PUTTING OFF THE OLD, PUTTING ON THE NEW

PUTTING OFF THE OLD, PUTTING ON THE NEW

Fr Luke A Veronis

As we draw near to the radiant feast of the Nativity, the Church places before us the words of St. Paul in today’s epistle reading. . “Put off the old nature with all its practices, and put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator” (Col. 3:9–10). These words speak directly to why Christ came into the world at Christmas and what His coming means for our lives.

Christmas is not simply a sentimental feast or a nostalgic remembrance of a birth long ago. It is a revolutionary event, the proclamation of Good News of Great Joy for all people. And what is that Good News? The Son of God enters a dark, fallen, broken, sometimes evil world in order that He can make all things new; in order for Him to make us new! The Eternal Word of God becomes flesh so that our flesh, the entirety of our life, our mind, and our heart may be renewed, transformed, and reborn.

St. Paul reminds us that we all have an old self clinging to us. Our old self of our passions and self-centeredness, the old self of our anger, bitterness, jealousies, the old self of our fears, despair, and spiritual laziness, and the old self that keeps Christ outside the door of our hearts.

Jesus comes into the world, however, not simply to forgive our old, fallen nature but to re-create us into something new and beautiful. We all know the famous words of St. Athanasios, “God became man so that man might become god.” We become renewed in our union with the Lord Almighty. We become one with Him!

In other words, Christmas is not only about Bethlehem but it’s also the start of our personal Mount Tabor (our transformation) and about our personal Golgotha and Holy Sepulchre (our death and resurrection)!

Recently in our Friday morning Bible Study, we reflected on the beautiful promise of our Lord in Revelation 3, when Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Whoever hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him.”

Christ daily knocks on the door of our heart. He knocks during our prayers. He knocks as we read Holy Scriptures. He knocks through our worship in the Divine Liturgy. He knocks when we see a brother or sister in need. He knocks through every longing in our heart for something deeper, something truer, something more beautiful and more authentic in life.

He knocks but do we open the door? And as we open the door of our heart and invite Him to come in, are we putting off the old and putting on the new? St. Porphyrios reminds us that, “Christ never enters by force; He waits for us to open the door of our heart in freedom and love.”

Here lies the connection with Christmas. Yes, we celebrate Christ coming into the world 2000 years ago but the larger question is whether we celebrate Christ coming anew to be born in our heart, our life, our world?

I remember a story about a man named Alex. He had a reputation for being angry, harsh, and unapproachable. He had grown bitter after many disappointments in life and most people simply chose to avoid him.

One cold snowy day, shortly before Christmas, a young boy threw a snow ball which accidentally hit the car of Alex, who happened to be a neighbor. Alex got out of the car, ready to unleash his usual fury but before he could yell, the little boy blurted out, “Sir, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. Would you please come to our house tonight? My mom is baking Christmas bread and we’d love to share it with you. Really, come.”

This innocent, unexpected invitation pierced something in Alex. He hesitated… but he accepted. That night, he walked into his neighbor’s home, warm with light, with a candle glowing before an icon in the corner. The family welcomed their neighbor, fed him, talked with him, listened to him. This man experienced neighborly love in a way like never before. And something broke inside him. He began to weep.

Later he said, “Their kindness cracked open the door of my heart… and Christ walked in.”

From that night on, Alex was a different man. He became more gentle, patient, and helpful to all. All the neighbors noticed a difference and would later say, “Alex didn’t just celebrate Christmas that year. That was the year he was reborn. He became a new person.

This is what it looks like to put off the old and put on the new nature. This is what happens when we open the door of our heart and allow Christ to dine with us.

Putting on the new nature of Christ means choosing to forgive daily. As Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk said, “Where there is forgiveness, there is Christ.” Every act of mercy and grace we offer to others reveals another piece of the old self falling away.

Putting on the new nature of Christ means living a life of generosity and compassion. Christmas reminds us how God gave Himself fully to the world. Can we do anything less? Remember the words of Saint Basil, the clothes we have in the closet and the bread in our cupboard belong to those in need. When we give generously, we reveal our new nature in Christ.

Putting on the new nature in Christ means communing with Christ throughout the day. In our morning and evening prayers, in our prayers before meals, but also throughout the day when we turn to Him and talk with Him. Jesus is knocking. Putting on our new nature means we hear his knock and we open the door and allow Him to dine with us.

Christmas is the feast of divine-human restoration. Christ enters our world so that we may enter His. As St. Ephraim the Syrian says, “He gave us divinity, we gave Him humanity. He brought us life, and we brought Him death. He clothed us in glory, and we clothed Him in flesh.” Through Christmas we put on our new nature, we put on HIS GLORY and are filled with His Fruit – joy, peace, love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control.

So, let us approach Bethlehem asking what part of our old nature must we lay down at the manger? What part of our heart have we kept closed to Christ? The Apostle Paul reminds us to “Put off the old nature and put on the new nature in Christ.”

May this Christmas not simply be a holiday we observe, but a transformation we experience. Jesus is knocking. Let’s open up our hearts and invite Him to come and dine with us.