WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:05.360 The icon in the middle of the church, which is 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:08.000 the wedding icon that my wife and I received 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:14.000 when we got married in 1983. I said last night 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:18.760 that it was painted by Father Patrick, who was 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:22.239 the best man at that wedding. It's there today 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:24.820 in the middle of the church. For the feast that 00:00:24.820 --> 00:00:27.219 we celebrate, it's on the calendar of yesterday, 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:30.199 but we moved it to today, the feast of the conception 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:35.619 of the All Holy Theotokos by Saint Anna. Well, 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:38.399 and we won't leave Joachim out of that either. 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:42.740 I have a great devotion to this feast because 00:00:42.740 --> 00:00:46.119 I look at this icon every single day. It's there 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:51.679 in our room by the prayer corner. And I think 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:56.159 about those two magnificent saints. Let me give 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:59.179 you a brief version of the events of this feast 00:00:59.179 --> 00:01:05.700 day. The events are that Joachim and Anna, righteous 00:01:05.700 --> 00:01:10.359 people in Jerusalem, had no children. They wanted 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:13.799 children very, very much. They were barren. You 00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:16.379 heard the hymn about barrenness. And now the 00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:23.489 barrenness is lifted. Like Sarah, like Elizabeth, 00:01:23.890 --> 00:01:27.790 getting on in years, past the age of bearing 00:01:27.790 --> 00:01:32.150 children, yet they stayed faithful. And one of 00:01:32.150 --> 00:01:34.530 the hymns from last night tells us a story. It 00:01:34.530 --> 00:01:38.189 says this, Anna, named for divine grace, does 00:01:38.189 --> 00:01:41.250 cry out in her prayer, the word, the name Anna 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:43.810 means grace apparently, beseeching the creator 00:01:43.810 --> 00:01:48.079 and God of all things. saying, open my womb to 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:50.859 make it fruitful that we may offer thee a child 00:01:50.859 --> 00:01:54.819 as a gift and give glory and praise with hymns 00:01:54.819 --> 00:01:59.340 and songs to thy love through which the world 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:04.379 receives great mercy. And being barren, they 00:02:04.379 --> 00:02:07.280 were in that particular culture at that time, 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:14.080 stigmatized, shamed. The society around them 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:16.360 thought they must be cursed. They have no children. 00:02:17.300 --> 00:02:24.780 God does not look at them with a kind eye. They're 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:28.000 being punished. And that kind of shame to bear 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:34.159 for 50 years, imagine, imagine. Well, in due 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:38.199 time, in the fullness of time, and you'll hear 00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:40.520 that phrase on Christmas Day from Galatians, 00:02:41.289 --> 00:02:44.229 God did answer their prayer, and this is what 00:02:44.229 --> 00:02:48.370 a hymn says. Behold, the promises of the prophets 00:02:48.370 --> 00:02:54.349 are fulfilled. The holy mountain is planted in 00:02:54.349 --> 00:02:57.169 the womb. The virgin is called the holy mountain. 00:02:57.509 --> 00:03:00.430 The divine ladder is set up. The virgin is called 00:03:00.430 --> 00:03:04.169 the ladder. The great throne of the king is ready. 00:03:04.889 --> 00:03:07.629 The place for the Lord's passage is prepared. 00:03:08.229 --> 00:03:11.680 The dry bush. which the fire could not consume, 00:03:11.860 --> 00:03:16.800 is blossoming. Isn't that wonderful? For a long 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:20.379 time they waited, and God fulfilled their promise, 00:03:20.539 --> 00:03:23.620 and barrenness became fruitful. This is the story 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:26.419 that gets us into Christmas, because without 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:29.419 this there simply is no Christmas. And looking 00:03:29.419 --> 00:03:33.479 at the icon today, we see Anna and her husband 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:36.900 Joachim standing before the gates of Jerusalem. 00:03:38.669 --> 00:03:43.210 where they met after learning that Anna was with 00:03:43.210 --> 00:03:47.409 child. And the child to be born would be Mary, 00:03:47.509 --> 00:03:51.750 the mother of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:03:51.789 --> 00:03:55.490 This is why the hymn says, the great throne of 00:03:55.490 --> 00:03:58.490 the king is ready. You look at the fresco of 00:03:58.490 --> 00:04:01.270 the Virgin in the apse, she is the throne and 00:04:01.270 --> 00:04:05.270 the Lord is sitting upon her. And the icon shows 00:04:05.270 --> 00:04:11.879 them embracing tenderly. Lovingly. And we're 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:15.520 drawn into that love. We're drawn into that tenderness. 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:21.500 One hymn said, all the world celebrates. That's 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:25.120 true. We're invited into that celebration, but 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:27.420 we have to make the effort for that to happen. 