Sunday Before Christmas, on Salvation

Glory to Jesus Christ. You heard over 1 ,700

years worth of history, sacred history. Some

of it righteous, some of it quite appalling.

But I've given 20 sermons on the genealogies

through the years. I've looked at my notes. since

1999, except for one year. Last year, Father

James preached on this text. So I think if you've

been listening through the 20 years, probably

most of you could also give a sermon on this

text. So I won't talk about the genealogies today,

except to say, well, you know, priests can't

help themselves. They have to say something about

what they're not going to talk about. these names,

it's how St. Matthew begins his account of the

good news. The genealogy or the generation of

Jesus Christ. And he very consciously takes those

same words from the book of Genesis. which in,

I think it's the fifth chapter, begins the genealogy,

the genesis of Noah and his family. St. Matthew's

readers would be very interested in that genealogy,

even if today we are less than attentive to the

names, because we don't know them. We should

know them. Providence, that God guides the world,

which he loves. Even though that family tree

had some righteous people in it, had some despicable

people in it, all sinners, God was guiding the

people towards the moment when Mary, the virgin,

would be born. Who would be able, who would be

capable, who would be holy, who would be appropriate,

who could be chosen, who would say yes to God.

To giving birth to the one who would become our

savior. God is guiding the world. We're not just

blowing in the wind. But he's got work to do.

And he can only work with what he's got. St.

Matthew begins. with that genealogy, and he ends

with the story of Christmas. Joseph's surprised

that Mary is with child, and the angel speaking

to him, and he hears these words, she will bring

forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus,

for he will save his people from their sins,

for the name of Jesus means Lord saves. He will

save his people from their sins. Well, this brings

to my mind two questions. What does it mean to

save? And what does sin have to do with it? Because

in our world, it has nothing to do with anything.

A great preacher of the Greek church, the late

Metropolitan Augustinus Kantiotis, said this.

the number one evil, which forms the root of

all evil, all our wretchedness. You heard about

that last week in the epistle in Father Nicholas'

sermon. And unfortunately, which we do not give

proper meaning to, according to the words of

the scripture, the root is sin. From there come

all other evils, he says. Their cause is sin.

We shudder when we hear of cancer and sickness.

But sin, however, does not make us shudder. We

play with her, he says, like children who play

with Christmas presents. We don't perceive anything,

and because of this, mankind is scourged. Meaning,

we are continually living under the result of

our turning away from God. Whether adultery and

fornication, lasciviousness, whether greed or

gluttony, whether jealousy or envy, whether judgment

or anger or rage or indignation at other people,

whether malice and hatred, whether vengeance

or fear, he says, sin, this is the source of

all misery. If we could, with one miracle, uproot

it, then the earth would be paradise. Who will

save us? Christ, Jesus, whose name means Savior.

And it's by one heart and soul at a time. It's

not by divine command that the people of the

earth would turn. No, each one of us is invited

personally, as if you're the only person. You

and Christ. And then together with each other.

So what is salvation? When we are being saved

from sin, what does that mean? Well, I'm going

to read something else. I ask your forgiveness

for reading it. But these words by Father Alexander

Schmemann strike me as the most powerful answer.

And we have just remembered his repose on the

13th. And this would be the 100th year of his

birth. This great theologian, teacher, writer,

speaker. Here's what he says in his address to

Soviet Russia by shortwave radio. Christianity

is a religion of salvation. Jesus saves us. This

means it is not merely a life improvement plan.

It's not a scheme for overcoming life's day -to

-day adversities, nor a set of abstract principles

and norms of behavior. Salvation presupposes

that one is perishing. A drowning man, a man

whose home is engulfed in flames, a man falling

over the edge of the cliff, does not pray for

comfort and comforting words. but for salvation.

Yet it's just this sense of perishing and therefore

the experience of Christianity as salvation that

the vast majority of Christians continue to say

out of habit such words as Savior, salvation,

and save us, but within themselves. They now

unconsciously experience these words in a different

way than did the early Christians. We have stopped

viewing ourselves as beings who are truly perishing,

whose life is rushing inexorably towards meaningless

collapse, whose life is engulfed, surrounded

by evil, by demonic power. by senselessness,

by the horror of death and dying, by the bestial

struggle for survival, by the terrible lust for

power, by the war and wars of all against all,

by lies which poison the very source of life,

by ignorance and by universal sentence of death.

In other words, he says, we are engulfed by everything

which our so -called civilization uses, alas,

successfully to suffocate life and deface it.

This is a humanity, he writes, which is afraid

to stop, afraid to reflect, afraid to be alone

with itself, afraid to see that the destruction

and fear and hatred and evil in this world are

the very life to which we, without God, are condemned.

Yet this is exactly the awareness, the image

of life that is found in the Gospels. Christ

comes to a people who are sitting in darkness,

in the shadows of death, St. Matthew writes.

This is the first definition of the human condition

in the Gospels. And the joy of Christmas night

is immediately blackened. Herod wants to kill

the child. And for this, he murders a multitude

of children. Now, writes the evangelist Matthew,

quoting the Old Testament, a voice is heard in

Ramah. Wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping

for her children. She refuses to be comforted

because they are no more. Christ preaches exclusively

about love and about forgiveness. And his life

is one of healing. So what is it that provokes

the hatred which condenses around him? that leads

him so inescapably and willingly to the cross,

the cross of our salvation. Abused by the Pharisees

and the crowds, screaming, crucify him, crucify

him. This is the gospel's image of this world

and of life. Do you know that? It takes no more

than a minute's reflection to recognize that

this has always been and always is, that destruction

tyrannizes the world and dominates life. If it

does not realize this, if one does not begin

with this awareness, then Christianity makes

no sense. has nothing to say to anyone. It is

only in disclosing the depth and horror of this

destruction that Christianity discloses itself

more accurately, reveals Christ, his teaching,

his call, his salvation. Salvation not from this

or that, not from a pandemic, not from a bad

job, not from a bad relationship. not from uncomfortable

things, not from suffering or sickness, but salvation

of life itself so hopelessly torn away from its

own proper content, from God, who is light, who

is heaven, who is truth, who is eternity. It

can be said, to summarize here, that every genuine

encounter with Christ, first of all, discloses

to me the darkness, the destruction, the senselessness

of my life. He's not saying look around and judge

everybody. He's saying look at yourself. I see

Christ, and because I see him, I understand that

the life I live is often not real life. but a

life which is permeated by sin, contempt to destruction.

And my faith in him, in Christ, our Savior, begins

with this. In a manner mysterious and inexplicable,

yet so self -evident. I recognize that only he,

Christ, can save me. And only with him and in

him do I find salvation for myself, for other

persons, for everyone, for everything, for us

men, and for our salvation. This is what we're

looking forward to at Christmas. The newness,

the freedom, the salvation of God in our life.

To our Lord be glory, now and ever, to ages of

ages. Amen.