The reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 2:1–14
At that time, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole world. This first census took place whilst Quirinius1 was governor of Syria. And everyone went to be registered2, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, in Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem – for he was of the house and lineage of David – to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. But whilst they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first-born Son3; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And in that region there were some shepherds, keeping watch over their flock by night in the fields. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were filled with great fear. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people: today in the city of David a Saviour has been born to you, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly, together with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host gathered, praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will!’4
1. Since, by the Lord’s grace, we shall celebrate the Holy Liturgy three times today 5, we cannot speak at length about this Gospel reading. Yet the very Nativity of our Saviour compels us to say something, however briefly. What, then, does it mean that the world is being inscribed when the Lord is about to be born, if not what is clearly shown, namely that He who will inscribe His chosen ones in eternity 6 was coming in the flesh? On the contrary, concerning the unrighteous it is said through the Prophet: ‘Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and let them not be recorded amongst the righteous’ (Ps. 68:29 [32]). He is rightly born in Bethlehem, for Bethlehem is interpreted as the ‘House of Bread’ 7. And He Himself is the One who says: ‘I am the living bread, which came down from heaven’ (John 6:41, 52). Therefore, the place where the Lord is born was previously called the ‘house of bread’, no doubt because it was there that He was to reveal Himself, through the substance of the body, as the One who nourishes the minds of the elect through an inner satisfaction 8. He is not born in His parents’ house, but on the way – undoubtedly to show that through His humanity, which He took upon Himself, He was born as it were in a foreign land. Of course, I say ‘stranger’ not in terms of power, but in terms of nature. For concerning His power it is written: ‘He came into His own’ (John 1:11). Indeed, according to His nature, He was born before time began, but according to ours, He came within time. Thus, the eternally living One appeared as temporal, and the place where He descended is foreign. And because it is said through the Prophet: ‘All flesh is like grass’ (Isaiah 40:6), once He became man, He transformed our grass into wheat, He Who says of Himself: ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone’ (John 12:24). Therefore, once born, He also lies down in the manger, to nourish all believers—who are like holy animals—with the wheat of His body 9, so that they may not remain hungry for the nourishment of eternal understanding. And for what reason does the angel appear to the shepherds who were keeping watch, and why does the glory of God surround them with radiance, if not because those who know how to lead the faithful flocks with care are deemed worthy to behold the most exalted things 10 before others? And whilst they watch over the flock with piety, divine grace showers down upon them all the more abundantly.
The place where the Lord is born was previously called the house of bread, no doubt because it was there that He was to reveal Himself, in the form of a body, as the One who strengthens the minds of the elect through an inner satisfaction.
2. And an angel proclaims the birth of a King, and together with his voice choirs of angels sing in unison and cry out, rejoicing together: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will!’ Truly, before our Saviour was born in the flesh, we were at odds with the angels and had strayed far from their radiance and purity, because of the first sin and because of our daily sins. For, since through sin we had become strangers to God, the angels, as fellow citizens with God, regarded us as strangers to their company. But since we have come to know our King, the angels in turn have recognised us as their fellow citizens. For, since the King of Heaven has taken upon Himself the dust of our bodies, even the heavenly heights no longer despise our weakness. The angels are once again making peace with us and setting aside the cause of their former division; and those whom they had previously despised as weak and lowly, they now honour as friends. For this is why Lot (Gen. 19:1) and Joshua (Josh. 5:15) worshipped the angels without being prevented from doing so; on the contrary, in his Revelation, John wished to worship an angel, but the angel himself prevented him from thinking himself obliged to worship him, saying: ‘See that you do not do this! For I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers’ (Rev. 22:9). What does it mean that, before the coming of the Saviour, angels receive worship from people without saying a word, but afterwards they refrain from accepting worship, unless it is because the angels are afraid to see our nature bowed down before them—a nature which they had previously despised, but which they now regard as exalted above them? And they no longer dare to disregard it as a feeble nature, inferior to themselves; but, regarding it as superior to themselves, they honour it, of course, in the King of Heaven. Nor do they any longer reject with contempt the idea of having a human being as a friend, like those who worship the God-Man as one superior to themselves. Let us therefore take care, beloved brethren, lest impurity defile us, who are, according to the eternal foreknowledge, fellow-citizens with God and with His angels alike. Let us safeguard our worthiness through our conduct; let no immorality defile us, let no shameful thought condemn us, let no wickedness gnaw at our minds, let us not be consumed by the rust of envy, let us not be puffed up with pride, let us not be torn apart by the desire for exaltation through earthly pleasures, let us not be inflamed by anger. For men have been called gods. Therefore, O man, defend against the passions the honour of being a god, for God became man for your sake 11, Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen!
