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.