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Nativity Epistle 2024
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will among men!
Brothers and Sisters, dear Christians,
Over two thousand years have passed since angelic voices proclaimed these divine words over the fields of Bethlehem, announcing the glad tidings of the birth of the Saviour of mankind, but now, it is already the third year, that, instead of glorifying the birth of the Prince of Peace, we are forced to bewail and decry the rejection and banishment of the peace of God by the princes of this world, who distort the Gospel of Christ in an attempt to justify their crimes. Instead of angelic voices from the heavens, we hear the voice of our brothers’ blood crying unto heaven from the ground (Gen. 4:10), bearing witness that we have cast Christ and His Gospel out of our existence, out of our lives.
Over seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the Messiah, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), from the most pure Virgin (Isaiah 7:14), foretelling in considerable detail the life of our Saviour, especially His suffering for the salvation of mankind. He furthermore describes life in the Messianic Kingdom, the promised reign of Christ, where He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Is 2:4).
We know that the words of the Lord are true, and that the truth of the Lord abideth forever (Ps. 117:2), so, if this does not correspond to the present reality, whether in the world, or the Church, or people’s hearts, we must seek the cause within ourselves. It is not the Lord, but mankind that does not fulfill the promise, departing from God’s truth, from Christ and His Gospel, having banished them from our lives.
Brothers and sisters, if the world chooses not to accept Christ’s promised kingdom, and rejects or distorts His message, following the princes of this world rather than the Prince of Peace, let us at least allow Him to reign in our heart, and banish from it all enmity, hatred and untruth, and let us not call evil good, and good evil; [or] put darkness for light, and light for darkness (Is 5:20).
If in this life we allow the Prince of Peace to reign in our hearts we can hope to partake of the peace of God, which passeth all understanding (Phil. 4:7) in His eternal Kingdom. May Christ the pre-eternal Wisdom and Word of God, the Creator of all, the Prince of Peace, who is today born of the All-Pure Virgin, enlightening the whole world, enlighten also our hearts and minds with the light of His glorious Theophany and give us peace! God’s peace! Christ is born! Do we glorify Him?
John, Bishop of Caracas and South America