Homily for the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ in Commemoration of the Holy Fathers #
Dear brothers and sisters,
As we approach the Nativity of Christ, when the Incarnation of the Son of God was accomplished, the Holy Church commemorates the holy Forefathers and Fathers. Today, we joyfully remember the patriarchs, prophets, and righteous men and women of the Old Testament, who form the links in a long chain beginning with our common forefather Adam and culminating in the Mother of God, from whom our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born.
The sacred history of humanity, as recounted in the Bible, tells us that humanity was estranged from communion with God and expelled from Paradise due to its intemperance and disobedience. This was followed by other tragic events: for the first time, human blood was shed when Cain, out of envy, killed his brother Abel.
Separated from communion with God, people began to multiply their transgressions and sink deeper into the abyss of sin, contrary to the Creator’s purpose. God punished the human race, as Scripture recounts: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth… And the Lord repented that He had made man… And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth… But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:5–8).
Why did the Lord grant grace and salvation to Noah? The righteous Noah, living in a time when corruption and concern only for bodily needs and pleasures prevailed, lived a pious life, obeyed all of God’s commandments, and strove to guide his family and contemporaries on the path of truth. Noah’s God-pleasing life allowed him to live 950 years and to have descendants through whom the promised Savior would come.
Sacred history also tells us that after the fall and condemnation of Adam, God gave the promise that a Savior would come who, born of a woman, would crush the serpent’s head, meaning He would triumph over the devil and deliver humanity from his power. God did not say, “I will crush the serpent’s head,” but rather that this would be accomplished by the Woman. This indicates that in the battle against the enemy of salvation and in the work of regaining Paradise, both God and humanity would labor together—God by His divine power and humanity through personal effort.
To visibly manifest His plan of salvation (or “economy”), God chose a man named Abraham and called him with a promise to enter into a covenant with him, known as the “Old Covenant.” In this covenant, God promised Abraham numerous descendants and prosperity, while requiring faith and obedience from him. Abraham believed God and entered into the covenant with Him.
The Lord tested Abraham’s faith with great severity. He commanded Abraham to offer his young son Isaac, the only heir of his lineage, born to elderly parents according to God’s promise, as a burnt offering. The Lord said to Abraham: “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and… offer him for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:2). Out of obedience to God and in the hope that God had the power to raise his son from the dead, Abraham expressed his willingness to fulfill this dreadful command and without hesitation placed his son upon the altar. As Abraham raised the knife to slay his son, the angel of the Lord stopped his hand.
It is worth noting that Isaac, like his father, also demonstrated humility and obedience. He submitted to his father’s will and allowed himself to be bound without complaint, even though he saw that his father intended to kill him. This seventeen-year-old youth, strong and vigorous, could have easily freed himself from the bonds placed on him by the aged Abraham, who was over one hundred years old at the time. Yet Isaac submitted to his father and to God’s command.
For his act of self-denying faith, God rewarded Abraham with descendants upon whom His divine blessing rested. Abraham pleased the Lord, responded to His divine call, and through his obedience performed an act that reversed Adam’s transgression, thus entering into communion with God. While the first man broke the covenant with God, Abraham restored it, earning true greatness and becoming the father of all believers. Through Abraham, God established a covenant with all humanity, granting people freedom of will. This divine gift of freedom belongs to all who believe in God; however, participation in this covenant requires one essential condition: obedience to the Creator. In return, God grants His blessing, support, and assistance.
The history of the Forefathers of the Old Testament Church teaches us to remain faithful to God despite any trials. Faith is an essential condition for abiding in a covenant with God. St. Basil the Great described the feat of faith as the willingness of a person to freely and consciously, without doubt or hesitation, fulfill any command of God, even when it appears contrary to so-called “common sense.” This is precisely the feat accomplished by Abraham. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac… accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead,” writes the Apostle (Hebrews 11:17).
In Holy Baptism, a covenant is also made between us and God, wherein we pledge to follow Christ’s commandments. Abraham’s story is instructive for us, helping us understand that our personal faith, our covenant with the Creator, may also be tested by difficulties, sorrows, and tribulations. Our task in this covenant is to keep our promises to God, not to murmur against Him during trials, but to carry our faith in full submission to His will, understanding that everything God does is for our salvation.
After Abraham’s death, it pleased the Creator that the covenant with humanity should continue. Abraham’s lineage was chosen to preserve this covenant, to maintain faith in the true God and obedience to Him. While God aids humanity in preserving faith, people must also demonstrate steadfastness and courage within this covenant. Through their veneration of the one true God, the chosen people of Israel were being prepared for the coming of the Messiah and Savior, believing that His arrival would crush the serpent’s head.
