CHRISTMAS 2025 - The New Child and the children of the world

CHRISTMAS 2025

The New Child and the children of the world

Today, we stand once again before the manger of Bethlehem, where the great and incredible miracle is taking place. Today, a new Child is born—the eternal God. Today, heaven and earth rejoice; angels and humans spiritually celebrate together. Today, everything and everyone are united. God is present on earth, and humanity ascends to the heavens. The Son of God becomes incarnate and sanctifies all of nature, revealing the inestimable value of every human person. The timeless God accepts a beginning and enters the world to grant us eternity. The uncontainable One is contained in a cave and is surrounded by the pure affection of the All-Holy Virgin and the protection of righteous Joseph. The Rich One becomes poor for our sake, so that we might become rich. The humble God-man is revealed, exalting the human race. Today, the Sun of Righteousness has risen, and the loving-kindness of God spreads over the whole world as an unwaning light, bestowing hope and salvation on every soul that thirsts to taste love, that suffers and seeks consolation, and that longs to find truth, the meaning of life, and pure humanity.

The loving-kindness of God, revealed in the birth of Christ, is without self-interest: “He who is uncontainable in everything” is contained in the manger, not to demand but to give. The eternal God becomes the Divine Infant and enters human history without claims. The Infant of Bethlehem does not offer power that imposes itself, but love that is silent and remains. Thus, in this way, it is revealed that salvation is born not from might, but from relationship; not from fear but from trust. Through the weakness of the Divine Infant shines the power of divine humility. Nothing moves and draws God more than humble care and concern for one’s fellow human being.

Tthe humble birth of Christ overthrows the brutality of tyrants. Through the light of the Divine Infant, every form of violence is revealed as darkness. The Nativity brings peace on earth, as the Prophet foretold: “A Child shall be born to us … who will bring peace” (Isaiah 9:6). The Apostle Paul emphasizes this: “He, Christ, is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). Who can gaze upon the image of Christ in the manger and find tranquility? Who can celebrate the event of the Incarnation and not imitate Christ, who offers and is offered, who receives gifts and Himself distributes His own gifts? Who can fail to follow the three Magi who brought Him gifts, and not offer in turn the precious gifts of joy, peace, and compassion to one’s neighbor? For whoever offers himself to his fellow human being is as though he has offered himself to Christ.

It is customary during the holidays to give many gifts to children so as to show them our love —and in this we do well. At Christmas, God reveals the inestimable value of the child, not with words, but through the manner of His presence. As the Divine Infant, He sanctifies every child who comes into the world. Thus, the child is not merely a hope for the future but, far more, a bearer of the present reality of the Kingdom.

Yet as we stand in awe before the manger, our hearts bend with sorrow for the children of today’s world whose lives do not know the peace of Bethlehem. The cry and pain of the innocent do not cease. The powers of this world continue what Herod began, attempting to destroy the Divine Infant through violence, to neutralize the power of love, and to tarnish the purity of human existence so as not to lose their dominion over people.

This destructive violence echoes today in countless forms: in the killing of children through war and hatred; in the silent destruction of the unborn; in the shameful exploitation of minors; in abandonment and abuse by parents and social groups; in every act that wounds the dignity of those that are smallest and most vulnerable.

We cannot remain silent before such suffering! The Child of Bethlehem—who became a refugee and grew up under the shadow of violence—identifies Himself with every child whose life is threatened, whose body is violated, whose soul is turned into an object of exploitation, and whose hope is darkened by fear.

The protection of children is not merely a social obligation; it is a divine command; a sacred ministry performed in the daily life of the faithful. Christ tells us: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (Matthew 18:5).

Parents bear a vital responsibility: they are called to be guardians of life, examples of loving relationships, and not domineers of consciences. Parenthood is a sacred service. The child is not our possession, nor an extension of our unfulfilled desires. It is a unique person, an image of God, an inheritance of freedom. Every word that humiliates, every act that frightens, every silence that abandons, every violation of freedom that fosters greed and irresponsibility carve wounds that accompany the child throughout its life.

Yet responsibility does not end with the family. Every Christian, every community, every parish is summoned to become a place of protection, healing, and hope. We must not close our eyes or cover evil in the name of a false peace. Silence in the face of abuse is complicity, and the Church is called to be the voice of the defenseless.

“In Bethlehem the Word is born to refashion the people of the earth; and He takes flesh so that we may inherit incorruption.” This inheritance is not earthly wealth or temporary security, but participation in the very life of God. Through the birth of Christ, we inherit communion instead of isolation, hope instead of fear, immortality instead of death. The Child of Bethlehem takes upon Himself our poverty, our fragility, and our mortality, and in exchange gives us the riches of divine life and the promise of a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

The Divine Infant of Bethlehem entrusts Himself to our care, asking what inheritance we will leave behind. Having received the divine inheritance of life in Christ, we have the responsibility to pass on to our children a world not founded on wealth and profiteering, one that does not produce violence and misanthropy but a world grounded in the dignity and respect of every human life, in the possibility of creating relationships of love, in mutual trust, loving-kindness, and peace; a world that continually sings with the angels: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men.”

†Kyrillos
Metropolitan of Rhodes,
President of the Patriarchal Network

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