Prelate's 2011 Christmas Message
SALVATION IS
GOD’S GIFT
“She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his
people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) The
angel of God proclaims God’s unfathomable plan with the above words to a
fearful, doubtful and indecisive Joseph. The Son of God is to be born of the
Mother of God, Mary, and you will call him Jesus, the angel commands. The name
Jesus (the Lord is Salvation) in itself contains the meaning and mystery of
God’s plan that Humankind’s salvation is to be secured by His Incarnation. God
and man will meet through Jesus, bringing salvation to humankind. We
human creatures received this salvation freely, the Son of God having paid the ransom
for our salvation. This is God’s greatest expression of His love for humanity that
must be accepted by Christians not only as the grace of God, but especially as
an obligation to live their lives in such a way that will please God and be
acceptable to God. In other words, we have a moral and nonnegotiable obligation
to follow God’s will and commandments, to love him and our fellow human beings in
the same way He loves us and to become like the “Good Samaritan,” so that pain and sorrow, and especially
corrupting selfishness and greed are healed and banished. Humility and
obedience to God’s commandments elevate us in the eyes of God. Through His
birth and Incarnation, Christ humbled Himself from His Divine Glory, becoming
the finest example of humility, and took upon Himself death on the cross for
the sake of humankind’s salvation (Philippians 2:6-8). Otherwise we remain in
the sin of selfishness which leads us to a variety of innumerable sins. By His
Incarnation Christ saved humankind and showed the way of salvation. It is up to
us to select that road, stay away from sin and to show through our deeds that
we live in unity with Christ. Knowing the commandments of the Bible is
worthless if we are not attentive to their implementation. We will be like the
house built on sand, which collapses in the face of the wind and rain (Matthew
7:27). Complete faithfulness to Christ and His teachings are necessary so that
we do not fall into temptations and moral missteps. Being estranged from Christ
is the sin of sins, and as St. Paul says, “…the wages of sin is death,” (Romans
6:23). We were renewed through Christ. We became new people. Let us pray to
always remain as our “new self” and be worthy of and a part of God’s plan for
salvation. Our Graceful and Holy Patriarch, Catholicos Nerses, offered this
song and great request to God from the Holy See of Cilicia in Rhomkla:
Renewer of Oldness,
Renew also me,
Adorn me anew.
Yes,
let us become our “new self,” renewed by Christ’s Incarnation and sacrifice.
Let us kill the “self” in us, and with unselfish love come together with
sincerity and a clean soul to be worthy of such a costly salvation. Let us
follow the message of St. Paul to “clothe ourselves with the new self, created
according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians
4:23).
In
addition to being Christians, we are the children of the Armenian nation. We
are prepared to follow the teachings of our faith, but we also have the imperative
to carry out all of our obligations which are necessary for our Armenian
identity. This awareness binds us to our Homeland and to all of our sisters and
brothers throughout the world and keeps us connected to our history, heroism,
culture, and vision. The life of the Armenian is a constant struggle. Along
with our everyday concerns of life, we see ourselves as a part of our history, knowing
that the 21st century Armenian has the obligation of enriching
Armenian history and being a worthy link in the 4,000-year old chain of
Armenian history. Otherwise, when we are weak-willed, indifferent, and
negligent toward our national obligations, we fall into national sin, the wages
of which is national death.
Christ’s
birth brought the Good News of Salvation. As Christians we welcome the season
of the Nativity with joy and gratitude. As children of the Armenian nation, we
must greet the news of our national salvation with responsibility and
awareness, so that our sacred soil, our history, and our multi-treasured
culture will always be heralded and become a source of inspiration, pride and
victory.
On
the occasion of the New Year and the Holy Nativity I congratulate our faithful
people and wish you a healthy, long and happy life.
Christ
was born and revealed.
ARCHBISHOP
OSHAGAN
Prelate
Eastern
Prelacy of the Armenian
Apostolic Church of America
Holy Nativity 2011 Click here for the Armenian Version of the Prelate's 2011 Christmas Message
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