Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple (Hb. 9:1-7) Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
To properly understand the Epistle to the Hebrews, we need to have a good grasp of the divinely revealed, divinely instituted, ancient worship of
Israel. All of what we heard last evening in the Old Testament readings are the result of God Who directed the construction of the Tabernacle and all contained therein. This portable shrine served the purpose of the offering up of the daily and other liturgical sacrifices in the divine worship of the God of
Israel. Moreover, the Tabernacle, like its successor, the Temple, served to be the dwelling place of God, the House of God, Who promised to abide in the midst of His people. We stand reminded, that the People of God, ancient
Israel, were delivered from Egyptian slavery by God precisely to worship
Him – the God of their fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Tabernacle and all of Israel’s worship is patterned after that which is in Heaven (Ex. 25:9,
40; 26:30; Ac. 7:44; Hb. 8:5). This pattern becomes the foundation of the worship of the New Israel, the Church. It becomes the lens by which we see the Christian Faith and liturgy and through which we understand the Church and her baptized. Our entire Christian existence is couched in terms of worship: of Temple and Tabernacle, of priesthood and holiness, of sacrifice
1 Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple (Hb. 9:1-7) and offering. Perhaps nowhere moreso does this become apparent except here in the feats of our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious
Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. All that we know of her in these feasts comes, not from Biblical sources, as Rdr. John has shared with us in his insightful catechetical series on the icons of the Twelve Great Feasts, but rather comes from writings outside of Sacred Scripture. Yet, the Church has found these non-canonical stories credible, bearing true and faithful witness to her experience of the Mother of God.
We hear from the Epistle to the Hebrews this morning, an apostolic writing steeped in the Old Testament: its images and types. Specifically referenced today is the thrice divided Tabernacle with its outer court, the
Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies. It bears witness that there are gradations of holiness or degrees of holiness similar to what we might find, let’s say, in our understanding of Prosphora, Antidoro, and the
Lamb. Prosphora is holy to the degree that it has been prepared specifically as an offering (which is what the word means). The Antidoro, however, is holier because it is prosphora that has been blessed during the preparatory service of the Prothesis and is treated accordingly by us as we partake of it with reverence. And the Lamb is holiest of all because it is prosphora that has not only been blessed and sanctified, but it has been consecrated by the
2 Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple (Hb. 9:1-7) epiclesis, that is, the calling down of the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit upon the gifts now offered: “Send down Thy Holy Spirit upon us and upon these Gifts here offered . . . And make this Bread the precious Body of Thy
Christ . . . And that which is in this cup, the precious Blood of Thy Christ . .
. Making the change by Thy Holy Spirit” to which we respond with “Amen.
Amen. Amen.” Making a profound bow from the waist or a prostration
But, why is this Epistle reading linked with this feast of the
Theotokos? Lex orandi, lex credenda – the rule (law) of prayer is the rule
(law) of Faith and the rule of Faith is the rule of prayer. In other words, what the Church prays, she believes and what she believes, she prays. The pairing of this Epistle with the Theotokos tells us something about her and how we see her. For this feast is not merely her entrance into the Temple as though she were merely making her debut. It is more precisely the entrance of the Theotokos into the Holy of Holies – the Most Holy Place! She goes where no man may go but once a year, as St. Paul tells us. On the Day of
Atonement, the High Priest alone was the only one permitted to enter behind the veil into the throne room of God and His mercy seat, to stand before the
Ark of the Covenant containing holy relics, and to minister there before the
3 Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple (Hb. 9:1-7) face of God Almighty, but not before he had offered up the bloody sacrifice
“for himself and for the errors of the people.”
And yet, the most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady
Theotokos, at age 3, dances her way into the Holy of Holies where she will dwell in the Temple and serve God! The rich hymnody of the Church speaks to this profound Mystery, baffled, mystified, and rendered speechless! At age 3 she is already holy! “Chosen above all creation,” she is offered up as a sweet-smelling fragrance of incense before the Lord. “A child in the flesh but perfect in soul, the holy Ark enters the house of God, there to feed upon divine grace.” “Into the holy place, Holy of Holies is fittingly brought to dwell, as a sacrifice acceptable to God” (Small Vespers).
“O Virgin all-undefiled, past understanding are thy wonders! Strange is the manner of thy birth: strange is the manner of thy growing. Strange and most marvelous are all things concerning thee, O Bride of God, and they are beyond the telling of mortal man” (Matins).
This Woman, this child, defies all rational explanation, despite our
Roman Catholic brethren’s best efforts! And yet, all who come to know her as Mother and love her as such, know this to be true. She is unique, irreplaceable, indispensable, one-of-a-kind! All of human history – indeed our very salvation! – hinged on her simple but humble, “’Behold the
4 Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple (Hb. 9:1-7) handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word’” (Lk. 1:38). And still, that doesn’t even begin to do her justice or scratch the surface of this
Mystery of the Faith! The Archangel Gabriel sees in her something unsaid about any other person before or after her. He greets her as one who is “’full of grace’” (Lk. 1:28). We, too, greet her: “Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos,
Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb: for thou hast borne the Saviour of our souls.” The unborn baby, John, leaps in Elizabeth’s womb at the greeting of the Theotokos, inspired by the Holy Spirit (Lk. 1:41). But, Mary, the Mother of our Lord, is “’full of grace’” (Lk. 1:42-45)!
The Church uses words and phrases of endearment and Biblical imagery to feebly capture the truth, the reality, the Mystery of her election by God. Indeed, she cannot be contained by just one word! She is nevertheless: Panagia, that is, the All-Holy One, the All-Pure One (Great
Vespers); Holy of Holies; Temple and Home of the King of all; spotless
Tabernacle of God the Almighty; living Bridal Chamber of God the Word; living Ark, that contained the Word Who cannot be contained; living Temple who alone among women is pure and blessed; living Heaven; most pure
Virgin (Matins). The Church sings, God “has sanctified all things by her entry, and has made godlike the fallen nature of men” (Matins). Fr.
5 Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple (Hb. 9:1-7) Alexander Schmemann assures us in his writings on our Lady Panagia, “He,
Who eternally remains her Son, gives her to us as the assurance that man is the image of His ineffable beauty, the object of eternal love in an eternal
Kingdom.”
At the end of St. Luke’s reading today, we hear words from the
Virgin’s Son which are frequently viewed as negative towards her. But, in reality, they magnify her because she embodies what Jesus is saying and calls all of us who are His brethren and her sons and daughters, “’[B]lessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it’” (Lk. 10:38-42; 11:27-28).
Mary was completely open to God, available to His will, and free to give herself to Him with the impetus of . . . love . . . Thus Mary made a gift of herself that was so absolutely complete that it excels that of any other created being and is surpassed only by that of [her Son] the God-Man (Divine Intimacy IV, p. 267).
Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
PROPERS:
Ex. 40:1-5, 9-10, 16, 34-35 3 [1] Kg. 7:51; 8:1, 3-7, 9-11 Ek. 43:27-44:4
Hb. 9:1-7 Lk. 10:38-42; 11:27-28
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