Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Ruslan Babii on the Twenty-eighth Sunday after Pentecost
December 20, 2025
In these final days of the holy Nativity Fast, let us cleanse our hearts. Let us cast off the burden of sins, vanity, resentment, and fear. Let us immerse ourselves in contemplation of the great mystery of godliness—the manifestation of the Son of God in the world. Let us open the Holy Scriptures, look closely at the history of His ancestors, and find there a reflection of our own soul.
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ!
Today, on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ, the Holy Church once again turns our gaze to the beginnings of the history of salvation. We stand on the threshold of a great mystery—the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, a mystery which, by God’s providence, the Lord promised already in Paradise to our first parents, Adam and Eve.
And so, once again, as we listen to the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ, we experience a true spiritual journey through the centuries, one that leads us to the manger of the Child of Bethlehem. The humanity of the Old Testament awaited the coming of the Saviour with deep sorrow and hope. Generations succeeded one another, kingdoms passed, nations rose and fell, yet God’s promise remained unshaken…
Yet among the chosen people, who were meant to be the guardians of the promise, doubt gradually grew: Why does the Lord delay? Why does the promised joy take so long to arrive?
And now, in these final days before Christmas, the Church opens to us the genealogy of Christ—a sacred chain of names in which the entire journey of humanity toward the Saviour is reflected. In this way, the Church strengthens us in faith, reminding us that our Lord came to us by taking on human flesh, entering into our lineage and into the whole of our history. He took upon Himself the sins of His ancestors and of all humanity, in order to redeem and restore us to life in God, to free us from the slavery of sin, and to raise us to sonship and to the dignity of the children of God.
When we listen attentively to this genealogy, we see not only the names of holy people, but also those who fell into grave sins, errors, and disappointments. There are also four women mentioned who, according to the Law, were considered sinners. This is not accidental: the Lord shows us that His mercy extends to every person, no matter how unworthy they may appear in the eyes of the world. God is able to inscribe even a wounded and dark human life into His saving plan. For He came not for the sinless, but for those who need forgiveness and the restoration of true life in the Spirit.
The Evangelist Matthew presents the genealogy in three parts: from Abraham to David, from David to the Babylonian exile, and from the exile to Christ. This is the entire history of the chosen people—from the patriarchs to the kings, from the kings to the high priests. And in this history, as Saint John Chrysostom says, it is evident that no change of authority—neither royal, nor judicial, nor priestly—was able to make the people better. Therefore, as Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria explains, humanity needed a true King, a true Judge, and a true High Priest—Christ.
In the figures of Abraham, David, the righteous and the sinners, we read not only the history of the Jewish people, but our own history. For this is the story of how God patiently and gently leads humanity to salvation, despite our weaknesses and betrayals. It is the story of our adoption by God, the story of forgiveness brought by Christ at the price of His own sacrifice.
The Sunday before the Nativity of Christ prepares us to receive a gift incomparable to any earthly value: the gift of God’s love, the gift of His presence, the gift of kinship with Him. In the cave of Bethlehem we encounter the One who rejects no one—the One who receives and justifies all who come to Him in faith, the One who embraces every wounded soul, who enters into our darkness in order to kindle light.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in these final days of the holy Nativity Fast, let us cleanse our hearts. Let us cast off the burden of sins, vanity, resentment, and fear. Let us immerse ourselves in contemplation of the great mystery of godliness—the manifestation of the Son of God in the world. Let us open the Holy Scriptures, look closely at the history of His ancestors, and find there a reflection of our own soul. For Christ comes precisely so that each of us, living in weakness, sins, and temptations, may be reborn and embraced by God.
May the Nativity of Christ become for us not merely a feast, but an encounter with the One who became Man for our sake. May this encounter change our hearts, purify our thoughts, strengthen our trust, and lead us to the heavenly Father!
Amen.
