Homily on the Nativity of the Most Holy God-bearer. -Met. Korniliy (Titov)

Luke, reading 54, ch. 10:38–42, ch. 11:27–28 Dear brothers and sisters! Today, the Holy Church celebrates the Nativity of our Most Holy Lady, the God-bearer and Ever-Virgin Mary. This is the first Great Feast of the Twelve in the church year. With it begins the history of the granting of paradisiacal bliss to the perishing human race, the economy of our salvation. The church year begins with the Nativity of the Most Holy God-bearer not by chance, for this event heralded the coming salvation of humanity. For the transgression of the first humans in Paradise, the Lord imposed a punishment upon them. This punishment was expressed in the expulsion of our foreparents from Paradise and the deprivation of divine grace, which led to sorrows and calamities, even unto the death of mankind. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12). But the merciful Creator did not abandon His creation—man—to destruction, nor did He condemn him to eternal torment. Instead, He gave a promise that He would deliver the entire human race from the bondage of sin and the curse of death. To fulfill this promise, the Lord chose the Hebrew people, to whom He promised through the patriarch Abraham that from his seed would be born the Redeemer of the world. Therefore, every family held the hope that among its descendants might be born the Savior of the world, and a family without children considered itself rejected by God and was despised even by its kin. Shortly before the Nativity of Christ, in Israel, in the small town of Nazareth, there lived a righteous man named Joachim, descended from the lineage of King David. He had a pious wife named Anna, who came from the lineage of the high priest Aaron, dedicated to the service of God. The couple lived righteously and God-fearingly; they were modest and humble people, yet they had no children. Old age was approaching, and with it, their hope of having children was fading. This greatly distressed the couple, for in those times, childlessness was considered a punishment from God. Heavy was the sorrow of the aged Joachim and Anna, yet they did not murmur against the Lord but called upon Him with hope. Saint Andrew of Crete says: “The holy couple was wounded by the sting of childlessness, they grieved, sorrowed, and were afflicted, bearing the reproach of their barrenness. Joachim and Anna lamented that they had no heir of their lineage, they grieved and sorrowed, but the spark of hope had not yet entirely faded in them: both sent up prayers to God for the granting of a child, they did not depart from the temple, fervently beseeching God that He might grant fruit to the barren.” Sacred history recounts how deeply barrenness was felt by women in those times. How many tears, both in secret and within the walls of the temple, were shed by the childless Anna! Heavy, too, was the sorrow of Joachim. It became many times heavier when, on the day of the Passover feast, his offering to God was not accepted in the temple. The high priest, unwilling to receive his gift, said: “It is not meet to accept gifts from thee, for thou hast no children, and therefore hast no blessing of God. Surely, thou hast some secret sins, and thou wilt not repent of them.” From sorrow and public shame, Joachim went straight from the temple to the mountains, to a desolate place, and there he remained long in prayer and fasting, unable to show himself before others. Word of what happened in the temple reached Anna. Great was her sorrow, for she considered herself the cause of their family’s disgrace. Weeping, she withdrew from others, saying: “Now I am more wretched than all: rejected by God, scorned by men, and forsaken by my husband! For what should I now weep: for my widowhood or for not being deemed worthy to be called a mother?” Those close to her tried to console Anna, but her sorrow did not lessen. Once, as Tradition relates, while secluded in her garden for prayer, she saw a nest in a tree where a bird tended to its fledglings. Weeping bitterly, Anna began to lament: “Woe is me, childless! Surely, I am the most sinful, for I alone among all women am so humbled. Woe is me! To whom shall I liken myself? Neither to the birds of the air nor to the beasts of the earth, for even they bring forth their fruit unto Thee, O Lord God, while I alone am barren. O Lord, Thou knowest the reproach of childlessness; cease the sorrow of my heart, open my womb, and make me, the barren, fruitful, that we may offer the child born of me unto Thee, blessing, singing, and glorifying Thy mercy.” And Tradition has preserved the account of how Anna suddenly heard words addressed to her: “Anna, Anna! Thy prayer is heard; thy tears have appeared before God, and thou shalt conceive and bear a daughter, and through her shall all the tribes of the earth receive blessing, and salvation shall be granted to the whole world. Her name shall be Mary,” which in Hebrew means “lady” and “hope.” Hearing these words, Anna rejoiced in her heart, went to the temple, and vowed to dedicate her child to God’s service. At the same time, a voice came to Joachim in the wilderness: “Joachim! God hath heard thy prayer and is pleased to grant thee His grace; thy wife Anna shall conceive and bear thee a Daughter, whose birth shall be a joy to the whole world.” With great joy, Joachim returned home, joyful was their meeting with his wife, and joyful was their fervent prayer of thanksgiving to God. In fulfillment of God’s promise, a Daughter was born to the righteous Joachim and Anna, whom they named