The Great Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God
8 September
“Wisdom has built Her House.”—Proverbs 9: 1
As Orthodox Christians, we uphold the sanctity of creation, and as corollary, we believe time and place are sacred, as well. In His Infinite Wisdom, and out His Ecstatic, Embracing Love, God created all that exists for Fellowship with Him. Moreover, He not only created time and place, He emptied Himself of His Divine Glory to enter time and place in order to consecrate it holy for Communion with Him. He assumed our human nature for us in order to share His Divine Nature with us. He entered time to give us eternity. He became finite to grant us infinity. He even voluntarily died, once and for all, so we could live forever.
According to His Divine Plan for the redemption of the fallen world and its eternal salvation, God sent His Only Begotten Son in the fullness of time. The time was ordained for the salvation of humanity, the crown of His creation; but the place was also consecrated for this Divine Purpose; and this place was not some battlefield chosen to defeat once and for all the forces of evil. No, indeed, it is quite the contrary. The place chosen to be dedicated was very humble, small, and simple. The place for the beginning of a new creation was the humble, little womb of a pure, unassuming girl named Mary.
As the Chosen Vessel for the salvation of the world, the Most Holy Birth-Giver of God (Θεοτόκος), for Orthodox Christians, is thus the greatest of all the Saints. She is the one who gave birth to the Son of God in time to give creation the opportunity for a new birth for eternity. In the First Genesis (Birth) of the Old Testament, the Old Eve disobeyed and turned from God. In the New Testament, the New Eve (Mary) obeyed and said yes to God ("let it be") so that the Son of God could take flesh and blood from her, and the universe could experience the New Genesis (Birth)—that is, the beginning of a new, transfigured, redeemed, reconciled creation for the eternal fellowship once lost and bemoaned and now restored and exultant.
Mysteriously, the redemption, restoration and reconciliation of creation came about because of humility, simplicity, and obedience. These words are contrary to the teaching of the fallen world and have almost "fallen" out of our vocabulary, but these are the attributes that God honors.
Wondrously, albeit Unlimited and All Powerful, God chose the womb of a simple maiden to be the consecrated instrument for the salvation of the universe. On behalf of humanity, she became the perfect offering of humanity. Without equivocation, hesitation, or reservation, she simply and succinctly said yes to God and cooperated with His Grace, His Offering, His Love for the salvation of humanity.
By allowing God to work through her, she became the New Eve who redeemed us from the curse of the Old Eve. Having within her sacred womb the One Who was the Fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets Who sent the Manna from Heaven for the Old Israel, she became the New Ark of the Covenant for the New Israel.
As the Bridge between the Old and New Covenants, she is also the ladder between Heaven and earth, for by her assent (obedience), she allowed God to descend from Heaven and assume humanity through her, so humanity could ascend to Heaven with Him. Her humility before God made possible our exaltation by God.
Offering to God the flesh and blood of humanity in time and place for birth on earth, she made it possible for us to be born again in the spirit for eternity in Heaven. The Birth of Her Child Who is both God and Man makes possible for us a new birth in Christ for eternity.
In her humble Womb, God and Man, Heaven and earth, the spiritual and the material, the visible and the invisible, past and future, time and eternity, locality and universality are united. Her womb was chosen for all this, and, moreover, nothing more. For what can possibly be added to the salvation of the universe? After this ordained purpose, what other purpose could her womb possibly serve? This is why she is forever venerated by the Orthodox Faithful throughout the world as the Ever-Virgin Mary (Αεί Παρθένε Μαρία).
In her, the prophecies were fulfilled that the “gates” (her “gates”) would remain closed forever and only the Prince would enter through them, and, furthermore, as the Living Embodiment of this Prophecy, this Prince of Peace (Jesus Christ) would show us on earth that His Transfigured Body had no limits, and as God, He could enter through closed doors and sealed entrances.
By God-endowed Reason, and with the Faith it serves, The Most Holy Theotokos, therefore, is Ever Virgin Mary. As the Chalice is only used for the Body and Blood of Christ and nothing else, so also Her Womb was consecrated solely for the Birth of God and nothing else, for everything was accomplished through this consecrated and holy Womb for the salvation of the world. In profound reverence and eternal gratitude, therefore, no faithful and reasonable person would contemplate her Womb for any other purpose. Thus, Faith, Gratitude, Reverence, and Reason, dictate and pronounce that the Birth Giver of God is Always Virgin.
The Great Feast of the Holy Mother of God's Nativity is the first Great Feast of the Ecclesiastical Year, and this is rightfully and instructively so. Through her, God set His Plan for the salvation of the world in place. His Chosen Vessel is now in time and place, consecrated and made holy. She would be the one who would redeem us by her humility, obedience, and unquestioning cooperation with God's Grace.
She and her little womb are now on earth being prepared to grant us the Heavens. The humble maiden is now on earth to be prepared to be the Queen of the Universe. She is being prepared to be the Holy Mother of God so that, through her Son, She will be the Mother of all Humanity, for indeed, He providentially assumed all humanity through Her. She will say "let it be", and through her Son to be (in time and place), we will all have a Mother as to His Humanity, and we will all have a Father as to His Divinity, and we will be a new creation in Him.
By His Birth through Her in time and place for a while, we will all have an opportunity to have a New Birth in Him again above for eternity and infinity. Through the low estate of His Hand Maiden, we may be granted a new beginning as a new creation, a Holy Nation, and a royal priesthood, as scions to the Eternal Kingdom.
However, there is even more. The Theotokos played her part in God's Plan for our salvation, but she has not stopped, for when she passed, she was translated to Heaven, and now we have a heavenly and fervent intercessor who perpetually prays for us, for as the Mother of God and Mother of Humanity She is the perfect Celestial Ambassador for all of us. After all, who has a more sacred and intimate relationship with a son than a mother? And as the Mother of God, she incessantly and effectively has the Son of God's ear as she did on earth when she interceded at the marriage at Cana, and Christ performed His first miracle when He turned want into plenty and sorrow to joy.
And so, my brothers and sisters in Christ, as we recently closed the last Liturgical Year with the Last Great Feast dedicated to the Holy Mother of God, so we open the new Liturgical Year with the First Great Feast dedicated to her. She was placed on earth at her Nativity for the salvation of the world, and she was received in Heaven at her Dormition so we may have an incessant Heavenly intercessor for our salvation.
It begins on earth, and it ends in Heaven. It begins in time, and it ends in eternity. It is inaugurated in a locality, and it is consummated in universality. The cycle is completed, the circle is closed, the Plan is accomplished, and all is perfected in Christ, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega.
On this Great Feast Day, let us rejoice that the Holy Mother of God not only fulfilled her Divine Purpose for us upon the earth; but also, may we also rejoice that she did not abandon us when she left this earth for Heaven; she did not leave us behind. She is above as one who always has her Son's Ear, for it was through her ear, that the Son of God became the Son of Man, and it is by His Word, Incarnate through her, that we are saved.
‘Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces toward the east, but it was shut. So the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut. It shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it, because the Lord God of Israel will enter by it; therefore, it shall be shut. As for the prince, he will sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He will go in by way of the gate chamber and go out the same way.”’—Ezekiel 44:4
By His Grace, I remain, yours in Christ,
†Father Jim
