he prayed.

Today, a Son is born unto us, and rightly is His name called Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6): for it is a wonder worthy of all awe that God appears as an infant. The Spirit foretold that He would be a worm, and no man (Psalm 22:6), signifying His birth without a human father; today unveils the mystery hidden in this symbol. He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground (Isaiah 53:2), prophesied the Prophet, and today this dark saying is fulfilled and made clear.

The King whom Tamar foresaw in the loins of Judah, as if she snatched Him by force (Genesis 38:18–30; Matthew 1:3), now takes on a form befitting His hidden Divinity. Ruth, who fell at the feet of Boaz in hope of finding life’s healing, sees her hope fulfilled today: for from her lineage is born the One through whose power and command all things live.

Adam brought grief and sorrow to his wife; the Virgin Daughter has recompensed her mother’s loss by giving birth to a Savior. Eve, the mother, was born from an unbegotten man; is it then so incredible that Eve’s daughter could conceive in her womb without a man? A virgin earth brought forth Adam the forefather; today, the Virgin brings forth the Lord of earth and heaven—Adam. Aaron’s rod blossomed, the dry wood bore flowers: this mystery is explained by today’s event, in which a virgin womb brings forth a child.

Let those who believe the prophets’ predictions but deny the coming of the Savior be put to shame. For if He has not truly come, then all the prophets’ predictions are falsehoods, inventions, and deceptions. Rather, let us praise the Champion of Truth, who descended to us, fulfilled the prophets’ words, and confirmed their weightiness. And we shall give Thee, O Lord, our praise if from the treasury of Thy Scriptures Thou present to us the assembly of ancient righteous ones, who longed to see the day of Thy coming.

Seth, reflecting on how he replaced the slain Abel, in this example saw the image of the slain Son of God and believed that His death would destroy the hatred Cain had brought into the world. Noah, lamenting that the sons of God had become utterly unlike their good root and had given themselves to wantonness and luxury, turned his gaze to the Holy Descendant, who would transform impure human customs into pure ones. Shem and Japheth, covering Noah’s nakedness, imagined the Only-Begotten Son of God, who would restore the garments lost by Adam, whom pride had intoxicated and exposed. Compassionate toward humanity’s plight as they grieved over Canaan’s fate, they also thought of the coming of the Righteous Son, who, they hoped, would deliver him from the slavery of sin.

There is no doubt that Melchizedek awaited the High Priest whom he prefigured, foreseeing that the whole world would be cleansed with His hyssop. Similarly, Lot, observing how the Sodomites distorted nature’s order, believed that the Lord of Nature would come and bestow upon humanity a holiness surpassing nature. Aaron, seeing how his rod devoured the serpents, understood that in like manner the cross of the coming Lord would devour the dragon who destroyed Adam and Eve. Moses marveled that the bronze serpent raised upon the earth healed the bites of asps and trusted that one day He would come who would heal the wound inflicted by the ancient serpent. Recalling the divine light with which he alone had been illumined, Moses foresaw that He would come who would render not only him but also many others Godlike through His teaching.

Caleb, the scout of the promised land, in the cluster of grapes he carried on a staff, recognized the Vine that would gladden the world with its wine and longed to see it with his own eyes. Likewise, Joshua, son of Nun, understanding the meaning and power of the name he bore, desired the birth and manifestation of the Lord, whose very name promised immeasurable greatness. And as he gathered the fruits of the promised land, he foresaw the Tree of Life that would grow and longed for its abundant fruit to give life to all creation.

Rahab the harlot also perceived the mystery of salvation through the scarlet cord by which she was delivered from destruction and grasped the truth of the symbol that saved her. Elijah burned with the same desire; unable to see the Son of God during His earthly sojourn, he, aflame with faith, strove for such purity as to be taken up into heaven and there to behold Him. Yet both he and Moses were granted the vision of the Lord on earth when, called—the meek Moses from the grave and the zealous Elijah from heaven—they beheld the Son of God between them, face to face. Together they foreshadowed the mystery of His final coming: Moses representing the dead and Elijah the living. For the dead shall rise first, having tasted death, and the living, who have not tasted death, shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).

