The Blessed
Virgin Mary was a native to Palestine of the day. The daughter of Younakhan and
Khanna who were descendants of King David. Church history teaches that Saint
Mary was a very beautiful girl who loved the LORD God and was devoted to the
temple in Jerusalem as a girl by her parents to be faithfully brought up in the
knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. When she had reached the age of betrothal,
she was betrothed to Joseph, a faithful man also from the linage of King David.
An account in Church history tells of how both Mary and Joseph had both agreed
to devote themselves to the LORD in chastity and though they were betrothed, they
would dedicate their lives to serving the LORD.
As the gospel of
Luke quotes:
“26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was
sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants
of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favoured
one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement,
and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you
have found favour with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name Him Jesus.32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most
High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of
His father David; 33 and He will
reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His
kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to
the angel, “How can this be, since I am a
virgin?” 35 The angel
answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child
shall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a
son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of
the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:26-38
From the moment
that the Virgin Mary had conceived of the Holy Spirit upon the greeting of the
Archangel Gabriel, we witness her faith, humility and acceptance of God’s work
and will in her life. As a young virgin, she was naturally perplexed in her
understanding as to how she could conceive without knowing a husband and
enquired further as to how this would prevail. Her faithful and humble response
to the Lord’s calling (verse 38) is magnified when she accepts and believes the
seemingly impossible and wondrous prophesied miracle which will be fulfilled
through her as God’s chosen vessel. This is a great testament to her faith as
the first person to believe in Jesus the Messiah (Isho Msheekha).
The Church
teaches that Mary remained with Christ throughout His life and remained a
virgin. The first miracle that our Lord performed was at a wedding feast in
Cana and it was done at the request of His mother (John 2:1-12). We also see
how the Lord entrusts His mother to the care of the disciple John before He
completed His earthly mission on the Cross, knowing that the Holy Virgin had
dedicated her life to serving the Lord and was without husband and children to
care for her.
“But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother,
and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple
whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “ Woman,
behold, your son!” 27 Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that
hour the disciple took her into his own household.” John 19:25-27
Of the many
non-apostolic churches which have grown over the centuries and wrongly interpreted
or maligned the word of God through one reformed teaching which opened the door
to another - apart from the Apostles teachings, we see many debating the
perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin and consequently taking away the
honour and respect that should be worthily bestowed to our Lord’s mother. These
misunderstandings however, can be easily clarified by looking to the word of
God through the teaching of the Apostles and Church Fathers.
One particular
verse in the Bible that is magnified in this argument is Matthew 1:25 – “but he
(Joseph) did not know her until she gave birth to a son” (N.B. when I looked
this verse up today, the current NIV version has changed this verse yet again
to give another misinterpreted message from the previous NIV Bible I have that
was printed in 1995. The word’s “did not know her”, were replaced by “did not
have union with her” and the latest translation states “did not consummate
their marriage until” This truly shows how in need we are to adhere and hold
on to our treasured Orthodox teachings).
St John
Chrysostom beautifully expounds on this verse and explains the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Mother
through various examples from scripture:
“And when he
had taken her, “he knew her not, till she had brought forth her first-born
Son.” He hath here used the word “till,” not that thou shouldest suspect that
afterwards he did know her, but to inform thee that before the birth the Virgin
was wholly untouched by man. But why then, it may be said, hath he used the
word, “till”? Because it is usual in Scripture often to do this, and to use
this expression without reference to limited times. For so with respect to the
ark likewise, it is said, “The raven returned not till the earth was dried up.”
And yet it did not return even after that time. And when discoursing also of
God, the Scripture saith, “From age until age Thou art,” not as fixing limits
in this case. And again when it is preaching the Gospel beforehand, and saying,
“In his days shall righteousness flourish, and abundance of peace, till the
moon be taken away,”it doth not set a limit to this fair part of creation.
So then here
likewise, it uses the word “till,” to make certain what was before the birth,
but as to what follows, it leaves thee to make the inference. Thus, what it was
necessary for thee to learn of Him, this He Himself hath said; that the Virgin
was untouched by man until the birth; but that which both was seen to be a
consequence of the former statement, and was acknowledged, this in its turn he
leaves for thee to perceive; namely, that not even after this, she having so
become a mother, and having been counted worthy of a new sort of travail, and a
child-bearing so strange, could that righteous man ever have endured to know
her. For if he had known her, and had kept her in the place of a wife, how is
it that our Lord commits her, as unprotected, and having no one, to His
disciple (John), and commands him to take her to his own home?” (Chrysostom, Homily V)
Again, we read
in the Prophecy of Ezekiel:
“Then He brought me back
by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces
the east; and it was shut. 2 The Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it
shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore
it shall be shut.”
(Ezekiel 44:1-2)
This
has always been interpreted by the Fathers of the Church to be a typological
reference to the Virgin Mary and the Incarnation. When we consider that God
took flesh from the Virgin's womb, it is not difficult to imagine that this
womb would remain virgin and no one would ever enter through the womb or vessel
of the LORD. The bottom line is this has been the consistent and universal view
of the Church from the time of the Apostles until today.
There are varied
historical accounts describing the passing of the Blessed Virgin Mary that are
too lengthy to mention for this short article. What we should always remember
about her passing is that until her last moment on this earth she was highly
esteemed, respected and honoured by the Lord’s Apostles and all followers of
Christ as the mother of our Lord and a faithful, humble, God-fearing servant of
the Most High. This very same honour and respect should be given to the Blessed
Virgin Mary by all of us today.
As women in the
Church today, we should look to the Blessed Mother and aim to emulate her faith
in the Lord, her acceptance of His ever-changing will for her life and
acceptance of the great struggles she endured and the subsequent eternal
blessings that followed. Let us give her the honour and respect that is due to
her and be encouraged that as a sympathizing woman and mother, she will beseech
the Lord with prayers of supplication on our behalf when we faithfully ask her
to.
May the fast of
the Blessed Virgin Mary bring you strength, increased faith and love and may
the prayers of the Blessed Virgin beseech the Lord on your behalf.
The Prayer of St Mary (as said in the
Assyrian Church of the East):
(Phonetic Modern Syriac translation):
Shlamalakh Maryam mleeta shapaqat,
Maran minakh
M’boorikhtehwat gaw bakhtateh
O’mboorkhe’le pira d’kasakh Isho.
Mart Maryam Yima d’Mshishka,
Saleh min geban akhnan khatayeh
Adia w’op b’saat d’motan
Amen
(English translation):
Peace be with you Mary full of grace
Our Lord is with you
Blessed are you amoung all women
Blessed is the fruit of your womb – Jesus
Saint Mary, Mother of Christ
Pray on behalf of us sinners
Now and until the time of our death
Amen
This week’s song: Qalet Mariam (the voice
of Mary) – Linda George
You are doing a great job! Thank you and please keep it up.
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