Day 25

Yesterday we learned about the Three Holy Youths and explored the story from the Book of Daniel. This story is an integral part of the Nativity season in that we see the Pre-Incarnate Word of God who will, in time, take on our flesh as a new-born babe. We read yesterday that when King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fiery furnace and saw four men in the flames, instead of just the three he had cast in, he said "...the vision of the fourth is like the Son of God."

The Church teaches us that this appearance, or manifestation, of the Word of God is referred to as the Angel of Great Council. It is in appearances like this and those of the Angel of the Lord and the Angel of God, that we see the Word of God, Who has existed with God from all eternity. And we have seen from the Gospel of John that the Word of God is He Who is born in Bethlehem, the Messiah, the Christ: Jesus of Nazareth.

What makes these manifestations important and what links them to the Nativity of Christ is the concept of salvation history. In simple terms, salvation history is the story of God and His relationship with man, His creation. It is the history of God's love for His creation, His promises, covenants, actions, guidance and deliverance.

From the moment of the Fall of man, God has worked to bring man back to that closeness we had in the Garden of Eden. Man was put out of the Garden so that He did not have to live eternally separated from God. Salvation history is the series of events from that moment unto Jesus Christ returns that tell the story of our salvation, our reuniting with God. Once completed, we will walk and talk with God in the cool of the evening as Adam and Eve did in the Garden.

Salvation history then is like a thread, woven through scripture, of God's work to bring us back to him. These events that we have been discussing, the manifestations that we are exploring, are part of that thread. The Nativity of Christ is not the end of this story, this thread, but is a part of it, a unique and important part of it. Much like our spiritual life is a process, a lifelong effort to draw near to God, so to salvation history is a process. One that will continue until we all stand at the Last Judgment.

The beautiful thing about salvation history is that it shows us that we are not alone. We have never been alone. God has had a plan to bring us back. It is up to us to recognize that plan, to accept it and to live our lives according to that plan!

In Christ

Fr. David