Sermon for a Pan-Orthodox Service of "Salutations to the Holy Theotokos"
In the midst of Great Lent, we gather tonight for prayers
that begin with the call to “rejoice.” That might seem strange and out of
place. Yet our service of “Salutations to the Most Holy Theotokos” this evening
repeats in many ways, “Rejoice O Unwedded
Bride.”
Tonight’s hymns of honor to the Mother of God are among the
beautiful and cherished in Orthodox tradition. Yet they are written in a
traditional poetic style that may be unfamiliar to us. Thus, it would be
worthwhile to take a few moments tonight to probe into this ancient form of the
hymns of the Church. As we do, we will gain a deeper sense of the honor that is
due to the Mother of God and a greater understanding of the mystery of our
salvation.
Let’s begin by noting that these hymns teach a way of
thinking—more exactly, a way of believing--that is founded on the visit of the
Archangel Gabriel who appeared to the Virgin Mary in Nazareth. He came to
announce that she was chosen of all women to be the Mother of God. Recall how
the archangel greeted the Virgin: “Hail,
Thou who art full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee…” The word “Hail” fails
to give us the full meaning of the Greek word. It is literally “rejoice,” the
word that the hymns of this evening repeat so often. Thus, the Virgin is to
“rejoice” because she is the One who is uniquely endowed with grace and so is
the “Favored One.” Moreover. she is
to “rejoice” because the Lord is “with
her.”
The Gospel records that this unique greeting troubled the
Holy Ever-Virgin. She wondered what sort of greeting it could be. With her, by
means of these hymns, we ponder their deep meaning tonight.
You see, the words of the angel were not just a way of
saying “hello.” They do several things at once. They greet the Virgin, saying
“Rejoice!” But this greeting gives a name to the Virgin. And it goes on to
describe the Virgin.
That may seem like a flowery way of speaking to us in our
time. We are prone to be more simple and direct in our manner of speaking. But
even for us the way we greet someone what we think about them. We would not think
of saying “hello” to the President of the United States by using his first
name. Likewise, the angel’s greeting of the Holy Virgin shows what we are to
think about her.
First, it indicates her status, not in the eyes of
human being but in the eyes of God Almighty. This humble maiden is far greater
than any king or president. She is “blessed
among women” and in this is cause for her to “rejoice.”
Second, it gives her a name. She is the one who is “Full of Grace,” the “Highly Favored One.” We address a
President, not by his given name but title, “Mr. President.” Likewise, we
address a king or queen as “Your Majesty” and a Bishop as “Your Grace.” So the
angel addresses Mary as the One who is especially and completely endowed with
the grace of God. In the same way, the Liturgy of St. Basil addresses her as “O full of Grace.” Again, this is cause
for her to “rejoice.”
Third, the greeting of the angel describes her, her inner
nature and character. By the angel’s salutation, we know that she is the pure and
“all-holy” Virgin. As St. Ephraim says, she is “…alone most pure in soul and body” (Ephraim the Syrian,
Precationes ad Deiparam in Opp. Graec. Lat., III, 524– 37). Again she is
endowed with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As St. Ephraim says. she is “alone the home of all the graces of the Most
Holy Spirit” (Ephraim 524-37). Moreover, the “Lord is with her” just as He
is near to all the righteous who devote themselves to Him. And this too is
cause for her to “rejoice.”
This greeting of the angel, therefore, teaches us how we are
to regard the Mother of God and why we are to give her our highest honor.
Having said this, I can try to explain the elaborate words of this service--the
ornate language we use to address the Mother of God. These hymns to the
Ever-Virgin Mary are called “salutations"—greetings—for good reason. They
are inspired by the “salutation"—the greeting of the angel Gabriel when he
appeared to Mary at the Annunciation. In fact, the greeting of the angel to
Mary sets the pattern of our “salutations to the Mother of God.”
In various phrases and images, the verses of the hymn
address the Holy Ever-Virgin giving her many titles. Concerning her purity, she
is called the “Flower of Incorruption”
and the “Crown of Chastity.”
Concerning her virginity, she is called the “Unwedded Bride.” Concerning her
giving birth, she is called the “Joiner
of Virginity and Childbirth.” Concerning her bearing of the Son of God in
her womb, she is called, “The Vessel of
God’s Wisdom” and the “The Storehouse
of God’s Providence.” And above all, as St. Basil’s Liturgy also declares,
she is the “Living Temple of God” for
the Son of God came to dwell in her as in a temple.
All this may seem a little “over the top” to us. Yet these
titles are fully at the heart of the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church. The
church fathers agreed in the Council of Ephesus of 431 AD that what we call the
Holy Mother of God is of ultimate importance. For what we call her, how we
address her, and whether we honor her must either affirm or deny the foundation
of our faith, the Incarnation of the Son of God.
Moreover, the titles of the Mother of God of this service help
us to probe more deeply into what it means to believe that the Son of God
became man for our sakes. The “salutations” of this service declare, affirm,
and give thanks to God for the fundamental mystery of our faith—that the
unknowable God become known, the invisible God became visible, the inaccessible
God became accessible.
Therefore, it is entirely appropriate that we address the
Mother of God tonight, using titles that give us a deeper spiritual insight
into her status, her proper name, and her inner nature. Thus, among other
titles she is called the “Revealer of
Philosophers as Fools,” the “Drawer
of Many from the Abyss of Ignorance,” and the “Enlightener of Many with Knowledge,” the knowledge of God and His
Grace. In summary, to honor her, to know her, and to pray to her the Mother of
God according to these various titles is to share in the joy of the mystery of
our salvation.
You may still wonder why the Church prays this service in
this holy season of Great Lent. A practical answer is that this service and its
piety naturally flow from the Feast of the Annunciation, a feast that always
happens in Great Lent. But the answer for our spiritual life is that the Church
does not want us to stray away from the Gospel of our salvation in Christ. Lest
our struggles to keep the Lenten disciplines tempt us to trust in our own
efforts, the Church keeps on turning our attention to the mercy of Christ and
His work of salvation. Tonight we ponder the mystery of the Incarnation by our
“Salutations” to the Holy Mother of God. On Sunday, the Sunday of the Holy
Cross, the cross of Christ is set before us as the end and goal of our Lenten
journey, the saving death and life-giving resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
It is such a blessing that we can gather here as a sign of
our unity in the Orthodox faith and our fellowship in the One, True Church. And
it is most appropriate that we join in this wonderfully rich service of the
“Salutations to the Mother of God.” Because, by these greetings we realize more
deeply the Truth and Grace of our salvation in Christ who is indeed the Son of
God born of the Ever-Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.