The Nativity of the Lord
Continued from page three

The Winter Pascha

The Preparations and Celebrations of The Great-Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of Our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, have much in common with surrounding Pascha. For this reason, the late Fr. Alexander Schmemann coined the phrase The Winter Pascha for this period from the beginning of the Christmas Fast until the beginning of the Pre-Lenten Sundays. We will look at some of the highlights of the Preparatory period for the Nativity.

Throughout the Preparations, the themes of God's preference for the poor and the role of the Church in carrying out this care are emphasized. Orthodoxy (in Faith) and orthopraxis (in action) are shown to be inextricably linked. Nothing could be more appropriate as we prepare to celebrate the Birth of the Incarnate Word in a shepherd's stable.
     
I. The Fast of the Nativity
The 40 days before Christmas are marked by fasting, abstinence and prayer, much as the
Great Lent precedes Pascha. Our fasting is not so much penitential (although that aspect is present) as holistic: by fasting, we are "getting ourselves into shape" for the realization of the Incarnation. In so doing, we affirm the goodness of matter, and our composite nature of Body, Soul and Spirit.

What we do to one part of our nature affects all of our being, so fasting is a medicine for the
spirit, as well as for the body! If the physical world were not good -- indeed capable of divinization! -- we would not bother with it at all! Seeing that God has become one of us in all aspects but sin, we can affirm that, if the human --physical, living and spiritual-- was good enough to be united to the Divine in Christ, it is good enough for us!

II. The Feasts of the Menaion
Nov 16: Holy Apostole and Evangelist Matthew
It seems appropriate that the second day of the Fast commemorates the Evangelist Matthew, whose account of Christ's birth, together with Luke's gives us all the information we have about this Great-Feast.

Nov 21: The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple
This Great-Feast is taken from the Protevangelium of James, a highly revered Christian writing from the 2nd Century AD. It demonstrates Our Lady's complete dedication of her entire life to the service of The Lord, and invites us to imitate her single-mindedness. Thus, as she uniquely said "Yes" to God and became the God-bearer, so too we might show forth Christ to the world by our lives! It is at the Matins of this Great-Feast that we begin to sing the Christmas Canon in preparation for the Nativity.

American Thanksgiving
On the Fourth Thursday of November, the people of the United States gather in their families to thank the Lord for all that He has done for us, and for our world. It is most fitting to praise the Lord at the Divine Liturgy, our celebration of the Eucharist, which in Greek means, Thanksgiving! This day is the Eucharistic Feast of the United States in its most basic meaning.

Nov 23: Repose of St. Alexander Nevsky
St. Alexander was a Prince of Novgorod in the 13th Century. He was a wise leader, and knew when to fight, and when to plead for peace, in the defense of his people and the Orthodox Faith. He was not afraid to put his own life in jeopardy to save others.

Nov 30: Holy and All-Praised Apostle Andrew the First-Called
St. Andrew, the first of the Disciples to hear the Call of Christ, is the patron of all the Missionaries to the Slavic Lands. In the Gospel, we hear how he immediately went out and began to bring others --his brother Peter, and their friends James and John -- to the Lord. This is true Discipleship, which we are called to follow.

Dec 1,2,3: The Prophets nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah
These three Prophets open the month of December, and recall the promises of the Old
Testament which are fulfilled in Christ. Nahum called the city of Ninevah to repentance; Habakkuk miraculously fed the Prophet Daniel (a type of Christ: see below); Zephaniah preached about the joy that would finally come to Sion with the Messiah.

Dec 4: Great Martyr Barbara; Ven. John of Damascus
In 306, St. Barbara was martyred by her pagan father because of her faith, and for her many acts of healing and charity which had infuriated him. St. John was a great scholar of the Church in occupied Syria during the 8th Century. Notable for his extensive ecclesiastical poetry and theological writing, his work in defense of the Incarnational theology of Icons was instrumental in the 7th Ecumenical Council (Nicaea II - AD 787). In so doing, he defended the truth about the dignity of human nature as shown through Christ's Incarnation.

Dec 6: St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia
One of the most popular Saints of the Church, St. Nicholas was a faithful pastor of his people, rescuing the poor, feeding the hungry, and miraculously interceding before the Emperor for those unjustly condemned. He attended the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, and staunchly defended the Orthodox Faith against the heretic Arius. He is the patron of Sailors, of the Poor, and of Russia and the Slavic lands. The secular world uses the Dutch version of his name: Santa Claus, but the reality of his life teaches us much more about God's effective love for His people than the current folklore. On this day, we exchange gold-wrapped coin shaped candies in memory of his ransom of three young ladies who had been sold into prostitution by their father.

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