Conception by Righteous Anna of the Most Holy Theotokos
We are well into the Nativity Fast, the middle of the third week of the 40 days preceding the Holy Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh. These days provide preparatory hints of what is coming, usually by the accompanying texts that are directed for use by the twelve volumes of liturgical texts called Menaion, the Greek word that is “of the month.”
At the midpoint of the 40 days there is the commemoration of the Wonderworker of Myra and Lycia, Saint Nicholas (December 6). Plenty of association with “Christmas” exists for this day as the modern Santa Claus maintains a thread of connection with this saint. In the first week the commemoration of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple took place (November 21), and the Canon during the Vigil service used the Nativity Canon texts. More reference to the Nativity is made on other days, including the day on which the “First-called” of the Apostles, Andrew, is commemorated. The five days before the Feast itself are called “Prefeast” and they have distinct texts as well.
On the 25th day of the Nativity Fast we commemorate the Conception by Righteous Anna of the Most Holy Theotokos (December 9). As is the case for other divine reversals of what seemed to be an “all is lost” moment in the carrying out of the Covenant made with Abraham, a very unlikely conception takes place, of natural cause, while of no doubt aided by the Holy Spirit. Any details that we have of this conception is maintained among the Holy Tradition responsible for the preservation of what is understood to be the saving work dispensed by our God for the world (His entire dispensation). Such Holy Tradition we understand to be contained in sayings, writings, and verse giving some understanding for this day. For us, much of this understanding is sung during the services for the Theotokoks, great and lesser services alike. One needs to be present for these Feasts of the Theotokos to ponder with her the things which the Lord has said and done to accomplish what He pleases.
Needless to say, a tremendous amount of pondering such work was “theologized” into the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Theotokos (Roman Catholic Church). We speak of her as being immaculate, but because of Holy Tradition, we understand her to have her origin from the physical union of her parents. The icon of their physical embrace is a holy image of the consolation within grief that they shared in barrenness. From their union, certainly with the aid of the Holy Spirit, came the flower of patient faithfulness. This child born late in life from a barren womb was not excluded from the stain of “original sin” in order to hold up to the scrutiny of systematic thought for theorized atonement. The daughter of Joachim and Anna who would become the bearer of God (Theotokos) gave to the God-man the entirety of our humanity, just as He gave to our humanity the entirety of His divinity. It was the saving work of God to ensure that the entirety of both was what would confront the wage for sin and its executor, death - Hades, the uncrossed chasm of the curse, the Prince of Darkness, the grave, the underworld. We are told each bright morning of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by the golden tongue preacher of Constantinople (Archbishop John, who died in exile), that “Hades received a body and met the Creator, face to face.” The fullness of both natures needed to be present for this confrontation to happen and to matter.
So, we honor the work of God by remembering it as it was accomplished among persons such as the Righteous Anna, and her husband the Righteous Joachim, by their faithful cooperation with the Holy Spirit, working to be “holy people” while judged by their peers to be unrighteous persons, their barrenness as evidence. Their daughter Mariam (Maria, Mary) was the chosen vessel prepared by faithfulness, not by the exclusion of her humanity, or by her humanity diminished. While the Temple in Jerusalem that she and her parents were faithful to visit did not manifest the presence of God as was recorded in the Scriptures, humanity is restored as the temple made without hands, which we all are proclaimed to be who emulate the same faithfulness and aspire to the same holiness. The example of this righteous couple, and their offspring, will help us to welcome the Creator who is conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin, becoming man in order to conquer death as Life. What a tremendous gift! Any gift we might give is both dwarfed by, while being fully inspired by this gift. Because of this gift, love others and give freely, to the glory of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both now, and forever, and unto ages of ages!
