"When Augustus reigned alone upon earth, the many kingdoms of men came to end: and when Thou wast made man of the pure Virgin, the many gods of idolatry were destroyed. The cities of the world passed under one single rule; and the nations came to believe in one sovereign Godhead. The peoples were enrolled by the decree of Caesar; and we, the faithful, were enrolled in the Name of the Godhead, when Thou, our God, wast made man. Great is Thy mercy: glory to Thee." (Orthodox Vespers of the Nativity of Christ, by Cassia the Nun)
Caesar and Christ: in the imagination of the church the coming of Christ and the leaven of the Kingdom kneaded into the world by the apostles and their successors brings out the envy of Satan and leads to the diabolical anointing of anti-christ. The first shadows of diabolic opposition creep over the heart of Herod, Caesar's man in Judea, and he seeks to slay Him. Satan enters Judas, for thirty pieces, so he betrays God's Anointed. They advance as Caesar's man, Pilate, washes his hands of any obligation to protect God's Innocent One.
The Living Presence of the Crucified and Risen One is welcomed by the lowly, the slaves--Jew, Greek, and Barbarian--who refuse to offer incense to the deity of Caesar. Rounded up and slain in their thousands, their blood becomes the seedbed of the Church, which continues the proclamation of Jesus Christ, that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him, as in baptism in the Name of the Three the nations "were enrolled in the Name of the Godhead."
Such is the power of the Crucified One, born in a lowly manger, that the generations during the years of the Empire most often dispute not his divinity but whether or not this obviously divine One was really also man, like us, or only came in the appearance of man. (Today it is his divinity that is disputed, not his humanity.)
As the centuries roll by, various would-be Caesars arise--they always, always must challenge the hated Crucified One if they cannot use Him for their own purposes. They cannot submit to or endure the day of His coming as King of kings and Lord of lords. Yet He endures, filling new lands and hearts with true faith, hope and love, and with the knowledge that Peace on Earth began in a feeding trough in Bethlehem, House of Bread.
As to the idolatrous Babels of man, the Lord says: "Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor." This Child born in the Manger, sought by Herod, handed over by Pontius Pilate, and hated by tyrants, yet remains Lord, Everlasting, Unshakable.
A Blessed and Merry Christmas to all!
And to all of you at Touchstone and Mere Comments, as well!
Posted by: Beth from TN | December 23, 2009 at 05:02 PM