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10th in Luke Ocala 2005 (Galatians 4:1-5) "But, when the fulness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those, who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God, through Christ." (Galatians 4:4-7) These verses from the 4th Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, were part of the Epistle reading, which we heard today. For those, who are rather familiar with some of the Epistle readings, they will recognize, that this reading is identical to the Epistle lesson read during the Christmas Divine Liturgy. It heralds the Advent of Christmas, and admonishes us to focus on the supernatural Event, which is to arrive twenty two days hence. -- The Incarnation of the Lord. St. Paul stated: "when the fulness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, and born under the Law," that is, the Law given to Moses. In this "fulness of time," God the Father unveiled His master plan, to open widely the Gates of Paradise, which had been closed after the fall of the first created, Adam and Eve. Through the original sin of disobedience by Adam and Eve, humankind, estranged from God, drifted gradually into the dark labyrinth, to ultimately be enveloped in complete spiritual darkness. Still, even though humankind was living in this spiritual darkness, the soul of humans, which is God's breath given to all, sensed deeply, that there was the need to worship something, beyond themselves; --- anything, -- which humans felt would give them some comfort in their soul! Thus, idolatry was practiced by all. But, the all-loving God, not wanting his creations to eternally dwell in this spiritual darkness, unfolds the plan of salvation. He firstly chose Abraham, a very pious individual, to become the father, or the patriarch of God's chosen people. Thus, the Hebrews abandoned idolatry, and came to believe in the one God; the God, Who down through the ages, had sent His many Prophets to foretell in detail, hundreds of years before Christ, the events that would happen in all of the life of Christ. One of these prophesies was, that the Son of God would be born in the fulness of time, of a woman. In St. Paul's phrase: "when the fulness of time came," he refers to God's preparation for the Incarnation, that is, the Lord's receiving the flesh like all humans. Paul means, that when God, the Father had everything in perfect readiness, the Incarnation took place. It appears that this readiness refers to two factors: a) the preparation of humankind for the advent of Christ, and b), the course of human history, which was most conducive for the spread of the Gospel throughout the world. With reference to the preparation of humankind, the essential part of this preparation was to disclose to the nations, through the preaching of the Apostles, that the world needed redemption, which was to be effected by the Redeemer, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. With reference to the course of history, it is sufficient to point out, that prior to the birth of Christ, the Greeks had provided their universal, and most suitable language, to propagate the new Religion, commencing from the time of Alexander the Great, --- and the Romans on the other hand, through their Empire, had afforded Christianity a national unity, even though under ground, with the freedom of movement, as well as a system of communication. In St. Paul's _expression: "God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, and born under the Law of Moses," we must understand, that the Lord came as the Redeemer, to shed His innocent Blood, for the reconciliation of humankind with God, for all time. In his Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 5, verses 17-19, St. Paul so eloquently states the antithesis of Adam, as against Christ. He says: "For if, by the transgression of the one, (that is Adam), death reigned through the one, much more then, those who receive the abundance of Grace, and of the gift of righteousness, will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ! So then, as through one transgression, there resulted the condemnation to all people, even so, through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all the people. For, as through one man's disobedience, (that is Adam), the many were made sinners, even so, through the obedience of the One, that is, (Jesus Christ), the many will be made righteous." St. Paul concludes, that after redemption, we become sons of God. He says, we are no longer slaves, but sons; and if we are sons, we then, are heirs of God the Father, through Jesus Christ. It is so interesting, to read from this God-inspired Apostle, in another relative verse, regarding sonship, in his Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 8, verses 16-18: St. Paul states: "The Spirit Himself, bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And, if children, we are also heirs, -- heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, in order that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider, that the sufferings of this present time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory, that is to be revealed to us. If only we Christians would take the time to think, as to the unbelievably lofty height the Lord affords us, that is, to become God's heirs and joint heirs with Him, which should be our destiny, and then to think, of how so many Christians are not uplifted, but choose to remain on the ground floor! The Lord has never ceased extending His invitation to all humankind, -- asking everyone to come unto Him, to become free from the burden of sin, which weighs heavily upon our shoulders. In Matthew, Chapter 11, verse 28, the Lord says so plainly: --- "Come unto me, all you who labor, and are heavily laden, and I shall give you comfort." Also, when He commissioned His Holy Apostles to go out to all the Nations and preach the Gospel of Salvation, He emphasized, that He would be with them, and of course, with all His followers, even unto the end of the world. So here we are, approaching the threshold of the most Holy and unique Day of the year; Christmas. --- Although we may be very critical, and express ourselves, regarding the wrong focus for this Holy Day, nonetheless we are so saddened, that the commercial current, swift as the hurricane winds, have swept so many Christians off their feet, so that a minimal time, if any, is given to the real spirit of the day. Christ to so many is Santa Claus. Personally, I am saddened, when in my neighborhood, the lawns are filled with inflated snowmen, santa claus, and various animals, whatever they mean. One such neighbor, has enough inflated animals to compete with a small zoo. I look at these, and my heart is saddened. Nowhere, have I seen a manger, as was the custom a few years ago. Christians, know full well the devastating force of the commercial hurricanes, which strike us during this time. The odd thing is, that collectively, we all can do something about it, by resisting the purchasing of large gifts, and keep the exchanging of gifts at a minimum. But the truth remains, that the purchase of gifts, to perhaps satisfy the Members of one's family, relatives of friends, increases as each Christmas goes by. Oftentimes with gifts, that we can ill afford, and have a difficult time, when it comes to paying off the credit cards. Christians must be mobilized, to resist the swift commercial current. I personally, did this years ago, explaining to my family the purpose, and it was well received. Hopefully they too, will use the same measure. Christ must be brought back into Christmas. We've all seen bumper stickers, "Let's put Christ back into Christmas." What a sad commentary for believers. Shopping, long before Christmas has become a frenzy. You see what happens the day after Thanksgiving, when people camp on the sidewalk from the night before, so that they can get a a jump ahead of other shoppers at 5 o'clock in the morning. The advertising media has won over so many souls! So many, many people have submitted to the professionally tempting advertisements, which we can say, have literally mesmerized the buying public. Then, when Christmas comes, and the joy of opening up the gifts is sensed, it is often mostly short lived. But, if we choose to come under the realm of the true Christmas spirit, the joy is everlasting. All this frenzy of gift buying comes at the cost of the great need of the soul, to be nourished by our faithful Church attendance. To hear the age-old hymns: "Christ is born, glorify Him. Let us go to meet Christ, Who came from the Heavens; Christ is on this Earth, therefore, raise your spirits up." and the like. And of course, the main Christmas hymn: "Your Birth, O Christ, dawned upon the world as the Light of Knowledge; for through it, those, who had adored the stars, were taught by a Star to worship You, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know You, the Dawn from on High. O Lord, glory to You." + Fr. George Papadeas
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