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Nadyka Gerbish: 听 Good morning from Lviv in Western Ukraine. I鈥檓 Nadiyka Gerbish, a Ukrainian writer and volunteer听

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Music: S Namy Bog 鈥� God with us

This Christmas is celebrated in Ukraine in the atmosphere of wartime. At Christmas, the almighty, everlasting, not created God became a mortal baby, born from an unwed teenage girl, in a soiled borrowed space in the middle of an oppressed and incapacitated province occupied by an idol-worshiping, bloodthirsty empire. God became man. Unrevealed became unrecognized. The Almighty God opened himself to the love of mortals and became vulnerable.

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As we begin our worship we join Christians around the world giving thanks for the life of Pope Benedict. The Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and President of the Ukrainian Catholic University Boris Gudziak is going to open our worship in prayer:

Prayer for Ukraine and the World led by Metropolitan Archbishop of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, President of Ukrainian Catholic University Borys Gudziak

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Music: Nebo i zemlia 鈥� Heaven and Earth today are rejoicing (Polish origin)

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Christmas in Ukraine is the most loved holiday of the year. Christmas Eve dinner is called the Holy Supper. It symbolizes communion, with the whole family gathered around one table. The wax candle is lit. The twelve traditional meals are being served 鈥� never as individual portions, but instead placed on the table in painted earthenware dishes to be passed around.

Christmas has been celebrated in times of peace and in times of wars, oppression, terror famines conducted by the evil Soviet empire, and during the times when Christmas was banned by the state and those who showed even the slightest signs of remembering the day were persecuted by the Soviets.听My grandfather, a schoolteacher who, as a son of a priest, refused to become a member of听the Communist party, once told his daughter, then a kindergartener: 鈥榳hatever they tell you, you must remember that there is God in heaven鈥�. Mom has preserved this secret knowledge throughout the years of her atheist education, and when the Soviets were finally gone, she found a church, got baptized, passed her faith on to me, shared the message with her students at the university where she taught, and later on went to Kenya to become a full-time missionary. During the many years of her ministry there, she became disinterested in any theological debates. 鈥榃hatever, I am a practician,鈥� is her typical response to a discussion. There, she can touch Jesus with her hands while wiping, nurturing, and rocking the orphaned baby, embracing an underage single mother, and bringing food and medicine to the sick, aged, neglected, imprisoned, and unloved. There, too, she can see with her physical eyes how Jesus 鈥� small, meek, and vulnerable 鈥� smiles at her in response.

On one of her visits from Kenya, Mom brought us a red and black Masai plaid cloth which I love to use as a tablecloth during the Christmas season. I consider it my humble way of adding some jazziness to the symphony of traditional celebrations.听听To observe the tradition properly,听instead of a plaid, there should be a hand-made white embroidered tablecloth. At least, on Christmas Eve.听

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Music: Spy Isuse spy (Sleep Jesus, sleep)

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In Ukrainian historical tradition, Christian believers observe not Advent, but the Nativity Fast. It begins on November 28 and lasts until January 6 according to the Gregorian calendar. This time is dedicated to preparing one鈥檚 heart for Christmas through spiritual disciplines. Prayer and fasting are combined with care for others and almsgiving; abstaining from loud parties and cheerful music is connected with serving the community, and repentance is merged with forgiving. Traditionally, fasting also means following a lean diet. On the Nativity鈥檚 Fast last day not eating anything until the first star appears in the sky is used to commemorate the hardships of Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem.听

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Music: Spy Isuse spy (Sleep Jesus, sleep)

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Throughout our worship this morning, Ukrainian historian, professor Yaroslav Hrytsak of the Ukrainian Catholic University, will tell more about the Ukrainian Christmas traditions and the origin of Ukrainian carols called kolyadky. But first a prayer. Leading out some of our prayers today is Ivanka Dymyd who is an iconographer and the mother of a deceased soldier.

Jesus, despite the thickening darkness, Christians throughout the world still celebrate the light of your incarnation. Thank you that even wars and persecutions, shortages and insecurities, sicknesses and injuries, fear and death 鈥� nothing can separate us from your love. Amen

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Yaroslav Hrytsak: I was born in a small village in Western Ukraine. There, Christmas traditions were celebrated and preserved due to the fact that Soviet power came here late, after the Second World War. This is still one of the few places in the world where Christmas is not commercialized and has an original character. The appeal of Christmas here is as contagious as ever, bringing an incurable warmth and joyfulness to all who experience it.

In local carols, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were domesticized. Accordingly, Christ is born not in warm Palestine but in winter among the frost and, together with Mary and Joseph, he suffers from the cold. A special emphasis is placed on the poverty of the Holy Family. They can鈥檛 find a place to sleep, and they are driven away like beggars and are not allowed into the houses until the poorest innkeeper takes them into his stable. They are always full of mystical light and human warmth. And most importantly, they carry the message that even the weakest and poorest are not left to fend for themselves.

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You are listening to Sunday Worship. Such a domestisized carol about Holy Family called 鈥淲hat a Miracle.鈥� It is performed by the choir of the Ukrainian Catholic University.~

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Music: Shcho to za Predyvo 鈥� 鈥榃hat a miracle鈥�

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The first mention of a Christmas carol dates back to 129, a time before Christmas existed as a holiday. The then-Bishop of Rome announced that 鈥榠n the Holy Night of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior, all shall solemnly sing the Angel鈥檚 Hymn.鈥�

听In contrast, it remains a mystery when Christmas folk songs appeared. It seems plausible that they may have been based on pagan songs, not least because their names 鈥� 鈥榗arols鈥� in English, julmusik in Swedish, and koliady in Slavic languages 鈥� are associated with pagan Songs.

A perfect example of this is 鈥楽hchedryk鈥� (鈥楥arol of the Bells鈥�), the most famous Ukrainian carol in the world, best known in Mykola Leontovych鈥檚 arrangement. It is a shchedrivka, that is, it has no Christian meaning. It originated in pre-Christian times and is not actually a Christmas song but a New Year鈥檚 song heralding the beginning of spring, telling the story of a swallow鈥檚 flight.

The carol was performed for the first time in 1916 in Kyiv, but its rise to worldwide fame is connected with the Ukrainian national revolution. Despite having fought several armies at the same time, the young Ukrainian People鈥檚 Republic suffered from a lack of international recognition. So Ukrainian leaders came up with the idea of sending a Ukrainian choir abroad under the direction of Oleksander Koshyts. The Ukrainian songs performed by this choir were to serve as an advertisement for the Ukrainian cause, and cultural diplomacy was to replace political diplomacy.

In 1922, the choir was invited to perform in New York City at Carnegie Hall. Before the end of the first act, the choir performed 鈥楽hchedryk鈥�, and this performance received rapturous applause. An American composer of Ukrainian origin, Peter Vilguski (Petro Vilkhovskyi), heard the choir sing 鈥楽hchedryk鈥� and translated the song into English, calling it 鈥楥arol of the Bells鈥�. This version has been used an incredible number of times in advertisements and movies (the most famous being the Hollywood hit, 主播大秀 Alone). Although this carol became popular in the West, it was little known in Ukraine until after the fall of communism. Despite the fact it did not have Christian symbolism, the Soviet authorities still considered it religious. After making a long journey around the world, it was revived, and 鈥楽hchedryk鈥� finally returned to its homeland.

Here is this carol performed in English by Ukrainian singer(s??) Eileen [and] Sharovaari [in a much celebrated Orchestral arrangement]

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Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells; Sharovaari Orchestral Version)

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听Nadiyka: After our reading from Luke Chapter 2听given by the historian Olenka Dzhedzhora, the Reverend Yuriy Shchurko, Dean of the Theology and Philosophy Faculty at the Ukrainian Catholic University, will give the Christmas Homily. This translation of Luke Chapter 2 is by the English New Testament theologian Tom Wright.

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Luke Chapter 2

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Revd Yuriy Shchurko: The Gospel tells about the birth of Jesus 鈥� the world's Savior 鈥� In Bethlehem. Mentioning various historical figures, Luke testifies that this event occurred in a specific historical time. God indescribably entered our lives. Life as it is. Not far-fetched, not imaginary, not some abstract, but into the actual reality of our existence with all its components... St. Evangelist John emphasizes this very clearly: 鈥淎nd the Word became flesh, and lived among us. We gazed upon his glory, glory like that of the father鈥檚 only son, full of grace and truth

鈥� (John 1:14). God, who created human beings to participate in his life, in the flesh of Jesus of Nazareth, has pitched his tent among us - this is the literal meaning of this expression in the translation from the Greek language into modern English. We can contemplate the glory of God clothed in flesh and blood. To touch God in the most intimate way connected with humanity.

The angel calls the shepherds: 鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid! Look: I鈥檝e got good news for you, news which will make everybody very happy鈥�. The fear of Adam and all his descendants, my fear, and your fear, in the end, all the fears of humankind must disappear because the Lord is near. So close that a person could not imagine it and did not even dare to dream about it. The Lord wants joy to take the place of fear 鈥� we were created for this. It should not be the joy of some one person, family, individual ethnic, or social group of people at the expense of others. No, the angel declares that it will be the joy of all the people; the joy of Gentiles and Jews, united thanks to the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of the Son of God, into one Body of the Church. A community in which Jesus destroyed fear and enmity with 听听听his saving passions. It is about this unique joy, the unification of humanity among themselves, to unite with the Lord, the consolidation of everything heavenly and earthly, that the joyful letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians was written. There, Paul describes with great admiration all God has done to destroy enmity and unite in Christ the heavenly and the earthly.

The Good News then and today is preached to those who did not consider themselves worthy of God's attention - the shepherds. The religious leaders of the people despised the shepherds because they could not go to the synagogue, study the Law, and fulfill all the commandments, given their type of activity. These simple people had to work hard, so they did not have time to show their piety... Today, a Savior is born to them and us, to all the despised, rejected, forgotten, lonely, wounded, poor, disappointed, devastated, and damaged by war and violence. Luke wants to say that this Jewish Messiah, for whom they have been waiting for many years, is the Savior of all people. He is God's Anointed One and (oh wonder!) the Lord Himself!

This is the joy of the Gospel! In its incredible improbability! The contemporaries of Jesus hoped that the Lord would send His Messiah, who would drive out all the enemies of Israel, punish the apostates from among his people, and then reign on the holy Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and peoples would flock to the Holy City to give glory to the only God. The dead Israelites' resurrection should have confirmed that the Messiah was not another impostor. Therefore, in understanding Jesus' contemporaries, the Messiah and the Lord should be two different persons 鈥� man and God. The evangelist Luke testifies to a great thing 鈥� the Messiah and the Lord come in one person, Jesus Christ, and not only to Israel but also the Gentiles 鈥� to all people on earth; comes as a small weak and innocent child to show His tenderness and to testify His love to every person; comes 鈥渢o seek and to save the lost. 鈥� (Luke 19:10).

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Music: Silent night (Alter Ratio)

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Lord, thank you for coming to the earth in weakness and humility. Thank you that you did not come as an oppressor who must be obeyed, surrounded by chariots or tanks, but as a helpless and vulnerable child, the child of 鈥� in the world鈥檚 view 鈥� nobodies. Thank you, that in the words of Mary, you raise up the humble and put down the mighty from their seats. Amen.

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Nadiyka: Following the听, Mariupol was a strategic target for Russian forces. The city was听听from the end of February until the middle of May. Timur Kosymbeckov experienced the horrors of that siege. This is Timur鈥檚 bleak testimony, some of which you may find very disturbing

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Timur鈥檚 testimony:听

My notebook still holds that record. It was听 the fifteenth 6th听day of the full-scale war in Ukraine. Tired, dirty, with yet another horror fresh before my eyes. Lighting a candle somewhere in the corner of the church basement, I wrote in my diary: 鈥業 am alive.鈥櫶�

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When I left Mariupol months after听the destruction there had begun, one man told me: 鈥業 didn鈥檛 see God there鈥�. Those who survived the hell of the invasion will understand. His heart was broken: his wife听had been听killed, and their property burned down.听听

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I, too, was tempted to ask where God was when standing near the pile of debris that used to be a five-story apartment building before the air bomb landed on its roof. There was screaming and panic. People were trying to find a pregnant woman in the wreckage. I noticed a ripped car with the blood-covered remains of a human body. On the 15th听day of the war, there was not a single operating hospital for half a million of the population.听

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It was easy to wonder where God was when the Russian soldiers in hysterics pushed their guns to my back and said: 鈥榃e have no time to spend on you; it鈥檚 easier to shoot you鈥�. They dragged me to the basement to kill when I brought them a wounded person I found on the street. They thought I was a spy. But then they saw some pictures from Uganda in my phone gallery and decided that I was just crazy. So, they released me. But it did not put an end to my suffering.

