According to the Church tradition, Joachim and Anna, the
pious spouses and the parents of Virgin Mary, fulfilled their pledge and
devoted their child to God’s service. The tradition states that in the age of
3, Virgin Mary was brought from Nazareth, where She lived with Her parents, to
the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. There She was met by the archpriest, and
many Church authors state that it was Zachariah, the father of John the
Forerunner. To everyone’s surprise, Virgin Mary, Who was only 3 years old, overcame that 15-stairs obstacle on Her way to the Temple and Zachariah’s
arms, without any fear or parents’ support, being led only by the Holy Spirit.
Then, as certain Church authors write, on inspiration
from above, Zachariah decided to bring Mary to the Holy of Holies, where according
to the Law, only the archpriest was permitted to enter and only once a year
after he had made sacrifices for his own sins and the sins of the people. Was
it so for real? Could the archpriest violate the Law so seriously? He was not
allowed to enter the Holy of Holies at the wrong time and could not bring a
girl there: she was not just prohibited from entering the Holy of Holies, but
even could not enter the sanctuary, which was a special place for priests in
the Temple, and had to stay in the women’s yard? We do not know the exact
answer. The Church tradition accepts the story about Mary’s entry to the
Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem Temple, although the canonical Gospels say
nothing about that. In general, the early years of Virgin Mary were summed up
well by St. Jerome of Stridon: “If someone asked me about how the Holy Virgin
spent Her youth, I would answer him: only God and archangel Gabriel, Her
constant guardian, know that”.
However, what does it all mean for us? Sure, the Holy Virgin
had Her own great mission, and the Lord prepared for Her a very special way of
life and a very special service in the work of the humankind’s salvation. Through
prayer and obeying God’s word, Virgin Mary had to grow so
high spiritually that she became worthy to be the Throne of the King, the Temple for God’s
Spirit, the Ark of the Covenant, the One from Whom the Bread of life would grow
– the Manna that would grant us immortality and resurrection.
We can take this ancient and great event as a lesson
for us all. Virgin Mary ascended 15 stairs that led to the Temple of Solomon in
order to become the Mother of the Word. While raising those stairs, ancient
Jews were singing certain psalms, in which they glorified God and with
which they prepared their souls for even more sincere prayer in the Temple.
The same we can say about us. We should not just wait for God’s
gifts and grace, but we should do our best to come to God, to climb these stairs
of virtues so that we can soften and prepare our hearts for God’s Spirit that
wants to consecrate us. Let us lift up our hearts! This is the sense of the
Orthodox teaching about synergy – the collaboration of the man and God in the
work of our salvation. Virgin Mary was not just chosen from the beginning of
ages to become the Mother of the Word. She had to work a lot living by God’s
commandments: “remembering without
ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father” (1 Thessalonians 1:3).
The same concerns us, if we really want to fulfill God’s
words: “Who is My mother and who are My
brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here
are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven
is My brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:48-50).
So, we all are called upon to become the vessels for
the Word. Through following the Father’s will, through preaching Gospel with
our own lives, through climbing the stairs of virtues that the Holy Theotokos has ascended in the beginning of Her life, we are called upon to give life to Christ
in other people’s hearts, bringing them to the wonderful Light of Christ.
The
word of St. Gregory Palamas:
“The High
Priest, seeing that this child, more than anyone else, had divine grace within
Her, wished to set Her within the Holy of Holies. He convinced everyone present
to welcome this, since God had advanced it and approved it. Through His angel,
God assisted the Virgin and sent Her mystical food, with which She was
strengthened in nature, while in body She was brought to maturity and was made
purer and more exalted than the angels, having the Heavenly spirits as
servants. She was led into the Holy of Holies not just once, but was accepted
by God to dwell there with Him during Her youth, so that through Her, the
Heavenly Abodes might be opened and given for an eternal habitation to those
who believe in Her miraculous birthgiving.
So it is, and
this is why She, from the beginning of time, was chosen from among the chosen.
She Who is manifest as the Holy of Holies, Who has a body even purer than the
spirits purified by virtue, is capable of receiving ... the Hypostatic Word of
the Unoriginate Father. Today the Ever-Virgin Mary, like a Treasure of God, is
stored in the Holy of Holies, so that in due time, (as it later came to pass)
She would serve for the enrichment of, and an ornament for, all the world.
Therefore, Christ God also glorifies His Mother, both before, and also after
His birth.
We who
understand the salvation begun for our sake through the Most Holy Virgin, give
Her thanks and praise according to our ability. And truly, if the grateful
woman (of whom the Gospel tells us), after hearing the saving words of the
Lord, blessed and thanked His Mother, raising her voice above the din of the
crowd and saying to Christ, “Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the paps
Thou hast sucked” (Luke 11:27), then we who have the words of eternal life
written out for us, and not only the words, but also the miracles and the
Passion, and the raising of our nature from death, and its ascent from earth to
Heaven, and the promise of immortal life and unfailing salvation, then how
shall we not unceasingly hymn and bless the Mother of the Author of our
Salvation and the Giver of Life, celebrating Her conception and birth, and now
Her Entry into the Holy of Holies?
Now, brethren,
let us remove ourselves from earthly to celestial things. Let us change our
path from the flesh to the spirit. Let us change our desire from temporal
things to those that endure. Let us scorn fleshly delights, which serve as
allurements for the soul and soon pass away. Let us desire spiritual gifts,
which remain undiminished. Let us turn our reason and our attention from
earthly concerns and raise them to the inaccessible places of Heaven, to the
Holy of Holies, where the Mother of God now resides.
Reflections in the Church liturgical tradition:
Kontakion — Tone 4:
The most pure
Temple of the Savior; the precious Chamber
and Virgin; the sacred Treasure of the glory of God, is presented today to the
house of the Lord. She brings with her the grace of the Spirit, therefore, the
angels of God praise her: “Truly this woman is the abode of heaven.”
End of
Part II
To be
continued…
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