Let us all see to it that Christ is born everywhere from the ends of the earth, from the surplus or surplus of our love.
It was once, more than fifty years ago, when Fr Chrysostomos Papasarantopoulos was visiting Africa and then Fr Chariton Pneumatakis, seeing the sincere spiritual need of the Africans, did not limit themselves to the white Orthodox, but became the pioneers and founders of the Orthodox Foreign Mission. They built the Fatni that would welcome the Redeemer to the African land.
The Orthodox Church has never had a colonial and expansionist character. It came to Africa only to spread the word of the Gospel . He did not come to take something from this aching continent, but to give, to give the love of all of you who respect the creature of God and are lagging behind to offer a plate of food, a medicine, a garment and above all, a new Christian to the Church of Christ.
Many people say that the Church is in danger these days. But the Church is not in danger and will never be in danger because it is a God-centred, Christ-centred organisation. What is in danger is man, who is turning away from God and is being carried away by temporary and dangerous materialism. In our traditionally Orthodox homeland, the Church may be subject to a modern persecution because it stands in the way of plans for atheistic globalisation, but in other countries, however poor, orthodoxy is flourishing.
Christmas stories
“Christ is born, ye glorified” will also be heard in the mud huts, in the grass and straw temples of Africa. The desert, the savannah and the jungle will be filled with chanting. Young and old in these makeshift structures with their grass and tin roofs, or under the hot sun of the countryside, will welcome the newborn Christ. The one who came for the salvation of all people. The Mass will end. But the difference will be great. Our indigenous brothers and sisters will feel the great and important message coming from the heavenly places. All together in one voice will praise the Divine Infant and plead for the “peace on earth” that this region so desperately needs.
Families will return to their homes and jobs so that they can secure a quarter of rice and a few beans to survive this day. The street children will go back to their haunts, to the places from which they expect to live and feed in the dumps. The day will end with many children and others having followed Christ up there in heaven. No lamentations, no wailing. Their destiny they know. “We have no money to go to the doctor, nor do we have money for food. We are at the mercy of God.”
Last Christmas, thirteen-year-old Sophia, the eldest daughter of Elizabeth, our deaconess, who was suffering from epilepsy, came to church for the last time, celebrated, shared and ate with all of us. When she returned to their hut, in a fit of epilepsy she fell and hit her head on a stone, where she breathed her last. The next day, simply in a complete silence, Fr. Basil celebrated the Funeral Mass. Her mother was expecting it, but she didn’t know when. Her father had long since abandoned them. In Burundi there are neither specialized doctors nor medicines for epilepsy, as for many diseases.
And yet, despite the pain and suffering, Christ is born daily in the hearts of Africans, who become manger to welcome Christ the Messiah, the One in whom they place their hopes, and in His Church, the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church of Christ, the Church of love and peace, the Church of the universal world, the Church of hope, the Church of the Evangelization of the Nations.
Let us all see to it that Christ is born everywhere from the ends of the earth, from the surplus or surplus of our love. Let us give joy to the pained faces, let us wipe away the tears that run from the eyes of these little innocent African brothers and sisters of ours, victims of exploitation and wars. Let us all live for a moment the drama of the poor and suffering people , begging for help, for a plate of food, for a pair of slippers, for a visit to a doctor. May Christ be born in the hearts of all of us.
Merry Christmas and a Blessed and Merciful New Year.
With the love of Christ and brotherly embraces,
† Burundi and Rwanda Savas