Isaac’s son Jacob was meek and pleasing to God. Once, he had a dream of a ladder reaching to heaven, with angels ascending and descending upon it, and the Lord spoke to him: “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth… And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest…” Awakening, Jacob made a vow to God: “The Lord shall be my God… and of all that Thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto Thee” (Genesis 28:13–22).
The holy Forefathers chose goodness in their lives and lived in purity and fidelity to the covenant God made with their forefather Abraham. One significant example of a virtuous life is that of Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons. Out of envy, his brothers sold him into slavery, and Joseph ended up in Egypt. While serving as a slave to an Egyptian nobleman, Joseph faced a trial. The nobleman’s wife, infatuated with Joseph’s beauty, tempted him to engage in sinful relations, but Joseph maintained his chastity. Angered by his rejection, she had Joseph imprisoned, but he was later freed by Pharaoh himself, who elevated him to a position of high authority.
When Joseph encountered his brothers, he had every opportunity to punish them for the harm they had done to him, but instead, he forgave them, overcoming their hatred with humility and love. This innocent sufferer, through whom the salvation of Israel’s chosen people was accomplished, is celebrated in Christian hymns as a prototype of the Savior. Like Joseph, Christ brought deliverance to the world through humiliation, betrayal, and rejection by His own brethren.
The story of Joseph is also instructive because it reflects situations we may encounter in our own lives: conflicts with relatives, close friends, or people of other faiths, as well as enmity based on political or national grounds. The Old Testament Forefathers teach us to overcome hostility and division in the world, in society, and in the family with humility and love, just as the Forefather Joseph the All-Comely managed to do with God’s help.
The people of Abraham were chosen to preserve faith in the true God and obedience to Him. While God aids humanity in preserving faith, people must also demonstrate firmness and courage in this covenant. Among the holy Forefathers, the Prophet Daniel and the three youths—Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael—deserve special attention. We know from the story of the Prophet Daniel that he was cast into a den of wild beasts for praying to the true God despite the king’s prohibition. Daniel deemed it impossible to cease praying, even if it would cost him his life. Let us reflect on this example: do we sometimes neglect prayer out of laziness or lack of faith?
The three youths were cast into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship an idol, thus remaining steadfast in their faith in the true God. The furnace into which they were thrown was so intensely heated that it scorched those who approached it. The persecuting king, wanting to witness their suffering, instead saw four figures walking freely in the flames, unharmed and singing hymns to God. Among them was the Son of God—Christ Himself (Daniel 3:92). In response to the faithfulness of these youths, the Savior descended to be with them, just as He later descended to earth at His Nativity in human form, quenching the sinful fires of passion, delivering humanity from destruction, and glorifying all who demonstrate faith, spiritual strength, and loyalty to Him.
The example of the holy Forefathers calls us to endure trials for the faith as courageously as the Prophet Daniel and the three youths, to love God, and to remain steadfastly obedient and faithful to Him in all things. When we do so, God will be with us and will lead us into His glory and eternal joy.
Among the many names recalled in today’s Gospel are people who also made mistakes and fell into sin. Yet they shared one common trait: God was the foremost priority in their lives. They struggled in God’s name—not against others, but against themselves, against the sin and evil within their own souls, so that God might triumph and reign within them. Through this struggle, generation after generation and century after century, they prepared the way for the coming of the Savior into the world. Christ initiated the reconciliation of the division between God and humanity that began with Adam’s fall.
The Old Testament prepared people to receive the Savior by cultivating faith and obedience to God’s guidance within the chosen people. Great was the faith and steadfastness of the Forefather Moses. As the Apostle Paul writes: “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season… By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king” (Hebrews 11:24–27).
Through God’s intervention, Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian captivity. During their long journey to the Promised Land, the people of Israel repeatedly experienced that obedience to God’s will and preservation of their faith brought blessings, assistance, and salvation from the Lord. A pivotal event in Moses’ life was his encounter with God on Mount Horeb, where God gave him the stone tablets. Inscribed upon these tablets were the commandments by which God commanded His chosen people to live, ensuring their fidelity to the Creator and His covenant.
The ongoing history of the Old Testament repeatedly demonstrates that God saves those who live according to His law and forgives their transgressions when they sincerely repent. A powerful example of God’s forgiveness through deep, heartfelt repentance is found in the life of King and Prophet David. David, king of the Israelite people, was an extraordinary figure. He united his nation and established the capital of his kingdom, the city of Jerusalem.
David was known for his meekness and gentleness, qualities that became proverbial. When we ask the Lord to deliver us from malice and enmity, we pray: “Remember, O Lord, David, and all his meekness.” David was also a composer of prayers and hymns, which came to be known as the Psalms and were compiled into the Book of Psalms.
