(Protection of the Most Holy Lady Theotokos) (Luke 10:38-42, 11:27-28)
At the end of today’s Gospel reading from St. Luke, we hear a woman in the crowd say to our Lord, “Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the breasts which Thou didst suck.” Our Lord replies that it is those who hear the word of God, and keep it, that are blessed.
This passage, together with one found in the Gospels of Ss. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, where our Lord is told that His mother and brothers are outside waiting for Him, and He replies that His mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God, and do it, are often cited by many in the protestant groups as evidence that we should not give any special honor to the most holy Theotokos, and should not offer prayers to her. Likewise, they would say, of the account in the Gospel of St. John the Theologian of our Lord on the Cross, committing the care of His mother to the disciple whom He loved, that this referred only to St. John. Of course, our Lord did, indeed, commit the care of His mother to St. John, who took her into his own home from that time forward; but it can equally be argued that the “disciple whom He loves” is also each one who hears the word of God, and keeps it, and lives according to it. As such, the care of His mother, the most holy Theotokos, has been committed to each of us; and it is the great teaching and practice of the Orthodox Church to love and honor the most holy Mother of God.
What mother would not have love for anyone who loves and respects her son? What mother would not do anything in her power on behalf of those who honor and obey her son? I am speaking in human terms, of an ordinary relationship between a mother and her son. If we, being sinful, know how to love and help those who honor those near and dear to us, why would this be any different of the most holy Theotokos? She is worthy of our respect and veneration, because she yielded herself completely, in the fullness of her being, body, mind, and spirit, to the will of God. She is worthy of our respect and veneration because of the virtuous life she lived in preparation for this service, and after the birth of our Lord. She is honored and loved by Her son, our Lord Jesus Christ; and why would He object if we also love and honor her? After all, in doing so, we do nothing more than follow His example. And her response, among others, is to intercede for us who love her Son, and to offer her protection to us, as we celebrate this day.
Brothers and sisters: Let us keep this festival with joy and thanksgiving for the protection of the most holy Theotokos. Let us join her in loving and honoring her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; and let us give thanks for her prayers for our deliverance, and our salvation.
1 comment:
For years and years, I had a "problem" with the veneration of the Theotokos (having been brought up with Catholic Mariolatry) -- until I became Orthodox. It's been a gradual reversal, but a very comforting realization that it really is OK to offer prayers to her; that she still points the way to her Son, and that, even on a purely human level, no son is going to be very impressed with someone who trashes his mother.
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