As we continue to go through the Advent season - the season of the Lord’s coming - we are continually reminded of the meaning of our Savior’s birth. One way to speak of it would be to say that He came into the world as a Child, for children - that is, for His children. He came to claim us as children of the Father, to teach us to walk as children of the light, to teach us to be child-like, to be children of the Kingdom. He came to give us the “right to become children of God,” as St. John’s Gospel says.

We see incredible tenderness in God’s love for us. We read in scripture how “God desires not the death of a sinner, but that he should turn and live.” We read that He “desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” And that God shelters us “under the shelter of [His] wings,” like a mother hen. No mother loves her children more tenderly than God loves His.

Now, you’ve heard of how fierce a mother bear can be when defending her cubs. You don’t want to mess with her. God is also fierce when it comes to protecting His children. Jesus is a fierce enemy to the powers of darkness. And sometimes He is harsh in rebuking certain people. In today’s Gospel, for example, we see how He came to deliver this woman, who’s back had been bent for 18 years. He heals her of her physical infirmity; but she also represents all of us who are in need of spiritual healing. All of us are bent under the weight of sin.

So the Lord heals her, and it’s on the Sabbath day. And the ruler of the synagogue is indignant and tells the people they should come to be healed on other days and not on the Sabbath, because no work is to be done on the Sabbath. Of course, he’s completely missing the point of the Sabbath, which is to be a time of resting in God. The Lord was precisely giving this woman rest and refreshment, and so fulfilling the meaning of the Sabbath. But the ruler doesn’t see that, and is trying to exert his control over the situation. He’s in charge in this synagogue, and he doesn’t want any more healings on Saturday.

The Lord immediately rebukes him: “Hypocrite!” Then addressing not just this ruler but everyone agreeing with him, he explains just how hypocritical they are, and why it’s right that he healed the woman on the Sabbath. Every one of them waters his animals on the Sabbath, even though that’s technically a violation. But they are not willing to let their sister, a daughter of Abraham, receive mercy on the Sabbath?

He says that Satan has bound her for 18 years. In other words, because of sin and the devil, she has been suffering all these years, and now Christ has come to set her free. And we see how fiercely He defends, protects and delivers his children.

We see the same when he knocks over the tables of the money-changers. He is defending the sanctity of the Temple, but the Temple is there for the children of God. Again, it is the mother bear defending the cubs - the Lord will not allow his children to be led astray by the corrupt leaders.

The Saints are also fierce in the same way. St. Nicholas is known for such tenderness, such mercy. He gave away everything he had to those in need. He sacrificed his whole life to help others. But he also punched Arius in the face. Why? Because Arius was attempted to lead the children of the Church astray. St. Nicholas was inspired with the same truly righteous indignation that the Lord had when calling the leader of the Synagogue a hypocrite. He was stopping Arius by striking him, not because of animosity, but because of love for the children of the Church.

St. Ambrose, whose memory we celebrate today, as bishop of Milan in Italy was fearless in the face of Emperors. Once Emperor Theodosius unjustly put a great number of people to death in Thessaloniki. Soon afterwards he came to the church in Milan, and Ambrose refused to let him even enter the church, let alone receive communion. He told him that he had to repent of killing those people before he could enter the church again. He stood up on behalf of his flock, against wolf-life behavior.

So the great pastors of the church are inspired by both the same fierceness and the same tenderness of God’s love for His children. One of my favorite stories about St. Ambrose shows both his tenderness and God’s. Once St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo, came to visit St. Ambrose in Milan. At that time, St. Augustine was not a Christian, and was in rebellion against his mother’s faith. She was heartbroken about this, and wept and prayed to God for her son. So she poured out her heart to Ambrose, and asked whether he thought her son would ever convert to Christianity. St. Ambrose told her, “Woman, the child of so many tears will never perish.”

And here we return to the purpose of Christ’s coming into the world. God sees the tears of humanity. He knows our suffering. He sees how we are bent under the burden of sin. He desires nothing more than that we be freed of that burden. He desires to adopt us as His children. So He sends His son into the world for this purpose. Christ comes to conquer the Enemy, and to rescue us from captivity. He comes to show us His perfect love on the cross, and to fill our hearts with that love.

He will not stand for the abuse and oppression of His little ones. But he will be quick to hear and respond with love and mercy when even sinful enemies of His - as we all have been - repent and return and ask for mercy with tears.

“The children of so many tears will never perish.” Whether our tears are for our children, or other loved ones who suffer and stray, or whether they are for ourselves as ones who pray and sigh with desire to be children of God, our Father will not ignore those tears. He will not ignore the plight of His children. Christ came, and is coming, for no other reason than that the Father's beloved children might not perish.