March: Day 25: Teaching 1:
Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos
(There Is No Need To Seek Fame)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos
(There Is No Need To Seek Fame)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. The greatest of miracles and mysteries was heralded by the Archangel Gabriel: he was sent to announce to the Virgin Mary the incarnation of the Son of God from Her.
But how modestly the command of God was fulfilled, and how mysteriously the annunciation was given! Where they intended to go, where they would hover, where the kings of the earth wished to be met - all this was made known in advance in its place, and the most careful preparations began there for the worthy reception of the exalted visitor. Behold, the King of heaven and earth came to be incarnate and become human, and who then noticed this? Who, except the Most Pure Virgin, felt the moment of the annunciation? What solemn preparations were made for the reception of the Eternal One within the limits of time, for the appearance of the incorporeal God in virginal and pure flesh? None. "For while all things were in quiet silence, and that night was in the midst of her swift course, Your Almighty word leaped down from heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction" (Wisdom of Solomon 18:14-15).
When the Evangelist Luke was inspired from above to narrate the Annunciation, he had to use some specific indications for a consistent description, in order to place beyond doubt the reality of this miraculous event. What does he indicate?
"The angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth." The very name of this city could lead a Jew to bewilderment: why was an angel sent there? For this city was so despised by the Jews that they often repeated the question: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46).
“He was sent to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,” says the evangelist, as is usually said about the most ordinary people.
Then, although the Evangelist added about Joseph that he was “of the lineage of David,” but about the Mother of God he only noted the name of the virgin: Mariam. Why such brevity in the description? The Evangelist said as much as was necessary so as not to hide the truth and to reveal the obscurity in which the Most Pure Virgin dwelt. If Joseph the betrothed was of the house of David, then the Virgin Mary was likewise. For the families of the tribes of Judea did not mix, and he, as a descendant of David, could not betroth himself to a virgin not of that lineage. But the Evangelist does not speak directly about the royal origin of the Virgin Mary, obviously in order to indicate by this silence her deep humility, according to which she always preferred to live in obscurity, to hide her dignity, not to make public the fame of her origin; may we learn, following her example, to value and love a modest lot in life, obscurity in society.
II. a) For every labor, freedom, unobstructedness, and some silence are necessary. To educate and perfect oneself spiritually, or, which is the same, to labor for the salvation of the soul, one requires freedom from worldly obstacles, silence from secular amusements, concentration within oneself, and withdrawal from others. It was said to the Venerable Arsenios: "Flee from people – and you will be saved." This does not mean: hate people and despise them. A boy is learning to write; another deliberately hinders him. In such a case, the diligent child leaves his annoying companion for some secluded place in order to continue his work unhindered. A person who cares for his soul experiences and does something similar. The spirit of the world and its idle servants put obstacles in the way of pious undertakings at every step. He who is attentive to himself wants to inscribe on his heart the letters of God's commandments, good rules and examples; and the law of secular decency, the need to appear in society, to participate in its not always innocent amusements, the inevitable encounters with temptations that disturb the peace of the imagination and conscience - all such circumstances interrupt spiritual exercise. And so true ascetics of piety seek solitude. Hermits loved people as brothers, but they feared their passions, and they withdrew from their temptations.
b) A secular person (in the extreme sense of the word) cannot appreciate all the benefits of obscurity in society. It is difficult for him to refrain from whirling in the whirlwind of society, but to live secluded in the circle of his family. Fame, in his understanding, is life; to remain unknown in society means to die in soul. He pursues fame so much that he is ready to sacrifice for it family peace and marital obligations, health, property, even his convictions, which he decides to change every hour, just to seem to keep up with modern times. He does not want to understand that for himself, a secular person, true peace of mind is in the silence of secluded hard work, in the fulfillment of his duty, in the blessed pleasures of an honorable marriage, in the Orthodox upbringing of children, in their innocent caresses and quick successes.
Highly placing all fame in society, he does not even believe that people who have renounced the world and are placed in the ranks of the priesthood would come to neglect it, and therefore sometimes he praises them immoderately, just as he censures them undeservedly: for a little abstinence he calls them great fasters, for the fulfillment of duty he says they are ascetics of self-denial, and thus, people who are still troubled by thoughts and impressions that are not sinless, he writes down almost in the category of dispassionate and saints.
c) Alas! If we did not know that envy, to whatever it may be related, is a vice, that submission to Providence is our common duty, that, according to the apostolic admonition, no one receives honor to himself, but only he who is called of God (Heb. 5:4), and that each one must abide in the calling to which he is called (1 Cor. 7:20): then we would envy many Christians living in modest obscurity, who, according to the attraction of their piety, can manage their time and in the quiet of solitude, whether at home or in the desert, draw for themselves pleasure, burning with spirit, serving the Lord (Rom. 12:11). Anyone who has held a prominent position and has not been blinded by ambition knows how difficult it is to stand in sight and go ahead. "Put someone else over you who would please everyone," the great Saint Gregory the Theologian once called out to his listeners, "and give me the desert, the rural life and God. I will please Him alone even with the simplicity of my life. Let there be honors and labors for others, but for me, who am delving into myself, it is enough to live as I can."
III. Let not he who is destined for a modest share of obscurity complain: in the person and life of the Mother of God the hidden man of the heart is revealed to him, in the imperishable beauty of the silent spirit, which is of great price before God (1 Peter 3:4). But he who, by his position in society, is himself open not only to undeserved reproaches, but also to unsolicited praise, when he hears that he is being praised, should, on the advice of one Holy Father (James), think about his sins. For, as another ascetic (Venerable Sisoes) notes, "If God does not glorify a man, then human glory is nothing." Amen.
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
