THE NATIVITY REFLECTION (Luke 2: 10-11)
It All Begins Here
SCRIPTURE
እንሆ፡ ሎሚ መድሓኒ ኣብ ዓዲ ዳዊት ተወሊድልኩም ስለ ዘሎ፡ - ንሱ ኸኣ ክርስቶስ ጐይታ እዩ፡ - ንዅሉ ህዝቢ ዚኸውን ዓብዪ ሓጐስ ኤበስረኩም አሎኹ እሞ፡ ኣይትፍርሁ።
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
REFLECTION
This proclamation is not poetic symbolism. It is a declaration of history and mystery united. The angel announces not an idea, but an event. On this day, the Word truly became flesh, not in appearance, not in separation, but in reality.
The birth of Christ reveals the mystery of the one incarnate nature of the Word of God made flesh. He who is eternally begotten of the Father is now born in time of the Virgin. Divinity and humanity are united without confusion, without division, without separation.
Christ is born to undo what Adam surrendered. Humanity, bound through disobedience and death, is reclaimed through obedience and life. The Savior enters the world not to negotiate with sin, but to destroy it. What was lost through the first covenant is restored through the Incarnation.
The angel says, “Do not be afraid,” because fear no longer governs creation. God has entered history. Eternity has stepped into time. Salvation is no longer distant but present.
This joy is not emotional excitement. It is ontological restoration. Humanity rejoices because it has been healed at its root. The Creator does not send help from afar; He comes Himself.
THEOLOGICAL FOCUS
The Incarnation. Miaphysite Christology. Salvation through union, not substitution.
LITURGICAL MEANING
This passage belongs to the Feast of the Nativity. It proclaims the foundation of salvation history. The Church confesses that God truly became man so that man might be restored to life with God.
PRACTICE
Reverent celebration. Confession of faith. Thanksgiving without excess.
True joy is quiet, firm, and rooted in truth.
NEW YEAR REFLECTION (ISAIAH 43:18)
It All Begins Here
SCRIPTURE
ነቲ ቐደም ዝነበረ ኣይትዘክሩ፡ ነቲ ናይ ጥንቲ ኸኣ ኣይትሕሰቡ።
“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.”
REFLECTION
Isaiah does not speak here about forgetting history, but about abandoning a former way of life. In the life of the Church, remembrance is sacred when it is ordered toward God, and destructive when it binds the soul to sin, regret, or pride. This command to forget is a call to repentance.
Each year, many speak of becoming new, yet the desire for change is often directed toward material improvement rather than spiritual renewal. External goals are pursued while the inner life remains unchanged. Isaiah confronts this false renewal. The “former things” are not merely past events, but former identities shaped by negligence, passion, and disobedience.
True newness does not begin with ambition or motivation. It begins with confession. In Orthodox life, the past is not erased through self-confidence but healed through repentance. Kneeling, fasting, prayer, thanksgiving, and obedience gradually strip away the old man and restore the soul to proper order.
To forget the former things is to refuse captivity to what has already been confessed and forgiven. Sin no longer governs the present. The mind is renewed when it turns away from what is fruitless and fixes itself on what is eternal.
Isaiah 43:18 prepares the soul for disciplined renewal. The new year is not entered with reinvention, but with deeper submission. Spiritual growth becomes not a seasonal desire, but an identity shaped by faithfulness.
THEOLOGICAL FOCUS
Repentance. Renewal of the mind. Putting off the old man.
LITURGICAL MEANING
This verse belongs naturally to ordinary time and the turning of the year. It teaches that renewal in the Church is not emotional rebirth, but sustained repentance. Life is reordered through obedience, not novelty.
PRACTICE
Confession and repentance. Consistent prayer and fasting. Watchfulness of the mind.
Ordinary weeks form endurance. Renewal here is quiet, disciplined, and lasting.
LUKE 1:47–49
It All Begins Here
SCRIPTURE
እንሆ፡ ካብ ሕጂ ዅሎም ወለዶ ብጽእቲ ኺብሉኒ እዮም።
“From now on, all generations will call me blessed.”
REFLECTION
These words are spoken in humility, not self-exaltation. Mary speaks after glorifying God and acknowledging His mercy. The blessing she names originates not in herself, but in God’s action.
She was chosen not for status or strength, but for obedience. Through her consent, the eternal entered time. Through her submission, salvation entered the world.