Mary, who later became the Mother of the Savior of the world. Thus were the bonds of barrenness loosed, and from barren parents, through their fervent prayer, sprang the Fruit—the Most Pure Virgin. In the Holy Gospel, it is said: “When the time cometh for a child to be born, there is sorrow; but when it is born, there remaineth only joy, for a new life hath entered the world… And when a child is born, those around marvel: what shall be the fate of this child?” People rejoice at the birth of a new person, though they know not what this child will become or what it shall bring into the world, yet all hope that the newborn shall bring goodness into the world. How great, then, was the joy of the aged parents Joachim and Anna and their kin, when not only was their barrenness resolved, but it was proclaimed to them that through their Daughter, salvation would be granted to the world. “Thy Nativity, O Virgin God-bearer, hath proclaimed joy to the whole universe…” Saint John of Damascus says: “The day of the Nativity of the God-bearer is a feast of universal joy, for through the God-bearer the entire human race was renewed, and the sorrow of our foremother Eve was transformed into joy.” The Virgin Mary was born, as the Gospel says, not of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man; she came into the world as the fruit of prayer, as a gift from God! Her appearance was like the final link in a long chain of righteous ones who, throughout human history, in humility upheld purity, faith, and devotion to God. They worshipped Him in spirit and truth with all fidelity and love. In this long line of people, there were sinners and saints, but all shared one common trait—humility and repentance. Throughout their lives, they struggled in God’s name—not against others, but against themselves—to purify their souls so that God might triumph within them. Gradually, from generation to generation, they prepared the Heiress of their lineage, who chose purity from the very beginning and lived wholly in fidelity to her great calling. Saint Nicholas Cabasilas writes in his “Homily on the Nativity of the God-bearer”: “All preceding generations ascended to Her, either because the ancient relates to the new as a shadow receives its form and shape from the body, or because She was the common adornment even before Her coming into the world. She alone, among all people from the beginning of time to the last days, stood against all evil and sin and returned to God, unblemished, the beauty she had received from Him.” In the Nativity of the God-bearer, the earth, which until that time bore the corruption of sin with thorns, truly “gave her fruit” (Ps. 66). Now all creation felt itself filled with greater beauty and light when the common Beauty shone forth. Having vowed to dedicate their child to God’s service, the pious elders Joachim and Anna rejoiced in their parental consolation for only three years before presenting Mary to God as an honest gift, leading her into the Jerusalem Temple. There, the pure and spotless Virgin dwelt in silence and prayer, studying the Holy Scriptures, engaging in handiwork, growing in wisdom, and the grace of God was with her. With all her thoughts, feelings, and deeds, she was, without a shadow of doubt, wholly devoted to the Lord. Today we celebrate the Nativity of the Mother of God, with whose coming into the world began the overcoming of the separation that existed between God and man since the Fall. As it is sung in the words of the festal troparion: “For from thee hath shone forth the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, who hath broken the curse and given blessing.” Through Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, the curse was broken, and divine love began to pour forth upon mankind. This was preceded by the Nativity of the God-bearer, who became the Bridge between heaven and earth, the Door of the Savior’s Incarnation opened to heaven, the Mother of God and the Mother of all Christians. She is the God-bearer through the wondrous birth of the Son of God in virginity and the Mother of Christians through adoption. We Christians, by God’s mercy, are called by the Lord His brethren (Heb. 2:11), and thus we may be called the sons of the God-bearer. As the Mother of God, she has the boldness to possess the grace befitting a mother toward her son. As the Mother of Christians, by virtue of maternal love, she shows boundless and unending mercy to Christians, such as a mother can show to her children. Brothers and sisters, let us offer worthy gifts to our Mother for the boundless sea of her mercies granted to us. What gift can we offer in return, and wherein lies our reverence for the Holy Virgin? It lies in keeping our thoughts and feelings in purity and repentance, in abstinence and humility, in prayer and fasting—examples of which the Most Holy Virgin has shown us. “Thus, the first purity in the course of time was presented to the human race by the Mother of God,” writes Saint Nicholas Cabasilas. “In her, man with great advantage demonstrated the ability to contend with sin. The Blessed Virgin, through restraint of mind, uprightness of will, and greatness of soul, from beginning to end cast out all defilement.” Our prayer of gratitude to her must always be with contrition of heart and tears, with repentance and compunction, with hope and trust in her intercession. Saint Gregory Palamas, in his discourse “On the Saving Nativity of the God-bearer,” writes: “Offer to the Virgin honored today the most beautiful and most fitting gift—your sanctification and purity of body, acquired