Sermon of Archpriest Alexander Abramov at the feast of the Nativity of the most Holy lady Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary.
- The grief of a childless marriage and the glorious Nativity
- The Nativity — holiday routine
- Why we celebrate the Nativity?
- The Nativity of the virgin: interesting facts
- Blessed be the offense and the Nativity of the virgin
In continuation of their way He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house; she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus ‘ feet and heard His word. Martha was cumbered about much serving and came to him, saying, Lord, or You not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? tell her to help me. Jesus said to her: Martha! Martha! you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken from her.
LK. 10: 38-42
When He had said this, one woman, raising his voice, said to Him: blessed is the womb that bore You and the Breasts that fed You! And He said, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.
LK. 11: 27-28
One of the major problems of a person crosses the threshold of the Church, is that he comes here not in order to lead a spiritual life, and in order to God has solved his problem. Whatever they were — no money, no husband, there is no peace. Something else no. This “I don’t have” built a representation of a human that the temple should occur. Namely, God must make up for what I lack. I, in turn, agree to assume certain obligations. For example, to confess, to commune, to read some texts. You — I, I — You.
In this caricatured vision and the conduct of the spiritual life is from the spirit not. Because when the Spirit gets involved in your life, It confuses you all the cards. All your ideas about the oughts, all human calculations. All that you have already marked in the years ahead. But if you came for the Spirit to move in your life, as He knows how to act, sooner or later there is resentment against God. How so? I took the rules of the game, fulfill all the formal requirements, and the salary as I was a little girl, and remains, a family as there was no and no. And I have another report that I must believe in something nobody has seen. What we’re talking about?
I want to draw your attention to something. The circle of gospel readings, dedicated to the Theotokos holidays, very narrow. On the fingers of one hand can be counted these passages from the gospel. Why? After all, the holidays themselves, dedicated to the Mother of God very much. The correct answer is very simple: because very little reliable evidence about the life of the blessed virgin. And the Church is chaste does not make up for this lack of evidence of gossip and fables.
Don’t need a lot of words. The spirit desires to be the man in silence. In invisibility. In undeniable evidence.
The Theotokos celebrations major stitch is laid over the fabric of the Church year. The mother of God everywhere — in the memory of the events of Its earthly life, in honor of Her miracle-working icons. It is everywhere. There seems to be no action. The action of the Mother of God is mostly the work of the Living spirit. And while you will not make a breach in their own walls of misunderstanding, you’ll never touch the real life of the Church where the Savior and the mother of God. Where everywhere Holy crap. Where every event of your life one way or another connected with them. Your life, to put it simply occurs in their eyes and with their participation.
While you do not feel all your bows and hymns are irrelevant. You’ll be in constant anxiety concerning the rule of prayer, Lenten or non-Lenten food, various “possible” and “impossible”. When you feel the experience, you will not be afraid. You know you’re faint and stylesi that you’re wrong, but you’ll also know that they are the Christ, the blessed virgin Mary, the saints do not depart from you. “And, abolishing the oath, gave the blessing”[1], in today’s hymn says. The mother of God, abolishing the oath, that is the curse through Christ gives us the blessing.
Who is the human race cursed? Understandably, the enemy. But he acts human hands, by someone. Or whom he so successfully act through us. We are the authors of their most terrible curses. They are to have eyes and not see, have ears and not hear. To be steadfastly convinced of his rightness and not to seek stillness and depth of spiritual life. It is. In the coming Church year, this first deep clean hole filled with water live — the Nativity of the Mother of God.
From the book “whosoever will may come. Conversations on Sundays and feast the gospel reading,” published in the publishing house “Nike”.
[1] “Your Nativity, o Theotokos virgin, joy to build the entire Selena: You Bo shone the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, and destroying the oath, gave the blessing, and abolishing the death, gifts us eternal life” (Troparion of the Nativity of the most Holy lady Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, tone 4).