Why We Offer Salutations to the Mother of God

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.

 
In conclusion, as we leave this service, may each one of us return to our observance of Great Lent renewed in his faith in the Grace of God revealed in the Incarnation, the mystery of our salvation. May we understand that it is right and proper that we honor the One who is “blessed among women” with many titles of praise just as we do tonight. Moreover, may we look to the Mother of God to support and uplift us by her prayers as we continue our Lenten journey.