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Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
The appointed Gospel for this coming Sunday After the Nativity (Matt. 2:13-23), is a stark and violent reminder that all was not "peace of earth" when Christ was born. The "dark side" of the Christmas story is the massacre of the innocents. Of course, we trust God's providential care for His creation, but that darkness manifested then continues to take its toll on the world today.
Below is one more stark reminder of that same "massacre of the innocents" which is a result of the barbarous and horrific war that Putin and Russia have unleashed against Ukraine and its citizens. This was shared with me by our fellow-parishioner, Jeffrey Robinson, who will explain his source of an eye-witness account of what is happening on the ground.
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Fr. Steven,
When I lived in Germany, I traveled many times to Zaporozhya Ukraine to teach. Below is an update from a colleague about the present conditions there. I can’t even fathom the suffering. These people are facing, and it makes me extremely sad to think of some of the dear people. I know that live in that city. Lord have mercy!
“Ukrainians travel – some to safer places within Ukraine itself, others leaving the country for safer places in Western Europe. Many Ukrainians do not travel anywhere – they are too old or too infirmed. Our ZBS Director of Development wrote that the invading forces are killing as many civilians as possible, destroying as much infrastructure as possible, and making life as unbearable as they can for Ukrainians. He wrote, “Every single day, every single night is a matter of survival.”
Another colleague wrote that it is hard to celebrate Christmas this year with destruction and horror all around, every day, all night long.”
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The Ukrainian Christmas is celebrated on what the Orthodox refer to as the "Old Calendar," and that means on January 7. We pray that the birth of the Light of the world will bring some deep consolation to a suffering people on that day. The spirit of the Ukrainian people is very strong. They have endured great hardship. When peace finally prevails there, I certainly hope that it is an honorable and lasting peace - not one imposed by diplomatic pressure that does not really have Ukraine's sovereignty and integrity as a democratic nation as a priority.