But who is able to recount the names of all the righteous ones whose longing for the promised coming of the Son of God stirred their expectations? And who could worthily praise the One born unto us, the true Son of the true God? I shall limit myself to this single commendation in place of many: that all the righteous ones, as many as there were, longed to witness the Lord’s birth in their own time.

Adam sighed for His coming, knowing that He is the Lord of the Cherubim, and that to Him alone belongs the authority to restore the outcast of paradise to the shelter of the Tree of Life. Abel, too, desired Him as a contemporary, for he foresaw that it was far better to behold the Lamb of God than to offer lambs to God. Eve awaited this day as well, lamenting the shame brought upon women when their nakedness was exposed to the bold gaze of the people, for she foresaw that He would come, who, stripping away the fig-leaf covering, would restore the former glory that her sex had lost.

The labor of the builders of the tower prefigured and foreshadowed the One who was to descend from on high and establish a lofty structure to secure our ascent to heaven. The ark, constructed to save living creatures, symbolized the Lord, who builds His Church and thus provides for the salvation of rational souls. Peleg, seeing the earth divided into seventy tongues, in this division contemplated the coming of Him who would allot the earth to His Apostles according to the diversity of languages. The world, covered by waters, proclaimed in silence the coming of the Lord, who would institute the sacrament of baptism, exalting believers above the stars.

Seth, Enos, Cainan, and Enoch, called the sons of God, earnestly desired the coming of Him whose grace would make them not only worthy of such a name but also brothers of the Son of God. Methuselah lived nearly a thousand years, all the while awaiting the Son of God, the only One who could grant immortality to mortals. Grace itself, by some hidden inspiration, prayed on their behalf that the Lord might come in their days to help the weary. The Holy Spirit, dwelling in them, by inspiring their prayer, already interceded for them and raised their hearts to behold, as though present, the coming Savior whom they awaited.

Thus, the souls of the righteous foresaw in the Son of God the medicine of immortality and longed for Him to come in their time to refresh them with His sweetest drink. Enoch, burning with desire for the yet-unrevealed Son of God and unable to see Him on earth, strove by every means to attain such faith and righteousness as might allow him to ascend to heaven and there behold Him face to face. Now, when their descendants have obtained effortlessly what the patriarchs could not achieve through great labor, who could accuse the goodness of God of injustice?

Lamech was similarly inflamed with desire, longing for the coming of Him who, in His goodness, would lighten his labors and sorrows and console him, a wanderer on the earth cursed by the righteous God (Genesis 5:29). Yet, when he saw the image of the Son of God imprinted upon his son Noah, he was consoled by this vision in a way he had not been by the Lord’s actual coming. A like desire arose in Noah as soon as he experienced the Lord’s goodness. For if the ark, as an image of the Son of God, brought salvation to living beings, how could he not await the coming of the One whose appearance he believed would bring salvation to rational souls? What else could he feel, having witnessed that the ark itself was built solely by the Lord’s favor? And if the Lord’s image wrought such blessings, how much greater did Noah expect the blessings to be from His very presence?

Abraham foresaw in spirit that the birth of the Son of God would occur in a distant time and thus desired, at the very least, to see His day: He saw it and was glad (John 8:56). Isaac shared the same desire, especially when he realized that he had been preserved solely by Him. He believed that if His mere image had saved his life, how much more mercy would He show if He appeared in person?

Thus, if the watchmen rejoiced at the coming of the One who roused to salvation those immersed in the sleep of death, who would not spend this night sleepless, as the whole world keeps vigil? Since the transgression of the first man brought the lethargy of death into our world, the sleepless Eye descended to awaken those sunk in the slumber of sin.

Yet let us not remain awake after the manner of those whose hearts burn with greed, for they too pass their nights without sleep. But our vigilance must not serve to multiply our income or calculate our profits. The soul of the thief is ever watchful, as though sleep itself has been cast away and buried in a deep pit. But the one who keeps watch should have this sole aim: to awaken the sleeping to vigilance.

The hedonist, too, remains sleepless, driven by a thirst for pleasures and the heaviness of food and drink. But such wakefulness is the punishment of intemperance. The merchant stays awake, counting his money or calculating whether his interest will double or triple. The rich man, too, passes sleepless nights; mammon has driven away his sleep. While his dogs sleep, he keeps watch, guarding his gold, haunted by imagined thieves.