To call her blessed is not excess. It is truth. Generations honor her because through her obedience, God accomplished what humanity could not.
THEOLOGICAL FOCUS
The Incarnation. Obedience. Humility exalted by grace.
LITURGICAL MEANING
This passage belongs to feasts centered on the Incarnation. It teaches that salvation enters the world through obedience, not power.
PRACTICE
Humility. Submission to God’s will. Faithful remembrance.
Obedience prepares the soul to receive God’s work.
PSALM 133:1
It All Begins Here
SCRIPTURE
እንሆ፣ ኣሕዋት ብሓደ ሓቢሮም ኪነብሩስ፣ ክንደይ ሰናይን ክንደይ ጥዑምን እዩ።
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity.”
REFLECTION
This verse begins with an invitation to look closely. Unity must be seen, guarded, and lived. David describes life together not as easy, but as good and pleasant, meaning it is both righteous and life-giving.
Unity here does not mean the absence of struggle. It means remaining together under God despite differences, difficulty, and weaknesses. It requires humility, patience, and forgiveness.
From the beginning, humanity was created for communion. Division entered through sin, but God continually restores His people by gathering them back together. To dwell in unity is to reflect the order of the Kingdom.
This verse is not a suggestion. It is a calling. The path toward God is not walked alone, but together, through shared repentance and shared hope.
THEOLOGICAL FOCUS
Communal salvation. Reconciliation. Peace rooted in humility.
LITURGICAL MEANING
This Psalm aligns closely with fasting seasons and times of preparation. It reminds the faithful that prayer without peace is incomplete, and fasting without reconciliation is empty.
PRACTICE
Active reconciliation. Guarding peace. Refusing division.
Unity is preserved through patience and restraint.
PSALM 42:1
It All Begins Here
SCRIPTURE
ኢራብ ናብ ዓይኒ ማያት ከም እትናፍቕ፣ ከምኡ ኸኣ ነፍሰይ ናባኻ፣ ዎ አምላኽ፣ ትናፍቕ ኣላ።
“As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for You, O God.”
REFLECTION
This Psalm speaks from dryness. The soul longs because it has been separated from its source. Human beings are created from God and for God, and when life drifts from prayer and worship, the soul weakens.
The deer does not search for water out of curiosity, but necessity. In the same way, the soul seeks God not as an idea, but as life itself. Other things cannot satisfy because they were never meant to.
The longing described here is not failure. It is a sign of life. Thirst becomes dangerous only when it is ignored or redirected toward lesser things.
THEOLOGICAL FOCUS
The nature of the soul. Repentance. God as the source of life.
LITURGICAL MEANING
This Psalm belongs especially to fasting periods. Fasting reveals the soul’s hunger and redirects desire toward God rather than suppressing it.
PRACTICE
Faithful fasting. Increased prayer. Returning to Scripture as nourishment.
The fast teaches dependence.
PSALM 122:1
It All Begins Here
SCRIPTURE
ናብ ቤት እግዚአብሔር ንኺድ፣ ምስ በሉኒ ተሓጐስኩ።
“I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”
REFLECTION
This verse does not begin with personal feeling, but with being called. David does not say that he chose on his own to go to the house of God. He rejoices because others said to him, “Let us go.” Movement toward God begins in obedience, not in self-direction.
The joy spoken of here is quiet and rooted. It is not excitement or emotion, but alignment. The house of the Lord is not an addition to life, but the center around which life is ordered. To be called there is to be drawn back into the proper rhythm of prayer, worship, and repentance.
In every generation, the house of God is treated as optional or unnecessary. This Psalm speaks against that spirit. It reminds us that returning to the house of the Lord is not wasted time, but redeemed time. Life is restored when it is ordered around worship.
To go to the house of God is not only to enter a building, but to accept a way of life shaped by discipline, humility, and communal faithfulness. David’s joy comes from knowing that his life is being gathered again toward its true center.
THEOLOGICAL FOCUS
Ecclesiology. Obedience before enthusiasm. Communal orientation toward God.
LITURGICAL MEANING
This Psalm belongs to ordinary time. It establishes where life is centered. Christian life begins with being called into worship, not personal impulse. The house of God becomes the axis around which the week turns.
PRACTICE
Regular attendance. Stability in prayer. Faithfulness without emotional dependence.
Ordinary weeks form endurance. Joy here is steady and disciplined.