My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!
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THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI (Part II)
Wherefore, it is written: "They fell down and worshiped Him, and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts", fulfilling the commandment: "None shall appear before Me empty" (Ex. Ch. 23). And what were their gifts? Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They brought gold as befitting a king, frankincense for Him that is God, and myrrh to One Who would taste death, for the Jews used myrrh, which masks the foul odor, in preparing corpses for burial (Saint Theophylact). Thus did the three kings honor one of the Trinity with gifts, indicating thereby that He is one in two natures as Saint Leo says: "They brought frankincense to God, myrrh to Him Who is a man and would undergo death, and gold to the King, rightly honoring the Divine and human natures in a single hypostasis. Offering gifts, they showed their devotion to Him in Whom they believed with their hearts."
Being "warned in a dream" by an Angel "that they should not return to Herod", who plotting to murder the newborn King, the Magi "departed into their own country another way" (Matthew, Ch. 2). There, according to the trustworthy testimony of Nicephorus, they preached that Christ was the Son of God come into the world, and taught the people to believe in Him, as they themselves did. It is certain that after they died the Wise Men were numbered in the choir of the Saints.
One of the Magi was called Melchior and was old and gray. He had long hair and brought gold to the King and Master. Another was named Caspar. He was young, beardless, and had a ruddy complexion. His gift to God Incarnate was frankincense. The third, Balthasar, was bearded, very dark, and presented myrrh to the Son of Man, Who would undergo death. Many years after the Wise Men departed this life, their remains were translated to Constantinople. Later, the holy relics were removed to Milan, then to Cologne, unto the glory of Christ God in the flesh.
A Narrative of the Most Pure Virgin Mary's Flight into Egypt with the Newborn Divine Child. (Matthew, Ch. 2).
After the Wise Men left Bethlehem, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and instructed him to flee to Egypt with the newborn Babe, Jesus Christ, and His Mother, the Most Pure Virgin Mary. The Angel told Joseph to remain in that country until he received the command to return, for Herod intended to "seek the young Child, to destroy Him" (Matthew, Ch. 2). Joseph arose, and "took the young Child and His Mother by night, and departed into Egypt", but before leaving the country, he fulfilled in the Temple of Solomon everything commanded by the Law of the Lord; for the days of the purification of the immaculate and blameless Mother of God were drawing to an end. In the Temple of Jerusalem, the Lord was met by the elder Symeon and Anna the prophetess. After accomplishing everything required, Joseph and Mary went to their house in Nazareth, as Saint Luke says: "And when they had performed all things according to the Law of the Lord, they returned unto Galilee, to their own city Nazareth" (Luke, Ch. 2). From this it is evident that they did not go directly from Bethlehem to Egypt, but first to the Lord's Temple, then to Nazareth, and only afterward to Egypt. In his Explanation of the Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Theophylact writes: "How is it that St. Luke says that after the Lord was born, forty days passed, and then He was held in Symeon's arms and went to Nazareth; while St. Matthew tells us that the Lord went to Nazareth after returning from Egypt? Understand that Luke speaks about things on which Matthew is silent. Luke says that after the birth, the forty days passed; then the Lord went to Nazareth. Matthew tells us what happened afterward that He fled into Egypt, then returned from there to Nazareth. They do not contradict one another. Luke informs us of the journey from Bethlehem to Nazareth, Matthew of the return from Egypt to Nazareth, which took place later."
After arriving in Egypt, the travelers found themselves in the Thebaid, approaching Hermopolis. Near the gates of the city, there was a very beautiful tree called "Persea," which, on account of its imposing height, the idolatrous people worshipped as a god, offering it sacrifices. When the Immaculate Mother of God and the Divine Infant drew near this tree, it began to tremble violently, and the demon who dwelt within it fled. Then the tree bent over so far its top touched the ground, thus professing its Creator the adoration that was His due, and showing its respect for His Mother, the Most Pure Virgin. The holy travelers stopped to rest beneath it, sheltering themselves from the sun in its abundant shade. The tree thereafter remained bent, as a testimony to Christ-God's flight into Egypt, and its leaves acquired the power to heal all diseases.
The Most Pure Mother of God and Christ remained for some time in Egypt, but it is uncertain exactly how long. Saint Epiphanius asserts that it was for two years...as the Gospel says: "They were "there until the death of Herod" (Matthew, Ch. 2). After the massacre of the children in Bethlehem, the wretched king perished miserably and the Angel appeared again to Joseph in a dream, commanding him to return to the land of Israel, since they were "dead which sought the young Child's life." Joseph departed with the Child and His Mother for Judea, the largest and most important division of Israel, "but when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither." Herod the Great had three sons: Archelaus; Herod Antipas; and Philip, the youngest. After he died, they all went to Rome, each with the hope of inheriting his father's kingdom. Caesar refused to appoint any of them king, and instead divided the realm into four parts, designating the brothers tetrarchs. As Caesar was dismissing the brothers, he promised to grant the royal title to Archelaus, if he succeeded in governing well the domain entrusted to him. It turned out, however, that the son was no better than the father, torturing and executing many. No sooner did he arrive in Jerusalem than he slew 3,000 people. Likewise, on one of the great Jewish feasts, he slaughtered a multitude of citizens immediately in front of the entrance to the Temple. Eventually, he was denounced before Caesar for his cruelty, removed from power, and exiled. When Joseph, therefore, was visited by the same Angel that had appeared to him before and was informed that the wicked Archelaus was ruler in Judea, he went to Galilee, where Herod Antipas ruled less brutally. Joseph returned to his house in Nazareth and remained there with the Divine Child and the immaculate Virgin. Thus the saying concerning Christ the Lord "spoken by the Prophets" was fulfilled, for they had foretold that He "would be called a Nazarene." Unto Him be glory forever. Amen. (Source: The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George