When the Homily is about Immunology

Equality, Political philosophy and the Most Holy Theotokos

There's something about Mary.

The liturgical dance of the Orthodox calender has wound down from the Dormition fast (a fast which because of my surgery I was unable to participate much in). Yesterday we remembered the death of the Mother of God. Now, when I was an evangelical we figured that Mary was just like me, you, or anyone else. Nothing special about her at all. Even though the Angel proclaimed her to be "highly favored" and even though she herself prophesied (by the Holy Spirit the Scriptures say) that "every generation shall call me blessed." We all just figured it was like she had won the lottery and that these proclamations were synonymous with "lucky."

Now in part this evangelical belief was reactionary againt Roman Catholic beliefs regarding Mary. However, if modern evangelicals were to read what the early reformers (such as Calvin and Luther) wrote about Mary they would be seriously scandalized. Regardless, if you will indulge me for a moment I think I understand another facet of the evangelical mindset regarding Mary.

The Reformation, and those reformations that followed were born in a time in which religious and political philosophies were changing radically. "Saved by faith alone" and "all men being created equal" somehow seem to mesh well with one another - and I think I see today an attitude which says that not only are all people created equal but that they also always remain equal - no matter what they do. And though I would not argue this point in the eyes of the law, I would contend that it is untrue ontologically. But from this underlying suppostition I think we evangelicals got our hesitance to ascribe anything special to Mary. But, alas, the ancient Church believed otherwise America.

Orthodox theology, being so firmly Incarnational, sees a great deal of importance in the person of Mary who gave Christ His humanity. Saint Irenaios (among other early Church fathers) referred to her as the second Eve and he wrote: "The knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by Mary's obedience." Her accepting words in response to the annunciating angel was in fact given on behalf of us all. The Troparian of the Annunciation chants:

Today is the beginning of our salvation
and the manifestation of the mystery which is from eternity.
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin,
and Gabriel announces grace.
So with him let us also cry to the Mother of God:
Rejoice, thou who art full of grace!
The Lord is with thee.

We tend to ignore the intense experience (no doubt because it is not recorded in the NT) of Mary nursing and holding in her arms the One who holds the world in His. It baffles the mind, and the experience is not lost to the heart and memory of the Church. The Theotokos ("God bearer") is apart of the that great cloud of witnesses who interecede on our behalf still today. No such thing as a dead Christian, and Mary was the first.

More honorable than the Cherubim
and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim
without defilement you gave birth to God the Word,
True Theotokos we magnify thee.