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Seeing the House of Culture with its roof on fire, knowing that in the basement there听were听one and a half thousand children, women, and elderly, was tormenting. Gunfire was heard everywhere on the streets. We ran to inform people that they needed to leave the basement to be able to survive. Many were paralyzed by fear and chose to remain in the basement. They told us that if they left, they would be shot dead anyway 鈥� what was the difference?听

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Having made my way to our family farm, I saw traces of shelling from a large-caliber gun. The territory was observed by snipers. I found the frightened animals and my dog Ben, but the guard听our family employed听was missing. Later, I discovered his body in the mud, sprinkled with earth from the explosion. I carefully descended to the ground and crawled towards him.听 It was too dangerous to bury him.听Having released the animals, I left. Someone might have thought it was hard to find God there, too. But I saw Him. He was there. He wept near each deceased, as he once wept in front of the tomb where Lazarus had been buried. I saw God in Mariupol, so I decided to stay there as long as possible to help those in need.听

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Many days have passed since then, and I am still alive. Today,听like my fellow Ukrainians听I am celebrating the birthday of Emmanuel.

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Music: Come Down O Lord.

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Even at Christmas, God becomes vulnerable and sought for to be killed. The world he came to save is mass-producing violence and suffering. There is ultimate victory and justice for the oppressed secured in eternity. The Son of Man will reign over the world in everlasting glory. But here, captured in space, time, and the history of mankind, love for the world makes God vulnerable, and through bringing us indestructible joy, he himself is opening his heart to suffering but chooses not to avert his gaze.听

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MUSIC: Silent Night (sung in English)

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When the war broke out in my country, all the spectrum of emotions I felt could be boiled down to pain. The anguish ignited by the injustice of an unprovoked and unexpected (despite all the warnings from the Western press) war brought by a brutal neighbor to my home country. The growing hurt of separation 鈥� my husband had to stay in Ukraine while my eight-year-old daughter, our dog, and I had to flee to Poland. The loss of pregnancy I went through on the eighteenth day of the war. Pain-stained letters from my friends. Daily news about my compatriots losing their possessions, homes, pets, limbs, loved ones, and life, that have flooded our reality. Then, as weeks became months, and we returned to Ukraine to reunite as a family and minister to the afflicted face-to-face, the heartache of becoming a witness of lives shattered without any observable possibility of devising a long-term restoration plan; with even more rockets smashing our country, more people we knew and loved, reported dead.

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MUSIC: Silent Night (sung in English)

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To the world, the numbers of murdered Ukrainians started adding up to form some kind of abstract political statistics. For us, statistics-driven thinking did not work. As Timothy Snyder writes in 鈥楤loodlands鈥� about the millions of victims of the Holocaust, the number of the victims cannot be viewed as an abstraction not many of us can comprehend, but as 5.7 millions times one.听

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To us, this war has not been numbers, but people; not history, but stories. When I lost my pregnancy, I refused to call it a miscarriage. It was a devastating loss of a little person with a soul, heartbeat, tiny fingers and toes; a child very much loved and wanted. The answer to this loss was pain, and this pain brooded compassion, which, in turn, brought in even more pain.

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When I saw a photo of a little stuffed horse soaked in blood, lying on the platform of the Kramatorsk train station after the Russian army attacked thousands of civilians waiting for evacuation trains with rockets, I thought that there must have been a story behind it. A little person trying to escape the genocide/mass slaughter of Ukrainians that Russia has proclaimed and is currently enacting. A reason why this particular toy was chosen to be taken on this quest for safety and held close. Someone who presented this toy to this child. An occasion for this gift to appear. Dreams 鈥� maybe, to ride a real horse one day; memories 鈥� maybe, grandpa making the neigh sounds while rocking the child gently on his knee; daily routines, like a nap that required a favuorite toy close by. Some very personal, God-given life. The news channel broadcasting the shot did not tell if the owner of that horse survived. More than fifty people were killed on the platform that hour, including children. This photo tells what the war against a sovereign state or even against humanity looks like. But also has a story of innocent blood that is still crying out to the heavens from that toy.听

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MUSIC: Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells; Sharovaari Orchestral Version)

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The pain was so severe that it needed immediate treatment, and the only treatment I knew that was powerful enough was God himself. And He was there. Not as a God of the promise of a happy life that will come one day 鈥� in those dark first weeks of the war, even a thought of a happy life felt like a betrayal and seemed irrelevant.听Not as a God who will restore the brokenness someday.听Not as a God that will make everything work for our good.听Not even as a God who heals.听He was there, broken-hearted. He was not the God who was taking my pain away to dissolve it into un-being, but the One who took my pain to bear it Himself. His name was Emmanuel.

I was looking for Jesus himself. My sweet brokenhearted Jesus.听

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听MUSIC: Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells; Sharovaari Orchestral Version) to close

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