Every year we make the same mistake - we celebrate Christ's birthday, but we don't invite him to our table. Christ, our God, the King of kings, was not born in a palace, was not born in charms and honors, but on the contrary - among animals. That is why we should take an example from Christ himself and be humble. Archpriest Spas Rangelov from the Nativity of the Virgin Church in Sofia said this in an interview with BGNES.
"The Nativity of Christ is a holiday with very deep roots because we have been waiting for Christ to come and that is why when we talk about this event we go deep into the Old Testament and we are talking about the specific prophets and these are the Holy Prophet Daniel, the Holy Prophet Micah and the Holy Prophet Isaiah . The Holy Prophet Isaiah said that the Virgin will conceive and give birth to the Savior, and this is precisely the feast of the Annunciation. We actually start the Nativity celebration from the Annunciation, for the good news that Christ will be born," explained Father Spas Rangelov.
He explained that the Holy Prophet Daniel tells and dates when the Savior will come, and the Holy Prophet Micah tells where he will be.
"It is to Bethlehem that Christ will come. Thus, when the time comes for Christ to be born, it is not by chance, but on the contrary - the prophecies first of the Holy Prophet Daniel and then of the Holy Prophet Micah come true. During the time of King Herod, there was a census of the people, and then everyone had to go to their native places, so that it could be counted how many people there were in the empire at that time. And then they, going to Bethlehem from Nazareth, there is a very large gathering of people, since they all went to this census, and so the birth pangs of the Mother of God begin already on the way," explained the father and continued: "So they go to a cave, there where shepherds settled their animals and it was there that Christ was born. That famous star of Bethlehem appears and then an angel appears and tells them that Christ has been born. Wise men also come from the east, who welcome Christ as king."
When King Herod found out about the birth of Christ, he sent the wise men to go, check, see where he was and then come and tell him, as his idea was to destroy him, because he himself was afraid for his throne, but the wise men so and they do not return to him. "Then an Angel of the Lord appeared to St. Joseph the betrothed and said: Take the child and his mother and go to Egypt. Then Herod ordered in this region that all male children from the age of two and below be killed, and these were the first martyrs for Christ, for the faith, as around 14 thousand children were killed then, Father Spas Rangelov said and emphasized that this "is not a fairy tale, but a living story"
He explained that the Mother of God is the ladder that Saint James sees. "Jacob lay down to sleep and in his dream he saw a ladder that connects heaven with earth and angels walk on it and we say that this is the image of the Virgin. The prophet Isaiah spoke of her saying that a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us. And the role of the Mother of God in this house-building plan of God is huge, because she is also an example of accepting God's blessing with an open heart. She does not wonder how to react when the Holy Archangel Gabriel appears to her and tells her the good news. It simply says the words "Behold the handmaid of the Lord." This is an example for us of great humility," the father said. He emphasized that she is "the greatest prayer intercessor for us humans before God. Through her came the Savior of the world, and for that we assign a great place to the Mother of God, we always mention her after Christ". We honor the Mother of God on December 26 when we celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which emphasizes her person and role.
The priest recalled that we accept the Nativity of Christ as a truly family holiday. "Yes, and he has always been like that. The question here is whether we will mainly celebrate the table or whether we will celebrate the coming of Christ, his birthday. Very often we make it so that when we gather at the table we have previously passed through the temple, unfortunately, only to take incense, but not to attend a service, which is initially important for an Orthodox Christian, and then go to our table to honor Christ. Every year we make the same mistake - we celebrate Christ's birthday, but we don't invite him to our table. And we make this mistake every year, indulging in making an even odd number of dishes, when it doesn't matter at all. Our table should be modest. Christ, our God, the King of kings, was not born in a palace, was not born in charms and honors, but on the contrary - among animals. That is why we must take an example not from anyone, but from Christ himself - to be humble first, and secondly, when we prepare the table, to know that it must first of all be humble. However, if we make it too rich, let's give it to those people who cannot welcome it properly", Father Spas Rangelov advised. /BGNES
