On the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ, December 22, the feast of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Poisons, Archbishop Makarios of Australia presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Church of All Saints in the suburb of Belmore, Sydney. He was accompanied by Fr. Christos Triantafyllou, who recently retired after fifty years of service in the Parish of All Saints, and by his successor in the ministry, Fr. Dimitrios Papaikonomou.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, addressing the large congregation gathered at the church, and in the presence of Ioannis Chrysoulakis, former Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, the Archbishop reflected on the significance of the feast, which honors the memory of the fleshly ancestors of Christ.
“One reason why the Church honors their memory,” he explained, “is to emphasize that the birth of Christ is not a myth or a fabricated story, but a historical reality.
Jesus is a person who was born, lived, and walked through human history. He had relatives and a genealogical lineage, all of which confirm that He was a real person and not a utopian figure.”
Then, addressing a cherished tradition of our time—the exchange of gifts during the Christmas season—the Archbishop encouraged the faithful to present a gift to the celebrant, Jesus Christ Himself: to offer Him their sins. “Because Christ became man, so that man might become God,” he emphasized.
“But for man to become God, he must first be absolved of his sins,” he added, emphasizing that the first and most important step in this journey is acknowledging our own sinfulness.
“When we acknowledge our sins,” he continued, “we can then seek the mercy of Christ and the Church through confession.
This is the greatest gift we can offer to Christ and the most valuable investment for eternal life, for the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Concluding his address, Archbishop Makarios encouraged the faithful to refrain from criticizing others, emphasizing that such behavior is a significant trap of the devil, as it “distracts us and hinders us from recognizing our true selves.”
“Because a person who constantly judges and gossips about others will not find the time to engage in their own spiritual growth,” he remarked.
Summarizing his message for the upcoming great feast of Christianity, he urged everyone “to celebrate Christmas in a different, spiritual way, approaching the manger of the newborn Christ ready to offer what burdens us internally and is unnecessary.
In this way, we can truly realize that Christ came into the world to make man divine!”
