And the
angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt
call his name JESUS. (Luke 1:30-31).
Finally, the event that prophets had predicted and
ancient patriarchs had anticipated came true: God visited his people. All of
those who expected the coming of Messiah died with the hope that He would come
eventually. The righteous men of Old Testament hoped that their children or
great-grandchildren will have the chance to live in Messianic era. Finally,
that time came. The Messiah was born of the Most Holy Theotokos and brought
peace and grace to the world, not just for the Jews but also for Gentiles.
The Most Pure Virgin spent her entire childhood in the
Temple, praying, fasting, and getting ready for the great calling that she
couldn’t even dream of. At last, the Angel of God announced the Good News to
the Blessed Virgin, and She became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. And the angel
came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou
that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women
(Luke 1:28).
What do we see in this passage? An incorporeal angel
talks with Virgin Mary and tells her something no-one had ever heard since the
Fall of our forefathers—words that startled the Pure Virgin. There had been
another ethereal being who had talked with a different woman, and we feel the
consequences of their conversation even now. Eve heard strange words, too: ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil
(Genesis 3:5). Our foremother fell out of unity with God and trusted the
words of satan, God’s adversary, more than God’s words In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis
2:17).
According to God’s plan, the Second Eve, the Most Holy
Virgin Mary, was to correct the failure of the first Eve. She was to fulfil
God’s will about her and thus restore the honor of all women. Mary’s noble action
and her dialog with Archangel Gabriel is remarkably well described in worship
books of the Orthodox Church.
Orthodox worship is a very profound, lively, and
prayerful way of reading the Holy Scripture. This way of reading the Bible is
so creative and so deeply rooted in the Word of God that the holy creators of
church hymns even went so far as putting words you cannot find in the Holy
Scripture into the mouths of the Theotokos and Archangel Gabriel.
Ode 3 of the Canon contains a very interesting and profound
prayerful contemplation on this passage. The Most Holy Virgin replies to the
Archangel, My foremother followed the
serpent’s advice and lost the divine food of the Paradise, therefore I am
afraid of your strange greeting, ashamed of the fall (cf. Ode 3 of Annunciation
Matins Canon). If only Eve had reacted in the same manner. She had to be
afraid to fall. She had to be afraid of that strange promise, ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil
(Genesis 3:5). Eve failed that test, and the very beginning of human
history is marked with the Foremother’s fall. However, at the dawn of the New
Testament era at the time when the human race was about to be restored, Mary,
the chosen Mother of all Christians—the best that human race could give
God—says yes to God and submits herself to his will, saying, Behold the handmaid of the Lord (Luke 1:38).
St. Theophanes the Branded, the author of this canon,
puts even more amazing words into Archangel Gabriel’s mouth, I stand in the presence of God and I was sent to announce God’s
decision to you. Why are you afraid of me, O All-Immaculate, for I tremble in
your presence? Why are you in awe, O Queen, when I revere you even more? (Ode 3
of the Annunciation Matins Canon). The words of the Archangel reveal an
astonishing but delightful fact about the Christian faith: humans are more
honorable than angels! Humans are the pinnacle of creation. We are those called
to sanctify and transform the material world with our labor and prayer. It was
human nature that the Word of God acquired. It was human nature that sits to
the right hand of God the Father in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s
the honor bestowed on us humans. That mind-boggling aspect of our faith is
illustrated by the iconostases of Orthodox churches where Theotokos and St.
John the Baptist are always closer to Christ than Archangels Michael and
Gabriel.
The Mother of God will accomplish her mission. Nine
months after the Annunciation, the One who is incessantly praised by angels and
archangels will be born as a human baby. The Theotokos will hold in her arms
the One who cannot be contained by the entire Universe—the One at whose sight
all creation trembles. She will give birth to the Son whom the Father loves;
the Father’s Chosen One who is pleasing unto Him.
I have
put my spirit upon him:
he shall
bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall
not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause
his voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised
reed shall he not break,
and the
smoking flax shall he not quench:
he shall
bring forth judgment unto truth.
He shall
not fail nor be discouraged,
till he
have set judgment in the earth:
and the
isles shall wait for his law. (Isaiah
42:1-4)
a Bachelor of Theology,
specialized in Biblical Studies.
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