About the #Incarnation of the Word #Jesus and the #Nativity period
Beloved and respected members who follow the orthodox education and spiritual service that we convey on John's Repentance page, we send you this writing about the nativity and incarnation of Christ written by Bishop Youssef of the Coptic Orthodox Church because it is important to understand the mistery of incarnation, so we entrust you to read it and learn from it.
Upon the Feast of the Incarnation of the Word, it is important to reflect upon the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He represents. St. John in His Holy Gospel wrote, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (1:1) and the Apostle also wrote, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (1:14) Through these Holy Scriptures we learn that the Lord Jesus Christ is God, for He was with God before all times. This is the reason we recite, "We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only begotten Son of God…" in the Nicene Creed.
Lactantius (c.304) wrote, "He who hears the Son of God mentioned should not conceive in his mind so great an impiety as to think that God begat Him by marriage and union with a woman…In what manner, then, did God beget Him? First of all, divine operations cannot be known or declared by anyone. Nevertheless, the sacred writings teach us…that this Son of God is the speech or even the reason of God…With good reason, therefore, He is called the Speech and the Word of God. For, by a certain incomprehensible energy and power of His Majesty, God enclosed the vocal spirit proceeding from His mouth into a form that has life through its own perception and wisdom. So God did not conceive the Word in His womb, but in His mind…Now, our human words are mingled with the air and they fade away. However, they can still be preserved in writing. How much more must we believe that the voice of God both remains forever and is accompanied with perception and power? It has derived this from God the Father like a stream from a fountain. Someone may be puzzled that God could be produced from God the Father by putting forth of the voice and breath. However, if such a person is acquainted with the sacred utterances of the prophets, he will cease to wonder…The Greeks speak of Him as the Logos, more appropriately that we Romans do as the "Word" or "Speech." For logos means both speech and reason. And He is both the Voice and the Wisdom of God."
His birth on earth was not His actual beginning, as the Lord Jesus Christ is without beginning. He has existed forever, for all times. From the very beginning the Incarnation was planned. This is the reason we recite in the Nicene Creed, "Begotten of the Father before all age; Light of Light, true God of true God…"
St. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195), a learned and respected scholar who was in charge of the theological college in Alexandria, Egypt, wrote, "That the Son was always the Word is signified by saying, 'In the beginning was the Word."
Clearly we understand that He was born a man, "for He became flesh." He was like the earthly human but without sin dwelling among us. He was born both as God and man never denying His Divinity. The two are united without confusion between them. God has entered into earthly history as a man.
Thus with understanding we recite, "Begotten not created, of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made; Who for us, men, and for our salvation, came down from Heaven, and was incarnated of the Holy Spirit and became man" in the Nicene Creed.
About #repentance, #confession, #father of #penance
👉👉🏾Question: Thank God for answering all my questions and I have benefited from the answer. The next questions I have are :-
👉#1. How to choose a confessor and
👉#2. How to prepare to confess my sins?
Answer: Dear member; askng more questions and being eager to bear spiritual fruit based on what we learned previously is truly commendable. We entrust you to persevere in your purpose until the end, we too will do our best to serve you in all your way. To repent or to come to a life of repentance and to confess your sins as a priority and to prepare for repentance is really the loyalty expected of a true Christian. God is a God of love, He always waits for us to return from our sins, with an open arms and call us His children.
When the prophet Ezekiel said that God does not like the death of a person and loves the return of a person to repentance, he said, "“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!” (Ezekiel 18:30-32)
If we quote this word as an introduction; When we come to the question proposed by our questioner, let's start with your 2nd question, what should we do before we repent and after we repent?
The following are mainly mentioned in the emotional and practical processes that are important if a believer is to do the awareness or understanding before he reaches the repentance of the believer.
- Genuine repentance: Before we repent, we must confess our sin and feel remorse. This type of regret follows failure, embarrassment, shame, loss, mistakes. A person who knows his sinfulness thinks about his transgression against God, other people, and his own soul. He mainly hates the sin he committed. The kindling of this kind of feeling in us is one of the signs of our vitality that explains why we do not lie comfortably on the bed of sin. As the prophet advised us, "If you repent and cry, you will be saved" (Isaiah 30:15). Crying for the sins we have committed is a great and bright way to be saved and to find forgiveness for our sins.
- Hating sin: One of the behaviors that help us easily hate sin is fearing God. The wise Solomon said, "He who fears God hates sin; "He hates envy and pride, and hates evil ways" (Proverbs 8:13). The great holy father Mar Isaac told us the great spiritual truth that if we do not hate the sin that we are repeatedly tempted by, it will reign on us. Abhorrence is the greatest degree of hatred, so it is necessary not only to abhor sin, but also to abhor thinking about it.
- Repentance of sin: Being ashamed of sin, hating sin, and turning back. A person who knows these well and has not come out of the slavery of sin will not hesitate for a moment to return to his former duty. Therefore, the first and most important thing that helps us not to go back to sin again is to admit that we have sinned and confess to ourselves, and to hate sin. Hating sin is the greatest force that helps us separate from sin and leave it forever. We cannot truly repent of sin while in the love of sin; Also, living in a fixable problem, we cannot fix it without separating from it.
- Bringing a change in thinking: To solve a problem in any area of our life, we must have a different perspective and desire than the one we had when the problem was created. Problems cannot be solved with a lazy mind, it is impossible to love with a hateful mind, and it is difficult to hate with a loving mind. Nor will he come to repentance with a sinful mind. Therefore, any change requires a change of thinking first. For this, our greatest powers are faith, good vision, and hope.