The anxious master remains sleepless, his cares driving away his rest. The end of his life looms, the last day approaches, yet he does not sleep, imagining he will live for many years. Even the devil teaches us to keep watch, but perversely: drowsing in good works and wakeful in evil deeds. Thus did Judas Iscariot, who passed an entire sleepless night selling innocent blood—the blood that redeemed the whole world. The son of darkness clothed himself again in darkness, which he had cast off, and rejected the Sun. For silver, the thief sold the One who created silver. Similarly, the Pharisees, also children of darkness, did not close their eyes the whole night as they fled the light and schemed to extinguish the uncontainable light with darkness.

But you, brethren, emulate the vigilance of the stars, and pass this night, radiant and free of darkness, without sleep. This night, though outwardly seeming dark, possesses great worth and dignity. The virtuous man, remaining watchful in prayer throughout the night, shines even amid the darkness, illumined by the hidden light. But the ungodly, even if surrounded by noonday brightness, if they live as sons of darkness, remain covered with deep gloom, no matter how outwardly clothed in light.

Therefore, let no one deceive himself with false watchfulness. For whoever keeps vigil unlawfully is as one who sleeps, though he seems wakeful. And whoever separates wakefulness from innocence and virtue, for him even his vigil becomes a poison. Such is the vigilance of envy, which causes countless evils and sorrows. Commerce born of envy brings only disgrace and dishonor as its gain. The wrathful man remains sleepless, agitated by his anger, which drives his wakefulness—this is a vigil filled with madness, reviling, and curses. The chatterer, too, remains sleepless, giving free rein to his tongue, engaging in idle talk with anyone he meets, and has no inclination for prayer, but an abundance for sin.

A wise man chooses one of two options: either a pleasant sleep, undisturbed by tiresome and sorrowful cares, or a holy and beneficial vigilance. Why, then, should we not choose the latter? Tonight is the brightest of nights, for in it is born the Source of light, to dispel the darkness that surrounds us. Let us not allow our vigil to be disturbed by any worldly care. Let our hearing remain unburdened, the gaze of our eyes chaste, the thoughts of our hearts pure, and the words of our lips prudent.

Today, Mary has given us the leaven prepared in the granary of Abraham; therefore, let us imitate Abraham's mercy toward the needy, and, like him, lighten the poverty of the poor. This day has brought to us from the sheepfold of the gentle David the substance to enrich the milk of human kindness; thus, let us be meek toward our persecutors and grieve for them, emulating the son of Jesse, who lamented Saul's death (2 Samuel 1:11).

This day sows among the Gentiles the most pleasing salt of the Prophets; let us strive to nourish our souls with this salt, remembering that ancient Israel, though nourished with it, lost its savor through insensitivity. Today is the day of salvation, teaching us wisdom in speech; let us therefore refrain from idle talk, lest it appear that we have no share in the blessings of this day. This night brings peace and tranquility to the world; thus, a man puffed up with anger and breathing threats is a burden to it. This night belongs to the meek; therefore, let each lay aside wrath and harshness. It belongs to the humble; let each restrain his pride and curb his arrogance.

Today, the day of mercy has dawned; let no one pursue vengeance for any wrong suffered. This is a day of joy; let no one cause sorrow or grief to another. This is a day of goodwill; let all cruelty be restrained. This is a day bright and cloudless; let anger, the disturber of peace and tranquility, be subdued. This is the day on which God descended to sinners; let the righteous be ashamed to exalt themselves above sinners. This is the day on which the Lord of creation descended to His servants; let masters not hesitate to descend in love to their servants. This is the day on which the Rich One became poor for our sake; let the wealthy not hesitate to share their table with the poor. This is the day on which a free gift, unasked for, was bestowed upon us; would it not be unjust if we were to deny alms to our brothers who cry out to us in need?

This is the day on which the door of heaven was opened to our prayers; is it fitting, then, to close the door to those who seek forgiveness or relief from suffering? The Lord of nature, without altering His essence, transformed Himself; shall it then seem difficult for us to change our will, corrupted by sin? Certainly, our flesh by its nature can neither grow nor diminish; but our will, by its free choice, can grow to any measure it desires. It is for this reason that the very Godhead was contained within human nature today—that this nature might strive for all that is holy.

-From the Book Homilies on the Nativity of Christ