My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE. Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΜΕΣΩ ΗΜΩΝ! ΚΑΙ ΗΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΑΙ.
THE GOSPEL OF THE FIRSTBORN (Part II)
By Saint Nikolai Velimirovic
"But the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit." Before this, the Evangelist had given the genealogy of the Lord Jesus, or, more precisely, that of righteous Joseph, from the Tribe of Judah and the House of David. In this genealogy, the Evangelist listed men, born of men in a natural way, such as all mortal men on earth are born. He then suddenly begins to record the Lord's birth, and says: "But the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise" as though , with this "but", he wants to show the unusual and supernatural nature of His birth, completely divorced from the manner of birth of all Joseph's recorded forebears. Mary, His mother, was betrothed to Joseph. In the eyes of the world, this betrothal was seen as an introduction to married life; but, in the eyes of Mary and Joseph, it could not be seen like this.
Sought with tears from God, the Virgin Mary was consecrated to God by her parents' vow. She, for her part, voluntarily took this vow made by her parents upon herself, as is seen in her many years of service in the Temple at Jerusalem...She was betrothed to Joseph, not to live in marriage with him but in order to escape marriage. All the details of this betrothal and its meaning are to be found in the Church's Tradition. And if men were to value tradition with reference to the Mother of God, to righteous Joseph and to all the people involved who are mentioned in the Gospel, as much as they value traditions--some of them of the wildest--about the rulers, leaders and wise men of this world, the meaning of the betrothal of the Most Holy Virgin Mary to Joseph would be clear to all.
Saint Ignatius says that the Virgin was betrothed "that His birth should be concealed from the devil; that the devil should think of Him as born of a married woman, and not of a Virgin." This is also found in Saint Jerome's Commentary on Matthew and in Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea's Second Talk on the Annunciation.
"Before they came together..." These words do not mean that they afterwards came together as man and wife, or that this was in the Evangelist's mind. The Evangelist is, in this case, interested only in the birth of the Lord Jesus, an nothing else, and he writes the above words in order to show that His birth was without the coming together of man and woman. Therefore understand the wise words of the Evangelist, as though he had written: "and without their coming together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit." Only by the Holy Spirit could He be conceived Who was, in the midst of the kingdom of darkness and evil, to found the Kingdom of the Spirit of Light and Love. How would He able to fulfill His Divine Mission on earth if He had come on earth through all the usual earthly channels, blocked as they are by sin and stinking of mortal corruption? In that case, new wine would have stunk of old wineskins, and He Who had come to save the world would have been in need of salvation. The world could only be saved by a miracle from God; this was the belief of all men on earth. And when God's miracle is wrought, it must not be doubted, but venerated, and healing sought from it, and salvation.
How did Joseph react to the knowledge of the Virgin Mary's pregnancy? "And Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily." He acted, we see, in obedience to God's law. He was obedient to God's will insofar as it had, up till then, been revealed before God. "Justify not thyself," warns wise Solomon (Sir. 7:5). That is: do not force too much justice on those who sin, but feel your own weakness and your own sins, and strive with mercy to lighten justice towards sinners.
Imbued with this Spirit, Joseph did not consider giving the Virgin Mary over to justice for the suspected sin: "and not willing to make her a public example (he) was minded to put her away privily." This plan of his shows us what an exemplary man Joseph was, exemplary in justice and in mercy, such a one as the Spirit of the Law was able to instruct. With him, all was as simple and clear as it could be in the soul of a God-fearing man.
Righteous Joseph had only just found a suitable way out when heaven intervened in his plan with an unexpected command: "But while he thought on these things, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying: 'Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." The Angel of God, who had earlier proclaimed to the Most Pure Virgin the coming into the world of the God-Man, now comes to clear the way before Him and level it out beneath His feet. Joseph's doubt was a hindrance on His way--a very great and dangerous hindrance that must be removed. In order to show how easy it is for the heavenly powers to do things that are very difficult for men, the Angel did not appear to Joseph in a vision, but in a dream. With these words to Joseph the son of David, the Angel wanted both to reward him and to warn him. As a descendant of King David, you should rejoice at this Divine mystery more than other men, and you should also understand better than others.
But how is it that the Angel refers to the Virgin as his wife: "Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife?" In the same way that the Lord said from the Cross to His mother: "Woman, behold thy son!" and to His disciple: "Behold thy mother!" (St. John 19:26-27). Indeed, heaven is sparing with words, and says nothing superfluous. If it had not been necessary to say this, why did the Angel say it? If this calling Mary the wife of Joseph is a stumbling block to some unbelievers, it is a defense of purity against the impure powers. For God's words are not listened to only by men, but by all worlds, both good and evil. He Who wished to penetrate to the heart of all God's mysteries, the same must have God's view of all things, visible and invisible.
"That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." This is God's act, and not man's. Don't look to nature, or be fearful of the law. This is the action of Him Who is greater than nature and stronger than the law, without Whom nature would have no life, nor the law force.
From this that the Angel announced to Joseph, it is clear that the Virgin Mary had told him nothing of her earlier encounter with the Great Archangel, as it is clear that now, when Joseph intended to put her away, she did not justify herself in any way. The Angel's message, as all the heavenly mysteries that were gradually revealed to her, she kept, and pondered in her heart (St. Luke 2:19). In her faith in God and obedience to Him, she shrank from no humiliation at the hands of men. "If my sufferings are pleasing to God, why should I not endure them?" said some of the Christian martyrs later. Living in constant prayer and pondering on God, the Most Pure was also able to say: "If my humiliation is pleasing to God, why should I not endure it? Only let me be righteous before God, who knows the heart, and the world can do what it likes with me." She knew this: that the world could do nothing to her unless God allowed it. What gentle humility before the Living God this is, and what wonderful devotion to His will! And further--what a heroic spirit is seen in this delicate maiden: "The secret of the Lord is among them that fear Him" (Psalm 24/25:13). While sinners, in our day as in all days, bring even false witnesses to testify for them, the Virgin Mary, who had no man to testify for her, but God Almighty, did not justify herself; she was not disturbed, but remained silent--and waited for God, in His good time, to justify her. And God hastened to justify His Chosen One. (Source: Orthodox Heritage)
(To be continued)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George