Today we remember the Holy Prophet Nahum
The Prophet preached that God rules the course of times and judges the people with justice.
The prophecy of Nahum in the late seventh century, B.C. is a cry of joy over the fall of Nineveh, who had taken the Jews into exile. Nahum describes Nineveh, “Ah! The bloody city, all lies, full of plunder, whose looting never stops!” (3:1). Ah! How that describes those who worship power in the world today, tyrants and terrorists. Nahum says that God will destroy them all, “A jealous and avenging God is the Lord, an avenger is the Lord, full of wrath; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries, and rages against his enemies; the Lord is slow to anger, yet great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished” (1:2-3).
The kingdom of Jesus is not of this world, and at Christmas, he, too, must go into exile to escape the wrath of Herod. But his spiritual kingdom will overcome the kingdoms of power and cruelty in this world, “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33). On the feast of Christmas, in the humility of the cave, we celebrate and rejoice in the birth of the true King, whose name is “peace.” And so Nahum consoles us, “At this moment on the mountains, the footsteps of one bearing good news, of one announcing peace! Celebrate your feasts, Judah, fulfill your vows!”
Meditation by Archpriest David Petras