| As the Holy Church commemorates the Paralytic and the merciful way in which Jesus healed him, we also remember all our living and reposed Mothers, Grandmothers, Godmothers, and Spiritual Mothers, — chief among which is the Holy Panagia and ever Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. St. Ephraim the Syrian, caught up in the joy of Mary’s motherhood, wrote: “Come, let us wonder at the virgin most pure, wondrous in herself, unique in creation, she gave birth, yet knew no man; her pure soul with wonder was filled, daily her mind gave praise in joy at the twofold wonder: her virginity preserved, her child most dear. Blessed is He who shone forth from her!”
Our spiritual mother, the Church, the Body and bride of Christ, joins in honoring and recognizing all earthly mothers, true Christian loving mothers who neglect no part of their children’s upbringing, particularly that which concerns the Christian life here and for eternity. As Mother of the Church as well as our mother, the Panagia is the sign and symbol of total openness to God, total discipleship – she being the first among her Divine Son’s followers. A woman of precious few words in the Gospel, Mary led by doing, by her holy actions which had their root in the love she bore for the Holy One who took flesh from her flesh, life from her life. Not every woman (or man!) in Scripture is an unwavering example of Godly virtue. In fact, most of them have significant flaws. But they all are distinguished by their faith, or in a few cases, by their lack of it. Most of them are mothers in giving birth. A few are mothers by behavior. How many of them waited long years for our heavenly Father to grant them children. Some reared and provided example for children of great faith; others were disappointed. Some great mothers are even unnamed, but certainly recognized for their virtue. But all of them can teach us something valuable about what makes a woman – particularly a mother – truly extraordinary., truly disciples of the Lord. We need to hear this message today in our land. Our holy father St. Gregory Palamas, notes the special selection of the Panagia in salvation history. He writes regarding the Presentation of Mary in the Temple: “Therefore, the High Priest, seeing that this child, more than anyone else, had divine grace within her, wished to set her within the Holy of Holies. He convinced everyone present to welcome this, since God had advanced it and approved it. Through His angel, God assisted the Virgin and sent her mystical food, with which she was strengthened in nature, while in body she was brought to maturity and was made purer and more exalted than the angels, having the Heavenly spirits as servants. She was led into the Holy of Holies not just once, but was accepted by God to dwell there with Him during her youth, so that through her, the Heavenly Abodes might be opened and given for an eternal habitation to those who believe in her miraculous birth-giving.” Hagar, a women in the Book of Genesis, was an Ancient Egyptian servant of Sarah, who gave her to Abraham to bear a child. She gave this warning to all mothers: “Your faith – or lack of it – will affect many generations to come, not simply or just your own children and grandchildren.” A mother’s role was pivotal in the raising of children—- then and NOW. It was the same with the Panagia – her role in the formation of the Church, in actively urging others to hear her Son’s preaching, her spreading of the message “Do whatever He tells you,” as she did at Cana’s wedding, her example of remaining with Christ right to the every end and walking with Him His suffering, her presence in the Upper Room when the power and might of the Holy Spirit came upon the 12 with her — all of these spoke of Mary’s fidelity, and the fact that “she got it” – she knew the secret, for her it wasn’t complex – it was compassion and gentleness. As St. Jerome, Bishop and Biblical translator, said with certainty: “Even while living in the world, the heart of Mary was so filled with motherly tenderness and compassion for men that no-one ever suffered so much for their own pains, as Mary suffered for the pains of her children.” Compassion and tenderness…..they are at the heart of Who God is, the center of the Holy Church, the center, hopefully, of our individual lives – and our greatest example of those two virtues is the Theotokos, Mother of the Church, one of our own, a young, a faithful Jewish believer, whom Christian history extols as “our tainted nature’s solitary boast.” From her beginning earth mixed with heaven, the high with the low, in a wondrous expression of mercy and love. It is THAT that gives motherhood its true nobility, its enduring importance in the history of humankind, and in the struggle to preserve compassion and tenderness – however bruised and battered they may become at our hands. She taught us that motherhood is not simply biological – it is mystical. The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge tells us why: “The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the human heart and the Father in Heaven.” The Most Holy Theotokos is a human connection with the love of God manifest in the life and preaching of Jesus of Nazareth, her Son. On this Mother’s Day, let us, as an Orthodox faith community, remember the love and heartfelt fidelity of our living and/or reposed Mothers, Grandmothers, Godmothers, and Spiritual Mothers (those women who may help us tend to our souls). Let us recognize in them the love of God as it came to us in Jesus the Christ, and as it fills our hearts from the heart and hands of the Mother of God and these earthly mothers. It was St. Silouan of Mt. Athos, whose own mother loved him with a full heart, who would write: “A certain monk told me that when he was very sick, his mother said to his father, ‘How our little boy is suffering. I would gladly give myself to be cut up into pieces if that would ease his suffering.’ Such is the love of God for people. He pitied people so much that he wanted to suffer for them, like their own mother, and even more. But no one can understand this great love without the grace of the Holy Spirit.” To all mothers — May you, like Hagar, be blessed with extraordinary encounters with our heavenly Father. May you always choose the value of faith no matter what adversities arise and may your children inherit this Godly legacy. May you never give up on God’s promise to you and your family. May your children grow up in full assurance of the place they have in your heart, in your home and in their potential as faithful stewards of God’s holy will. Above all, we ask that the school of compassion and tenderness at which you instructed your little, young children – will remain forever open, still communicating to them, in life or in death, your love and most importantly, the love of God and of the Most Holy Theotokos, Mother of the Church! Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen! Faithfully yours in the Risen Christ, |