Although David was a good king, as a human being, he sometimes succumbed to temptation and sin. When he fell in love with the beautiful wife of one of his commanders, he sent her husband to certain death. The Prophet Nathan confronted David with his wrongdoing. The fruit of David’s sincere repentance was the penitential 50th Psalm, which begins: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy great mercy, and according to the multitude of Thy compassions, blot out my transgressions…” Even now, in our personal prayers and during every church service, when we recite the penitential psalm “Have mercy upon me, O God,” we should repent of our sins before the Lord with all our hearts.
The true leaders and spiritual guides of the chosen people were the prophets, through whom God instructed the people of Israel and revealed His will. The prophets were embodiments of truth, voices of conscience, foretellers of the future, and guardians of faith and spirit. Among the most renowned Old Testament prophets are Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. They turned the people of Israel back to God when they fell into idolatry and wickedness.
The glorious Prophet and Forerunner John the Baptist concludes the line of Old Testament prophets. He called the people to repentance and prepared them for baptism by the coming Messiah—our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the human genealogy of Christ, the names closest to Him chronologically are those of His grandparents, the Holy Forebears Joachim and Anna. Joachim and Anna demonstrated great patience, humility, and trust in God’s good will. Though they were childless until old age and endured reproach and humiliation from others because of this, they did not anger God through murmuring or disbelief. As a reward for their patience, the Lord granted them a child.
Their joy as elderly parents was immense, yet their faithfulness to the promise they had made to God moved them to dedicate their child to Him. When Mary was three years old, Joachim and Anna brought their only consolation in old age to the temple and entrusted her to the Lord. This is an example of steadfast faithfulness to one’s word and promise to God, no matter how difficult it may be to fulfill. God values such faithfulness and rewards it abundantly with His blessings.
The line of the Forefathers and Fathers concludes with the Betrothed of the Virgin Mary, the righteous elder Joseph. His faith and submission to God’s will allowed him to witness the coming of the Savior into the world. Then, by the command of an angel, Joseph saved the Christ Child from the hands of the murderous King Herod. However, before this, Joseph faced a trial of doubt—his disbelief that the fruit of Mary’s womb was of the Holy Spirit and not “of fleshly lust.” This doubt is depicted in icons of the Nativity, where Joseph is shown deep in thought, pondering Mary’s purity and faithfulness. Before him stands an old man leaning on a crooked or sometimes broken staff, symbolizing the demonic temptation Joseph overcame through prayer and firm faith in the angelic revelation of the Virgin Mary’s purity and holiness.
As the Nativity of Christ approaches, the Holy Church tenderly and thoughtfully commemorates the holy Fathers and Forefathers who lived for millennia with only the hope of the coming of the Messiah, Christ. We, brethren, are greatly blessed to live after the appearance of the Savior in the world. Let us, therefore, imitate the holy Forefathers, living according to God’s commandments rather than the whims of our passions. The Apostle Paul exhorts all Christians to be strengthened by the example of the saints, as he urged the Hebrew people to demonstrate the steadfastness of their faith:
“Seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).
Let us live in a manner worthy of the example, prayers, and faith of the Forefathers so that at the end of the path of salvation, we may be deemed worthy of the bliss of Paradise in the bosom of the Forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Christ, in taking on flesh and revealing Himself to the world, became not only our Savior but also our Brother in humanity, for it is written: “He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:11). In His Nativity, the Son of God entered into kinship with humanity, as the opening words of the Gospel proclaim: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1).
The Son of God became the Son of Man, like us in all things except sin. When we sin, we estrange ourselves from God, but He repeatedly calls us to restore unity with Him, leading us to repentance and welcoming the sincerely repentant and reformed back into communion with Himself. In His boundless love, the Savior renews the covenant with repentant sinners, gently proclaiming: “Take, eat: this is My Body… Drink ye all of it; for this is My Blood of the New Testament” (Matthew 26:26).
Every Christian is called to holiness, a lifelong journey of repentance for sins and overcoming the weaknesses of the flesh. This path, through struggles, defeats, and victories, was trodden by the holy Forefathers and Fathers, who found light, truth, and salvation. The holy Forefathers lived in hope of the coming of the Savior into the world. Now that He has come to us, all who keep His commandments are united with Him through the grace of the Holy Spirit and the communion of His Body and Blood. By uniting with Christ, we become His close kin, becoming sons of the Living God.
Once united with the Lord, we no longer live for ourselves but for God and our neighbor—that is, for friends and even for enemies—for all people are called to salvation by the love of the great and wondrous God, who came into the world for our sake in the form of a humble Child.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Amen.