Spirituality Archives

All this took place to fulfill what had been said by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him “Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”—Matt. 1:22-23

May the Lord bless you with peace, and good will, and joy. From Matthew’s Gospel: “Now, the birth of Jesus took place in this way” (1:18). Sometimes I wonder if Christmas doesn’t actually start—and Advent end—the moment we hear those words in Scripture, they are so delightfully familiar. And the Nativity music and the beautiful troparions and the perfume of Frankincense are filling our days, and the sidewalks smell like Christmas trees for sale, and traditional holiday treats are baking, and colored lights bless us from everywhere—here we are at the threshold of God’s unsearchable gift to us of the Incarnation in the birth of the little Christ Child. For soon, so soon we will celebrate the glorification of the Nativity in the flesh by the Most Holy Virgin Mary of our Lord Jesus Christ. And: “the Virgin bears Him who is transcendent, and the earth contains him in a cave, Him who is utterly uncontainable” (Kontakion of Holy Nativity, Third Tone).

And yet, we do hear a lot of fretting from Joseph in the story as it is told in the Gospel of Matthew. Another of the traditional kontakions explains it for us: “The chaste-minded Joseph, who before had within him a storm of doubting thoughts, now beholds all-glorious things within the divine cave (Kontakion IV, Akathist Hymn to the Nativity of Christ). Another way to reflect on his concern is to see in it Joseph working out his honorable respect of Mary as sacred to God; perhaps that his very young fiancé is already dedicated to God at this point.

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by V.K. McCarty

“Today Anna bequeaths joy to all instead of sorrow by bringing forth her fruit.
Today with joy she brings to the Temple of the Lord
The true Temple and pure Mother of God the Word.” (Troparion in Tone 4)

As faithful Orthodox navigating a tumultuous world, what does the upcoming Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple mean for us? One thing which helps us to unravel its mystery is hearing Jesus teach about the great treasury of Heaven in his Parable, about the divine storehouse of the soul (Luke 12:16-21), which is associated with the feast. This is one of several Parables about the topos of the Rich Fool. And even as we encounter the Gospel story, we are being uniquely guided into our celebration of the feast itself. This is one of the wonderful times when the Gospel is leading us straight into the mystery of the feast. For we are learning from Jesus, just like the “Rich Fool” in the story: You are always seen as rich toward God, not for the treasury of your grain, but for the treasure of your soul.

During the Feast of her Entry into the Temple, Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos Mary is modeling for us the pilgrimage of the soul, our inner treasure from God, shining bright with gratitude and repentance. Take care for the treasure of your own soul; seek the riches of your connection to God. I tell you, reflecting prayerfully on the images of this feast will leave you longing for a deeper pilgrimage of your soul toward God.

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