Love is Sacrifice - Fr. Micah - December 19, 2021

Today on the Sunday before the Nativity, the Gospel lesson is taken from Matthew 1:1-25. In this pericope, we hear the genealogy of Jesus Christ and all generations beginning with Abraham. We also hear the fulfillment of a prophecy from Isaiah 7:14, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). Fr. Micah reflects on the name Emmanuel and encourages us to remember that no one has loved more than Jesus who sacrificed His life for the world. In the Incarnation, God shows His deep, abiding, and self-emptying love for us by becoming a child. Do we as Orthodox Christians love God with self-offering and sacrifice? Before we can love we must have more than an intellectual awareness of God's love. When we remember that God loved us first, we come to the point where we feel loved producing a response of humility and love for God and others.