Day 39

In the final chapter of our book, Archimandrite Vassilios talks about a harsh reality: In the midst of the joy, the peace and the good will that we have come to experience during this Holy Season…we come face to face with darkness, with evil.

The Gospel Reading from Matthew in the Ninth Hour of the Royal Hours of the Nativity, which I have just returned from serving, speaks to this evil that is intricately linked to our celebration of Christ’s Nativity:

16Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

While it may be difficult to reconcile this evil with the joy of the Nativity, it serves as a reminder to us of a few things:

• Evil has made an effort to disrupt God’s plan of salvation all along. We see examples of this all through the Old Testament and especially in the New Testament. We even see it to this present day
• We are reminded of the reason that the Word of God has become flesh, to give us the opportunity to escape this evil.
• Evil does not, and cannot, truly understand the will of God.

St. John says in his Gospel that “…the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Christ’s birth, while joyous and wondrous, is a birth into a fallen world. In time, this birth will transform this world. This “Light” will outshine the darkness. Why? Because the darkness cannot understand the power of God’s love for His creation.

Imagine for a moment that you are in a windowless room with no light at all. It is complete darkness. Then…you light a candle. Immediately the darkness begins to be pushed back. Christ’s birth is that candle in a dark world.

In Christ