The birth of Mary, the Mother of God, was a special event in human history. Her parents, Joachim and Anne, were childless and ridiculed for years. They were told by their peers that they would have been given a large family if they were good and faithful servants of God, but because they had been denied children, they were told that there must be something wrong with them, some great sin which they have committed. This is because it was believed that a large family was a blessing from God given to God’s faithful, and so those with a large family were blessed by God, while those who had no children were cursed by God because of something they had done. This kind of mentality was one which early Christians repudiated as they realized what was important was not having children, but following Christ, that sometimes it is better not to have a family, even if one is married.
God, however, repudiated all those who criticized Joachim and Anne, not only by giving them a special child later in life, but to give them a child who, due to their love and engagement with God and God’s grace throughout their lives, was able to be conceived out of such pure love she would be born full of grace. Their child, Mary, was not only a worthy temple of God, but was chosen to become the one who would give birth to the God-man, Jesus. Thus, in and through their child, the Sun of Righteousness would arise in the world, freeing it from the darkness of sin:
Thy Nativity, O Mother of God,/ has brought joy to all the world;/ for from thee arose the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God,/ Who, having dissolved the curse, has given His blessing,/ and having abolished death, has granted us life eternal (Troparion Of The Mother of God)
Through the birth of Mary, God reveals all the grace given to the people of Israel has been fruitful: God’s intention for them has been fulfilled. The people of Israel is special because they have been chosen to have a central role in salvation history, for in and through them, the God-man would be born. Salvation truly is from the Jews. While there might have been some of the people of Israel who have turned away from the way of the covenant, from the law of Moses (with its proper, spiritual meaning), like Herod, this did not mean the people of Israel should be seen to have failed God. The same can be said for humanity as a whole; just because we find great sinners in the world, sinners who ignore the expectations God gave to them, such as those who have and continue to ignore their role to be stewards of the Earth, there are others who have embraced God’s intention for them, who have opened themselves to God’s grace, and through it, fulfill the special calling God had for them for their lives. Thus, even though there are great sinners in the world,  and so there were great sinners among the people of Israel, there are also great saints, saints which represent some aspect of God’s intentions for the world (of course, even saints can be sinners, so we must understand not everything they said or did was good, but what we need to understand is that they, sometimes despite themselves, fulfilled their role in the world and helped advance God’s cause and intentions in a significant way).
If it seems those who are holy seem to produce little significant good in the world, we must not use that it denigrate the good which they do, indeed, we must recognize that God can and often will take that good and add grace to it, so that what started off little will grow and become great. This is certainly a lesson we should learn from Joachim and Anne, for the good which they did became greater when it was touched by grace, as the daughter they had became the Mother of God. Similarly, we can look to Jesus himself, and the way he was often seen by his critics; he emptied himself of all his divine glory so that he would appear to be a low, insignificant man, and yet it was in and through his insignificance he became the fulcrum which changed the world. Thus, Paul tells us:
 Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philip. 2:5-11 RSV)
It is important we embrace this way of thinking and follow after God even if it seems, as it must have with Joachim and Anne, that all the good we do is of little import. What starts off small, what appears insignificant, can become the foundation for significant change. We should engage God with the faith that what we do for God, what we do out of love, will be taken in by God and made into something great – sometimes in a way, like Joachim and Anne, which  will be apparent when we live, but sometimes, it will only become known to us after our death and resurrection, when we will have a better understanding of the interdependent relationship of all things, an understanding which will allow us better to understand the value and fruit of our work for God. For, we must hope that all the good which we do for God, all the good which we do out of love, will be touched by grace and be made perfect.
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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.
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