December 24, 2023 – Osaka Church
Today is the Nativity, a joyous feast. Why is it so joyous, you ask? Because God was born as a human being. Ancient churches, including our present Orthodox church, have continuously proclaimed the astonishing gospel that ‘God became human so that humanity could become divine.’ Of course, humans can never become God, but the hope to ‘become godlike’ has been given to us.
For a long time, people didn’t understand what it meant to be ‘godlike.’ However, after God was born as a person, as Jesus Christ, it was understood that ‘living like God’ meant living like Jesus. How so?
Christ did nothing wrong, yet He was crucified and killed. But at that moment, the Lord prayed to the Heavenly Father for those who arrested Him, spoke ill of Him, beat Him, mocked Him, hated Him… for the fearful crowd that shouted, ‘Crucify Jesus,’ even though they knew He was innocent. He prayed, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’
This is what it means to live like God. It’s about ‘loving.’ Jesus taught us to forgive. Not only did He teach, but He demonstrated forgiveness Himself. Then, Christ, after dying on the cross, resurrected on the third day. God became human, experienced suffering as a human, died as a human, and then resurrected. He didn’t return to the original form of God but resurrected as a person with a body and a soul as ours. At that moment, we humans also experienced resurrection.
You might think this is foolishness. However, the church believes in it. Believing in Christ’s resurrection, making a commitment to live like Christ, entrusting hope to Christ, and continuing to share that hope with others in the church, the ‘community’ of Christ’s body and sharing in the sacraments, leads to transformation. From a life dominated by death, being disconnected from God who is the source of life even though we breathe, essentially living as though dead, to once again, following the way God initially showed humans and becoming more and more like God… This is the entrance to resurrection and revival, standing once again with Christ. So, how should we then live?
It begins with sorrow. When we have an argument with someone, before pondering who was right or wrong, let’s grieve over the fact that we engaged in the argument. Let’s mourn the fact that we, as humans, end up in conflicts. Without this sorrow, nothing begins. Then, pray earnestly for the strength to apologize and forgive. From there, living like God begins. It’s the first step toward ‘living like God; living like Christ.’ The strength to walk this path isn’t through our efforts but is already prepared by God for the church, the ‘body of Christ.’
We live amidst a crowd of people who mock it as wishful thinking, childish fairy tales. Therefore, it’s essential to constantly gather, first letting go of grudges and animosity among ourselves, forgiving each other, confirming the hope given on this Christmas day, and rejoicing together.
The Apostle Paul encourages us in this manner: ‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.’ Christ is born!