We are approaching the second Sunday of Lent. We are also approaching one of the 12 Great Feasts of our Orthodox Church, the Annunciation. The Annunciation is is important because Mary agrees “let it be according to your will.”
To set right all that has gone wrong with man and woman from the first sin of Adam and Eve, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, became the Son of the Virgin Mary. She fulfills the meaning of all humanity in saying “yes” with her whole person to the Lord in ways that the first Adam and Eve did not. In this way, she entered into real life, into true humanity, the fulfillment of the image and likeness of God.
Our Christian Church believes that God humbled Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, so that we could have eternal life.
God, when He became Man, did not come in a flashy or overwhelming miracle.
I’m always amazed at the simplicity of, yet also the wonder of, the beautiful miracle of the Annunciation. Imagine for the modern time that we live in. If we want to make an announcement, let’s say for a pregnancy or birth or even an engagement or wedding-how elaborate and intricate is the announcement. We get a photographer and buy new clothes. We make sure that everyone knows-we post it on social media, send text messages, and if we are “famous” it might be in the news or magazines.
Our God is an all powerful God. A new word that Moses has learned is “apex,” which means the highest and strongest. He likes to say that God is the apex of everything. And if our all powerful God is the strongest why did He come into the world as a human child, born to a poor woman far from the seats of power of the era? He could have come in any number of ways.
But, He sought human cooperation, and that came in the person of a young woman who lived in poverty and powerlessness. The young woman faced the difficult possibility that she would be stoned to death for adultery. She had fear. But she was obedient to God, as opposed to Eve. Her willingness to face that hard reality, to cooperate with God's will, came from her faith.
As we will hear at Orthros on the Feast: Gabriel announces good tidings today to her who is full of grace:
"Rejoice, O Maiden unmarried and unwed. Be not astonished by my strange appearance, nor be dismayed. For an Archangel am I. The serpent once beguiled Eve, but I am now announcing to you the joy. You shall remain inviolate, and yet shall bear the Lord, O Immaculate."
Why does the Orthodox Church honor the Holy Virgin Mary and Theotokos? She had faith that all would be as the angel Gabriel promised her it would. So she said to him, "Let it be according to your will." With those words, she consented to God's plan for our salvation.
The term “Theotokos” means “Mother of God,” but not, of course, in the sense of her somehow being the mother of the Holy Trinity. From as far back as anyone can tell, Christians have honored Mary as Theotokos in recognition of the divinity of her Son. The Church teaches that the Virgin Mary is every bit as human as the rest of us, but in her purity, obedience, and receptivity to God’s will, she freely agreed to become the mother of the Son of God, Who alone is fully divine and fully human. Hers is a unique and glorious vocation.
“Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
How could we not honor her, above all other saints, when it is her cooperation that puts God's plan into action? That brings us to one of several things we want our children to know: Mary was not forced to consent to God's plan. She could have said "no." She is our model, born with free will as we all are, of one who chose to say "yes" to God, as we should do as well.
Fr. Alexander Schmemann describes Mary's place in our faith in this way: “The veneration of the Virgin Mary is a necessary component of our faith: The image of the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mother, stands [as] the image of infinite humility and purity, filled with beauty and strength; the image of love and the victory of love. The Virgin Mary, the All-Pure Mother demands nothing and receives everything. She pursues nothing and possesses all. In the image of the Virgin Mary, we find compassion, tender-heartedness, care, trust, humility. We call her Our Lady and the Queen of Heaven and Earth, and yet she calls herself "the handmaid of the Lord." Christ said, 'Do not be anxious. Seek first the Kingdom of God' (see Mt 6:33). Beholding this woman - Virgin Mother, Intercessor - we begin to sense, to know not with our mind, but with our heart, what it means to seek the Kingdom, to find it, and to live by it.”
Now let us read the story of the Annunciation-
An Angel Brings Good News to Mary
Mary lived near the temple until she was fourteen years old. She was always quiet and at peace with herself and others. Mary learned all the things that girls her age were taught at that time. Most of all she liked to read the ancient holy books telling the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, and all the prophets. She read about what had happened to her people and what the prophets said of the Savior who would come some day. Mary often wondered when the Savior would come. When Mary was fourteen years old she had to leave the temple. By that time both Joachim and Anna were dead and Mary had no home to which she could go. The priests of the temple found an old man who was a relative of Mary's. His name was Joseph, and he worked as a carpenter. The priests asked Joseph to take Mary into his home and look after her. Joseph's wife had died long before this time, and he was very happy to receive Mary. In Joseph's home Mary continued her quiet and peaceful life. Working, reading, and praying, she made everything around her peaceful and happy. One day in early spring, while she was all by herself reading and praying, she suddenly saw an angel standing before her. The angel spoke, saying: "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are you among women. When Mary saw the angel, she was troubled. She wondered why he had greeted her in such a strange way. But the angel said to her: "Fear not, Mary, God has chosen you. You shall have a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus. (Jesus means Savior.) He shall be great and shall be called the Son of God, and His kingdom shall have no end." "How will this be when I am not even married?" Mary questioned. "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the strength of God will be with you," answered the angel. "Look at your cousin Elizabeth, who is old. She is also going to have a son. Nothing is impossible for God." Then Mary said: " I am the servant of God. Let everything be as you say." *God Gives Zechariah and Elizabeth a Son The angel went away, and Mary began to wait for the Son that the angel had promised her. She went to visit with her cousin Elizabeth. When Elizabeth saw her, she greeted her with strange words as the angel had done: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." The news that Mary received was the greatest news that had ever been given: the news that God Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, would come on earth to live with us. Every year, early in the spring, we remember the day when Mary received the great news. Mary remained with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned to her own house.