- 1
Literally, Cyrino, the transliteration of the Greek Κυρεῖνος (Lachmann’s editorial reading; an alternative reading: Κυρήνιος), which is itself a calque of the original cognomen Quirinius (Publius Sulpicius Quirinius). The fact that a Hellenised form of a Roman name had become established in the Latin-speaking world may indicate the predominance of the Greek language in the early Christian centuries.
- 2
The expression ‘to state one’s name’ translates the verb profiteri (distinct from describere ‘to enter in the registers’ mentioned above), which, in a broader sense, meant making a public declaration setting out one’s name, social status, occupation, place of residence and wealth, and thus had a meaning similar to that of a modern census.
- 3
The term ‘First-Born’ (Primogenitus) does not imply here the existence of a second-born, third-born, and so on (cf. Colossians 1:15; Romans 8:29). The term ‘First-Born’, whose conceptual roots lie in Hebrew, is intended rather to emphasise a unique quality or status. In this sense, King David, who was not the first-born among his brothers, receives from God the promise that He will make him ‘the first-born, exalted above the kings of the earth’ (Psalm 88:27).
- 4
The phrase ‘people of good will’ or ‘for people of good will’, which renders a genitive of quality (hominibus bonae voluntatis, modelled on ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκίας), constitutes an alternative variant (attested in the oldest manuscripts and preferred by the Nestle-Aland editions) of the text established by the Byzantine tradition in the form ‘peace on earth, goodwill amongst men’ (ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία). If we take into account the seven years Saint Gregory spent in Constantinople as apocrisiar (579–585), we may assume that he was also familiar with the Greek version prevalent in the Eastern Church. Nevertheless, he uses the reading hominibus bonae voluntatis, from which we deduce that this variant had long been established in Western-influenced circles. This is, of course, absent from the Eastern liturgical variants.
- 5
By referring to the ritual of the three Christmas Liturgies, Saint Gregory provides one of the earliest accounts of this liturgical prescription (Gregory the Great, Homilies on the Gospels. Volume I (Homilies I–XX), critical text, introduction, translation and notes by Raymond Étaix, Charles Morel and Bruno Judic, in the Sources Chrétiennes series, vol. 485, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2005, p. 214).
- 6
The French commentator refers to Chromatius of Aquileia, Sermo 32, 1 (Gregory the Great, Homilies on the Gospel. Book I, p. 214).
- 7
Hebrew: Beth (‘house’) – lechem (‘bread’). In the Bible, the name Bethlehem often appears alongside another, the Hebrew Ephrata, meaning ‘fruitful’ (Gen. 35:19; 48:7; Josh. 15:59; Ruth 4:11). Linguists are still debating the popular nature of the etymology of Bethlehem – ‘House of Bread’.
- 8
The French commentator refers to St Gregory the Great, Sermon 32, 1 (Gregory the Great, Homilies on the Gospel. Book I, p. 215).
- 9
The French commentator refers to Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo 140, 3 (Gregory the Great, Homilies on the Gospel. Book I, p. 216).
- 10
The French commentator refers to Chromatius of Aquileia, Sermo 32, 3 (Gregory the Great, Homilies on the Gospel. Book I, p. 216).
- 11
The end of the homily, in the Étaix-Blanc-Judic edition.