And after those days Elisabeth the wide of Zacharia conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 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. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:24-38
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Greetings as we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation and the Synaxis of the Holy Archangel Gabriel.
How wonderful it was to be blessed with a warm, sunny spring day to celebrate the great and salvific event that marks the spring-time of God’s plan of salvation, reflecting the words of the Church Fathers, for whom this feast was one of great importance and radiant joy.
In his first festal homily, St Gregory the Wonderworker says, “Today is the glad spring-time to us, and Christ the Sun of righteousness has beamed with clear light around us, and has illumined the minds of the faithful.”
With similar words, St John of Damascus writes that, “Today, from the cold winter, the warm and flowery spring has shown forth, and the golden sun of rejoicing and happiness has dawned for us.”
In his festal encomium, St John joyfully recognises that this feast, and the Saviour’s conception by the Mother of God is the great and cosmic turning-point in the history of creation and humanity, and that the fall and estrangement of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve is already undone in the Mother of God’s humble acceptance of the Archangel’s message.
“Today, God-planted Eden is re-opened, and due to His goodness and love for man, God-fashioned Adam, enters again to dwell within.
Today, the forefather’s condemnation of sorrow is dissolved, and the corrupting exile and arduous penance of Eve ceases.”
This again mirrors the words of St Gregory.
“Today is Adam made anew, and moves in the choir of angels, having winged his way to heaven.”
The Annunciation is hymned by St John Damascene as a cosmic moment of restoration to which the past looked forward and to which the future and present look back.
Though the fruit of the Mother of God’s fiat had to await fulfilment in the saving death and resurrection of the Saviour, by her acceptance of the divine message, she already forcefully placed her foot upon the head of the serpent.
Whilst St Gregory writes that,“ Most of the holy fathers, and patriarchs, and prophets desired to see Him, and to be eye-witnesses of Him, but did not attaint hereto…”, St John Damascene sees the Annunciation as the joyful and wonderful moment in which the patriarchs and prophets see the fulfilment of their far off vision of the Virgin, who will conceive and bear a Child, and participate by their anticipation of the mystery of the feast: “Today, the holy book of the Prophets from all time, is brought amidst us, and each of them proclaims before-hand the grace of this Feast.
In heaven and on earth, angels and saints, people high and low, old and young, across centuries, across continents and lands, are united in jubilation, and as creation is exulted, heaven and earth join in celebration, rejoicing in the hidden and silent reality of the physical beginning of our salvation in the flesh, known at first only to the Mother of God herself.
“Rejoice, O Full-of-grace, for the King of all was adorned with a body [through thee] as if adorned with a royal purple robe.”
What joyful voices are heard in hymns and homilies, and in the akathist hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos, whose words by St Romanos the Melodist were heard in our churches only a few days ago.
An Archangel was sent from Heaven to say to the Mother of God: Rejoice! And seeing Thee, O Lord, taking bodily form, he was amazed and with his bodiless voice he stood crying to her such things as these:
Rejoice, thou through whom joy will shine forth: rejoice, thou through whom the curse will cease!
Rejoice, raising of fallen Adam: rejoice, redemption of the tears of Eve!
Rejoice, height hard to climb for the thoughts of men: rejoice, depth hard to scan even for the eyes of Angels!
Rejoice, for thou art the throne of the King: rejoice, for thou upholdest Him Who upholdeth all!
Rejoice, star that bringeth the Sun: rejoice, womb of the divine incarnation!
Rejoice, thou through whom creation is made new: rejoice, thou through whom we worship the Creator!
Rejoice, thou Bride unwedded!
Reflecting on the joyful triumph of the Annunciation, we should each examine how we have celebrated in our homes and families, what it means to each of us, and whether we have fittingly greeted the Mother of God and her feast with worthy celebratory words and prayers.
Indeed, have we even made any time in our day or evening to celebrate the feast, or have we put our routines, comforts and interests above reverencing the Mother of God, and even finding half and hour in which to honour her?
Did we spend any time explaining this feast to our children, and have our parish families prayed together, if only to read the Gospel and say the troparion and kontakion – something quite simple at a shared meal, which should ideally be part of the celebration of every Great Feast?
Have we greeted the Mother of God with a joy that raises our souls, hearts and minds in celebration?
If the answers our negative or admit negligence, if we have failed to even make our children aware of the feast, if our families have not managed a single prayer together – then we must ask why, and how we can consider this acceptable?
How do we call ourselves Christians and neglect the Mother of God, who offered her life for each and every one of us, so that our Saviour and Redeemer could be clothed in our flesh, so that it might be translated into the glory of heaven as the sign of our invitation and calling to the heavenly life.
How is it that the Christians of past centuries celebrated this feast with such great rejoicing, and that it filled them with joy, hope and encouragement in the Christian life, yet we fail to fitly celebrate the great feast as an offering to the Theotokos, the Mother of our Salvation.
St John of Damascus presumed that his hearers, whatever their status – in their own personal way – would play their part in the laudations of the feast, confessing her as Theotokos, but approaching her not only as Mother of God, but also as the mother and protectress of each and every one of us.
Let us live up to his expectations and, rejoicing and celebrating the beginning of our salvation, let us hasten in the footsteps of the Holy Fathers to celebrate the glorious Annunciation, and echo the tidings of the Archangel Gabriel.
“Today, we and all men take up the Angel’s voice, and offer encomia like his, to her who is the forerunner of the taking away of the curse…
Rejoice, O Full-of-grace, O gate of those troubled and hope of those without hope, and the awesome protection for those who with good heart confess you to be the Theotokos.
Rejoice, O Full-of-grace, who bore the Master Who loves man for the salvation of our common race of men, and who entreats Him on behalf of everyone, as a Mother.”
Let us take up the Angel’s voice to fittingly and worthily celebrate the Annunciation in which “our restoration hath now been revealed to us! God uniteth Himself to men in manner past recounting! Falsehood is dispelled by the voice of the archangel! For the Virgin receiveth joy, an earthly woman hath become heaven!”
(From the Aposticha of vespers)
Most Holy Mother of God, save us!
Amen.