through abstinence and prayer. Behold, all of you, how chastity—fasting and contrite prayer coming together—revealed Joachim and Anna as the parents of the chosen Vessel of God. And if we hold fast to virtues and prayers, diligently and constantly abiding in God’s temple, we too shall find purity of heart, which contains and reveals God to us. Let us turn from evil, through good deeds turn to God, and strive through the path of abstinence and prayer to erase our evil habits and transform our inner thoughts into better ones, having as our helper Her who, for the prayers and God-pleasing life of her parents, was granted to us today.” The Holy Virgin drew much from her “root”—her virtuous ancestors—and surely her purity and holiness were strengthened by her parents, the God-bearers Joachim and Anna. The parents of the Virgin Mary possessed an essential spiritual quality—a profound degree of humility. They did not murmur against the Lord for the dishonor they innocently endured as childless. They bore the reproach of those around them with humility, not for a year or two, but for decades, and for their longsuffering, they received God’s grace, which is given only to the humble, for this is a quality of the Lord Himself, who says: “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29). For the meekness and humility that the Virgin Mary embodied, she was chosen by the Holy Spirit, who overshadowed her. She alone, among all the human race, was the embodiment of deep and sincere humility, declaring at the Annunciation: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). She alone could bring forth the Fruit of her womb, through whom salvation came into the world by His humility and obedience to the will of the Heavenly Father. For our sake, Christ came into the world: “Taking upon himself the form of a servant, being made obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8). Thus, the foundation of the miracle of the Nativity of the God-bearer and the coming of the Savior into the world was the humility of the Virgin Mary. On humility, which cleanses man from sin and raises him to heavenly heights, much has been written by the holy fathers. Thus, the Venerable Isaiah wrote: “Humility is to think of oneself as a sinner and that one does nothing good before God.” He instructs that we should not be vainglorious, even when we succeed in doing something good, but attribute that good to God, who works His good deeds through us sinners. We must strive to live so as not to grieve anyone, to help all, to be kind and courteous to everyone, to refrain from returning evil for evil, and, as the Apostle instructs, to “live peaceably with all men” (Rom. 12:18). We must treat each person with care and mercy as an image of God. Though we may not attain the highest sanctity, through humility alone we can reach the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, let us acquire humility, which will guide us along the salvific path paved by the feat of humility of the God-bearers Joachim and Anna and the Most Holy God-bearer herself. Brothers and sisters! Let us honor the memory of the God-bearers Joachim and Anna and offer gifts worthy of their feats and prayers. Saint Andrew of Crete writes of this: “Let us offer a worthy gift to this present celebration. Parents—let them emulate fruitfulness; the barren—barrenness of sin. If any of you is a father, let him imitate the father of the Most Holy Virgin. A mother who nurtures her children, let her rejoice with Anna, raising the child granted to her through prayer. A virgin living purely, let her be a mother of the word, adorning the beauty of her soul with the word. Together, rich and poor, young man and maiden, elders with youths (Ps. 48), let them rejoice today in honor of the young Mother of Christ our God.” In the hymns of today’s feast, triumphant words resound, calling us to spiritual joy: “This is the day of the Lord, rejoice ye people! Today is the proclamation of universal joy! Thy Nativity, O Virgin God-bearer, hath proclaimed joy to the whole universe.” What happiness and joy for the entire human race, which lost Paradise through the fall of our foreparents, that with the Nativity of the Most Pure God-bearer, hope entered the world to draw near to Heaven and regain the lost paradisiacal grace! This day is the beginning of our salvation, when the hope for deliverance from spiritual death was born for every person. The God-bearer appeared as the helper and intercessor of the human race, of all Christians who keep God’s commandments. Therefore, let us, brothers and sisters, keep these commandments that lead us to salvation, and the Lord will abide with us and aid us in this holy work, for it pleased Him to give us a comforting promise: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20). And surely, our first Helper, the Most Pure Virgin Mary, who granted the world unending eternal joy, is always with us. Day and night, she prays to her Divine Son for the granting of the joy of salvation to us in place of sinful sorrow. With this hope, let us always turn to the intercession and protection of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, repeating the words of the church hymn: “O unashamed Intercessor of Christians, unwavering Mediatrix before the Creator, despise not the voices of sinners’ supplications, but hasten as one good to aid us who faithfully cry unto thee: hasten to prayer and speed to intercession, ever protecting, O God-bearer, those who honor thee.” To our God be glory, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, amen! source