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 IV)
By Saint Nikolai Velimirovic, from "Homilies, Vol. I," Lazarica Press. Birmingham (1996), pp. 13-23.
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the Angel had commanded him, and took the Virgin Mary to himself again, "and knew her not until she had brought forth her Firstborn Son, and he called His name Jesus." When we read the Gospels, we must enter into the Evangelist's mind, and not project our mind into the Gospel. The Evangelist himself marvels as he speaks of the wonder of the Savior's birth. His main task is to show that this birth came about in a wondrous manner. This that the Evangelist Matthew emphasizes is already the fourth proof of this. Firstly, he says that the Virgin Mary was only betrothed to Joseph; secondly, that she found herself "with child of the Holy Spirit;" thirdly, that the Angel, in a dream, showed that her pregnancy was wondrous and supernatural and, fourthly, we see here that the Angel now repeats this same thought with the words that Joseph "knew her not until she had brought forth her Firstborn Son." It is, therefore, as clear as day that the Evangelist has no thought of saying that, after birth, Joseph had carnal relations with Mary. That which was not so until she had brought forth her Son was not so afterward when she had borne Him. If we say of someone that, during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in church, he paid no attention to the priest's words, we do not mean that, once the service was over, he became attentive to them. Or, when we say that a shepherd sings while the sheep graze, we do not think that he stops singing when the sheep stop grazing. Saint Theophylact says: "As it was said at the time of the Flood, that the raven did not return to the Ark while the earth had not dried out, it naturally did not return to it afterward, or as Christ said: 'I am with you always, even unto the end of the world,' does that mean that He will not be afterwards. The word "firstborn" therefore applies exclusively to the Lord Jesus (Ps 88/89:28; cf. 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Hebrews 1:5-6; Romans 8:29), which means: among all saved and adopted men. If the word "firstborn" were to be written with a capital letter, as a special title, there would be no doubt of its meaning. Or, if a comma were placed before the word "firstborn", there would be no doubt or confusion. This is how it must be read: as though "Firstborn" were a title, with a comma before it: "and she brought forth her Son, the Firstborn. The Lord Jesus is the Firstborn as the Creator of the New Kingdom, as the New Adam...
"By her virginity, before, during and after giving birth, the Virgin Mary has turned thousands of girls and young men to a life of virginity throughout the Church's history. Looking to her virginity, many married women have broken off their marriage and devoted themselves to virginal purity. Looking at her, many leading a deeply immoral life have turned from their immorality, cleansing their mired souls with tears and prayer. How, then, could it be imagined that the Most Pure Virgin, the pillar and inspiration of Christian purity and virginity through the ages, was on a lower level of virginity than that of Saints Anastasia, Thecla, Barbara, Katherine, Paraskevi and all the rest, without number? Or, how would it be possible to imagine that she who bore in the flesh her passionless Lord could ever have known the shadow of physical passion? She who carried and gave birth to God "was a virgin, not only in the flesh but in the spirit," as Saint Ambrose says. And Saint John Chrysostom compares the Holy Spirit with a bee, saying: "as a bee will not enter a stinking vessel, so the Holy Spirit will not enter into an impure soul."
Let us stop speaking about this, about which we should speak less and marvel more. There where obedience and humility towards God have their abode, there is purity. The Lord heals His obedient and humble servants of every passion and lust. Let us give ourselves over to the cleansing of our consciences, our souls, our hearts and our minds, that we may be made worthy of the blessed power of the Holy Spirit; that the earth may once more stop sowing its seed in our inner man, so that the Holy Spirit may begin in us new life and a new man, like to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory and praise, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit--the Trinity consubstantial and undivided, now and forever, through all time and all eternity. Amen. (Source: Orthodox Heritage)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in Our Incarnate Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George