Discussion
It is obviously very complicated and difficult to explain all the events that bring us to the moment of the Annunciation to young children. Yet it is very beautiful and appropriate to share the story so memorable and explain some very important messages that they can understand.
1. Who made an announcement? The angel Gabriel. God sends angels on several occasions and they are messengers of His word. In this case God sent the angel Gabriel to bring this message to Mary.
2. To whom did he make it? Mary 3. What was the announcement? That she would have a baby and name Him Jesus.
4. Why did God send his Son to us?
God promised to send Jesus to teach us especially to love one another. God chose Mary among women to be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God and by becoming incarnate, God raises up humanity. He makes humanity something more wonderful than ever before. He opens new opportunities for us
5. How did Mary respond? A little confused about how, but wanting to do God’s will. “Let it be done to me according to your will.”
The reaction and response of Mary to the announcement of God is very important and relevant as this sends a message to our children of love, faith and obedience that she shows at that time. 6. What are some ways that we can say yes to God?
Answers here can vary by child. But what is important is to understand that God wants us to love everyone and treat others how we want to be treated.
Craft: Annunciation Banner & Cards
Look together again at the words of the troparion of the Feast of Annunciation.
Today is the beginning of our salvation,
The revelation of the eternal mystery!
The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin,
As Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.
Together with him let us cry out to the Theotokos!
Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you.
The hymn says that today is the "beginning" of our salvation because it is His incarnation, it is the beginning of Jesus Christ's birth as our Savior. Nine months after this feast, which comes in March, we will celebrate the birth of Our Lord in December. Our "salvation" means our being saved from something. We are saved from the final power of death. Now, with the coming of Jesus Christ as our Savior, we have the opportunity to follow Jesus Christ into the Kingdom and to be with Him there always.
When you speak with your children, point out that the first words, "Today is the beginning of our salvation" are really an announcement to the whole world. This isn't just something for us. This is something for the entire world. We have to share this joy with those around us.
The last words, "Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you" are an announcement to Mary (who is the one described by the words "full of grace“).
For the craft we will need paper, markers, stickers, anything fun and artsy.
I will let Moses choose a phrase from the hymn and we will write it on two or three pieces of paper that I will tape together. We can decorate it with markers, crayons, glitter and stickers. We will hang this up in our house to announce the Feast.
Another idea is to make cards with the announcement and give it to our friends to share with them the Good News of Mary’s obedience!
Recipe: Cinnamon Swirl Cake
A simple yellow cake, swirled with cinnamon sugar makes for a delightful treat. Add nuts to the swirls for variation, Make the batter into cupcakes.
Yellow Vanilla cake Wet: 1 cup non dairy milk such as almond or soy 1 tsp vinegar 1/3 cup sugar 1 tbsp more for sweeter 1/4 cup oil 1 tsp vanilla extract Dry: 2 cups of flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt
Cinnamon Swirl:
3 tbsp sugar light brown sugar or a mix of brown and regular
1.25 tsp cinnamon
pinch of cardamom or ginger or orange zest, chopped walnuts or almonds for variation
Instructions Prepare a bread pan with cooking paper.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 deg C). Mix all of the ingredients of the cake together, except the cinnamon swirl.
Mix the ingredients of the cinnamon swirl.
Add half of the batter to the bread pan. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon mixture on the batter. Pour the rest of the batter and even it out. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon mixture on top. Use a knife to swirl in lightly throughout the batter.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (depends on the pan and oven, about 30 minutes for a cake pan and 20 for cupcakes). Check from the center at 45 mins and continue baking till the toothpick comes out completely clean. Cool on the counter for 10 mins then remove from the pan and continue to cool completely before slicing.
If you are looking for an extra layer of sweetness add 2 tablespoons of soy (or almond) milk with 1-2 cups of powdered sugar. Pour the glaze over the top of the cooled cake.
Eat and enjoy!
On this feast of Annunciation let us proclaim with our families:
Rejoice, through whom is the joy to shine forth. Rejoice, through whom is the curse to vanish. Rejoice, restoration of Adam the fallen one. Rejoice, liberation of Eve from tears. Rejoice, height to which the thoughts of men are hardly able to ascend. Rejoice, depth which for the Angels' eyes is very hard to apprehend. Rejoice, for you are a throne for the King. Rejoice, for you hold the One who holds everything. Rejoice, the star causing the Sun's manifestation. Rejoice, the womb of the divine incarnation. Rejoice, through whom is creation re-created. Rejoice, by whom is the Creator procreated. Rejoice, O unwedded Bride.
