Augustine on Christmas
St. Augustine by Carlo Crivelli
CATHEDRAL NEWSLETTER - 21 December
Friends in Christ,
By now you should all know when and where the Christmas services are, but if not, the Cathedral website has the details
Now here's the first paragraph from Augustine's Christmas Day Sermon, #187, from over 1600 years ago... Some slow pondering will reward you with astonishment at the mysterious wonders of what God has done for us in the Incarnation of his Son!
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord (Ps 51:15);
of that Lord through whom all things were made (Jn 1:3), and who was himself made among all things;
who is the revealer of the Father, creator of his mother;
the Son of God from the Father without mother, the son of man from his mother without father;
great as the day of the angels*, little in the day of men;
the Word, God before all times, the Word, flesh at the appropriate time;
the maker and placer of the sun, made and placed under the sun;
marshaling all the ages from the bosom of the Father, consecrating this day from the womb of his mother;
remaining there, coming forth from here; producer of heaven and earth, appearing on earth under heaven;
unspeakably wise, wisely speechless as an infant;
filling the world, lying in a manger;
directing the course of the stars, sucking his mother's breasts;
so great in the form of God, so small in the form of a servant,
in such a way that neither the greatness was diminished by the smallness, nor the smallness overwhelmed by the greatness.[* the editorial footnote says: "Meaning the eternal daylight which shines on the angels, the eternal truth on which angelic intelligences feed."]
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Lastly some interesting reading for the holiday period when you have a little more time...
A Harmony of the Birth of Jesus: Matthew and Luke - a simply article with diagram by Justin Taylor
Why do Matthew and Luke offer us different nativity stories? - a much longer article by James Bejon
Reinventing Christmas In Italy - by our CMS link missionary, Jessica Cowell
Musician Turned Historian Owes his Faith to Two Women - John Dickson's story, via Anne Lim, that also demonstrates the potential of SRE (Scripture), and the value of an education at Moore College (before a secular PhD).
May the Lord bless you and keep you and grant you joy in his Incarnate Son this Christmas season!
Warmly in Christ
Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney