Homily on the Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

Prologue

The Fathers call this feast the “beginning of feasts,” because it opens the dispensation of salvation “according to the Law and the shadows,” leading us from the letter to the Spirit (cf. Romans 7:6).The Nativity of the Theotokos stands as a boundary between the old and the new: it is the prelude to the Incarnation of the Word and the beginning of the revelation of truth (cf. John 1:17).

1. The Theological Meaning of the Feast

“Christ is the end of the Law” (Romans 10:4) – not through abolition, but through fulfillment.The birth of the Most Holy Virgin shows that God prepares in history a “living temple,” the Ever-Virgin, through whom the Unbeginning One will dwell among us.The feast reveals the entrance of grace: the old things retreat, the prefigurations give way to truth, and human nature is renewed in the Theotokos.

2. The Virgin as a “Boundary” between Law and Grace

The Fathers call the Theotokos “the bridge that leads those on earth to heaven.”In her, humanity is offered undefiled and is received by God.Her birth from a barren womb (St. Anna) prefigures the conception of Christ by the Holy Spirit: grace surpasses the laws of nature without destroying them; it heals and renews them.

3. The Kenotic Economy

“The Word became flesh” (John 1:14).The kenosis begins visibly with the preparation of the nature to be assumed:Mary offers from her pure blood the “virginal clay” from which the New Adam forms the healing of corruption.What was impossible for the Law (Romans 8:3) becomes possible in the Most Holy: from the very beginning of her being, human nature receives the “beginning of deification.”

4. Prefigurations and Types

The Church recognizes in the Theotokos the:

• “Ark of sanctification” (Psalm 132/131),

• “Cherubic Throne,”

• “Gate of the Lord” (Ezekiel 44:2),

• “Jacob’s Ladder” (Genesis 28), and

• “Aaron’s Rod that budded” (Numbers 17).

All these types are fulfilled in her Person: place, time, and body become the locus of deification and divine manifestation.

5. Joachim and Anna: The Healing of Barrenness

The bitter sorrow of the righteous who were childless is turned into dancing (Psalm 30[29]:11–12).Barrenness is undone as a sign of human frailty; prayer brings forth fruit, and the “barren tree” becomes a “paradise of thoughts,” giving birth to the Child of God.The Church honors the parents of the Theotokos as healers of our unbelief: where human hope failed, grace triumphed.

6. Liturgical Witness

The Apolytikion of the feast proclaims: “Your Nativity, O Theotokos, has proclaimed joy to all the universe...” This joy is not psychological, but soteriological; it springs from the “dawn of salvation” rising from the womb of the Virgin. The Kontakion offers interpretation:“Joachim and Anna were freed from the reproach of childlessness...” The mystery is revealed in the living experience of the Church.

7. Patristic Testimonies

• St. John of Damascus: The Theotokos is “the boundary between God and creation,” for in her, the divided are united without confusion (Homilies on the Dormition).

• St. Andrew of Crete: “Today is the beginning of salvation...”The Nativity of Mary is truly the beginning of the mysteries of Christ, where the shadow passes into truth (Homily on the Nativity of the Theotokos).

• St. Gregory Palamas: The Virgin was “purified before her conception and remained ever-Virgin after giving birth,” as befitted the Mystery of the Incarnation (Homily on the Entrance of the Theotokos).

• St. Germanus of Constantinople: The Theotokos is the “sanctified Ark” in which the Uncontainable found rest; she is the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (Mariological Homilies).

8. Pastoral Application

This feast calls all of us to offer “word and honor” to the Mother of the Word.

• Parents are called to imitate the faith of Joachim and Anna.

• Virgins are called to love the double incorruption of body and soul.

• Spouses are called to offer “spiritual service” through the purity of their lives.

• All are called to enter “with the virgins” into the Holy of Holies, where the Virgin is fed by the Word, and through her Son, she nourishes the world.

9. Conclusion

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Nativity of the Theotokos is the first breath of the new creation. In her, nature regains its original beauty; woman, once the cause of the fall, becomes the firstfruit of salvation; and the world, aged and weary, is renewed. Through her, grace has overshadowed the world; through her, the Uncontainable was contained; through her, the Spirit sanctified humanity.

“Let all creation rejoice today... for the Lord has shown mercy to His people. Our Mother is born – the salvation and hope of the nations.”

To Christ, Who was incarnate of her, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory forever.

Amen.