Grace That Moves: The First Sunday of the Nativity Fast - 16 November 2025

As we begin the Nativity Fast, the Church sets before us two passages that seem, at first glance, to pull in different directions. In Ephesians, we hear Paul's glorious proclamation: "By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works." Yet in Luke's Gospel, Christ tells us the parable of the Good Samaritan, a story that concludes with a clear command: "Go and do likewise."

This is not a contradiction, but a hint of the mystery of how God's grace works within us.

Paul reminds us that we were once dead in our trespasses, but God, "rich in mercy" and moved by His "great love," made us alive together with Christ. This is the foundation of everything. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot manufacture righteousness through our own efforts. Every good thing begins with God's initiative, His unmerited favor poured out upon us.

But notice what Paul says next: "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." The grace that saves us is the same grace that transforms us. It doesn't leave us passive or unchanged. Instead, it makes us into new creations—people who naturally move toward the neighbor in need.

This is precisely what we see in the Good Samaritan. The priest and Levite pass by, perhaps thinking they've fulfilled their religious obligations through temple service and ritual purity. But the Samaritan, the outsider, sees a wounded man and is moved with compassion. He doesn't calculate. He doesn't weigh whether this man "deserves" his help. He simply acts, pouring out oil and wine, binding wounds, providing shelter and ongoing care.

As we enter this fast, we're called to both realities simultaneously. We fast not to earn God's favor, which was secured for us when Christ took on our flesh. We fast because we recognize our need for His transforming grace. We make space in our lives, clearing away the clutter of comfort and excess, so that we might become more like the Samaritan, people whose hearts are tender, whose hands are ready, whose resources are available.

The Nativity Fast prepares us to encounter the One who is both the source of all grace and the perfect example of love in action. The Word becomes flesh not as a distant judge but as the ultimate Good Samaritan, coming down to us in our wounded state, binding up our wounds with His own body, pouring out His blood as healing wine, providing the shelter of the Church, and promising to return.

This week, as we embrace simpler meals and increased prayer, let us ask: How is God's grace moving me toward my neighbor? Where has He placed someone along my path who needs mercy? The fast isn't about proving our worthiness. It's about becoming the kind of people who, having received immeasurable grace, overflow with love.

May this Nativity Fast be for us not a burden but a gift, an opportunity to experience more deeply the grace that both saves and sends us, the mercy that both forgives and transforms. For we are His workmanship, saved by grace, created for the good works that He prepared for us from the foundation of the world.

Go, and do likewise.