The Birth of
the All-holy Virgin Mary. In the birth of the All-holy Virgin Mary we have the
beginning of the the sacred history of the New Testament, the history of our
salvation. It was the preparation for the incarnation of the Son of God, the
advent of God in the flesh. Thereby that human nature, which was to receive God
Himself, is made ready, that the race of man might be saved. This human nature
had to be made worthy of God, had to be holy and immaculate; it needed a holy
origin, upbringing and development. Her being chosen of God rests in the fact
that she of all mankind must needs give to God reciprocally the common nature
of mankind.
The time of the
Virgin's birth is the time of the awaiting of the coming of the Messiah,
Christ. Her parents are Joachim and Anna; he was of the kingly, and she of the
high priestly, lineage. The spouses, well advanced in age did not have any
children. This was regarded as a disgrace among the people, and for this reason
they were considered as deprived of God's blessing.
In abasement
and humility they desired a child, as a mercy from God and to take away their
disgrace and reproach among the people. In this way, humility, prayer and the
holy promise to dedicate their child to God for service in the Temple were the
spiritual prerequisite of its birth. And God heard them, and to them there was
born a daughter, whom they called Mary. The name Mary is a translation from the
Hebrew and it signifies: high, exalted over all.
The Mother of
the Lord was in actuality born of pious parents, and indeed could only be the
fruition of their spiritual endeavour, their heartfelt striving, and their
tearful prayers to God. A spiritual existence could only be the fruit of the
spirit, initiated not only according to the natural, blind inclinations of the
flesh and the natural laws of the requirements of the nature of the flesh, but
according to the aspirations of the spirit and through the action of the
special mercy and grace of God for people, who were already elderly and whose
flesh was withering, but who were living according to the spirit. If the origin
be holy, so shall the whole, and if the root be holy, so are the branches (Rom
11:16). From a holy root there came forth a holy fruit.
An example of a
promise with reference to a future child is given by the barren Hannah [Anna],
the mother of the holy Prophet Samuel. And she was in bitterness of soul, and
prayed unto the Lord and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of
Sabaoth! if Thou wilt indeed look upon the affliction of Thy handmaid, and
remember me, and not forget Thine handmaid, but wilt give unto Thine handmaid a
man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life... (1
Kings [Samuel] 1:10-11). Joachim and Anna also followed the example of the
parents of the righteous Samuel.
The mother of
the Saviour, a King according to His earthly descent and according to His
eternal ministry, and High Priest of the future good things, naturally, had in
herself to compass the two lines of descent, the royal and high priestly, in
her people. By her father she was of the tribe of Judah and the house of David,
and through her mother she was of the tribe of Levi and the house of Aaron.
Although Christ came forth from a mother alone without a father, and Joseph was
only the betrothed husband of Mary, the protector and guardian of her virginity
and only the nominal father of the Saviour, yet the Saviour was not simply
nominally of the royal house, but was in reality, through his mother and
according to the flesh, of this house, of which in the person of David it had
been said of the Lord, thy throne shall be established unto the ages (2 Kings
[Samuel] 7:16). This throne could not be disestablished, and Mary actually was
herself actually descended from the house of David that she might be the mother
of the Lord.
Source: http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/veneration_mary.aspx
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