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.519 We're invited into their joy. We're drawn into 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:35.230 their love and faithfulness. This feast is for 00:04:35.230 --> 00:04:37.709 us, which is why we're celebrating it today. 00:04:37.829 --> 00:04:40.750 It's not just a historical memory, as precious 00:04:40.750 --> 00:04:44.269 as that is. So we're being led to prepare ourselves 00:04:44.269 --> 00:04:48.990 for Christmas so that we too can make that barrenness 00:04:48.990 --> 00:04:54.110 of our souls, which we find so dry and sometimes 00:04:54.110 --> 00:04:58.750 so distant from God, something fruitful by God's 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:04.860 help. The icon of the hymns are telling us, without 00:05:04.860 --> 00:05:09.779 being too explicit, that this miraculous conception 00:05:09.779 --> 00:05:14.560 of Mary happened through natural means, like 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.540 any other man and woman and child coming from 00:05:17.540 --> 00:05:19.740 them. Someone should tell movie and TV producers 00:05:19.740 --> 00:05:22.660 it's probably too late, that explicit is not 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:27.339 needed. In any case, 50 years of prayerful waiting. 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:34.730 Desire. Faithfulness to God. That cleansed their 00:05:34.730 --> 00:05:39.009 hearts. It cleansed their souls. It made them 00:05:39.009 --> 00:05:42.750 ready to be what they needed to be. The parents 00:05:42.750 --> 00:05:47.089 of the Virgin Mary. So despite all appearances 00:05:47.089 --> 00:05:50.730 to the contrary, God was working in a loving 00:05:50.730 --> 00:05:55.910 and wise way. He was managing everything so that 00:05:55.910 --> 00:06:00.230 a joy could come. Beyond any comprehension or 00:06:00.230 --> 00:06:06.189 comparison for the world, for us. So faithfulness 00:06:06.189 --> 00:06:09.089 to God, trust in God, that's the first point 00:06:09.089 --> 00:06:13.810 today. And that's not a new lesson, is it? I've 00:06:13.810 --> 00:06:19.110 been talking about that for weeks. And in their 00:06:19.110 --> 00:06:25.209 great joy, Joachim and Anna did what? They offered... 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:29.759 Back to God, the gift that he gave them. Isn't 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:33.560 that what we do every Sunday anyway? This gift 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:36.459 that they waited 50 years to receive? It's an 00:06:36.459 --> 00:06:39.480 amazing thing to do, but we remember, I'll say 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:45.959 it again, our children belong to God. They belong 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:49.740 to God. They don't belong to us. We are their 00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:55.199 caretakers, their caregivers. And we eventually 00:06:55.199 --> 00:07:00.180 pass away. That's the second point. The righteous 00:07:00.180 --> 00:07:02.699 couple understood that everything is a gift from 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:06.019 God, and they lived according to that gratitude. 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:08.620 Isn't it true, said the late Metropolitan Anthony 00:07:08.620 --> 00:07:11.379 Bloom of London, that gratitude springs up in 00:07:11.379 --> 00:07:16.379 the heart more powerfully, more gloriously, when 00:07:16.379 --> 00:07:21.339 we receive what we did not deserve? When it is 00:07:21.339 --> 00:07:25.519 a miracle of divine and human love. When we think 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:29.680 that we deserve something, he said, and we receive 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:33.519 it, we receive it as our due. Like those nine 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:35.740 lepers in the gospel that Christ healed that 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:38.360 didn't come back. They received it, they were 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:41.180 Jewish men. They received it as their due. But 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:44.680 the one leper that knew this was a gift undeserved 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:51.899 was the Samaritan, and he came back. St. Paul 00:07:51.899 --> 00:07:55.079 says, it is a greater joy to give than to receive. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:59.839 Is this our attitude in all things in our life? 00:08:01.139 --> 00:08:04.759 That's point number two. Point number three. 00:08:06.839 --> 00:08:11.839 Joachim and Anna are models for us. How? Here 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:17.500 today, in our culture, in our society, here today, 00:08:17.699 --> 00:08:20.889 the church... is presenting to us. We're meditating 00:08:20.889 --> 00:08:25.810 upon, we're celebrating a feast day in honor 00:08:25.810 --> 00:08:30.670 of a conception, something so intimate, while 00:08:30.670 --> 00:08:34.409 the world around us in our society strives in 00:08:34.409 --> 00:08:37.830 so many ways, and it's a war of politics and 00:08:37.830 --> 00:08:41.029 viewpoints, to do away with the conception and 00:08:41.029 --> 00:08:45.090 what happens. And here we are celebrating this 00:08:45.090 --> 00:08:49.909 thing, this intimate act. And we're called by 00:08:49.909 --> 00:08:53.529 the church. We're invited into to celebrate and 00:08:53.529 --> 00:08:57.830 learn from these righteous people, this man and 00:08:57.830 --> 00:09:04.230 this woman. What a healthy human, not superhuman, 00:09:04.309 --> 00:09:09.870 but human, godly, sacrificial, dignified, intimate, 00:09:10.070 --> 00:09:13.429 and joyful sexuality between a husband and wife 00:09:13.429 --> 00:09:18.750 looks like. Our marriage service Speaks of this 00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:21.950 continually. We should pay attention. Listen 00:09:21.950 --> 00:09:27.269 to this little reflection by Professor David 00:09:27.269 --> 00:09:32.149 Ford. Marital relations are by nature inherently 00:09:32.149 --> 00:09:37.230 good. I don't need to be explicit, right? And 00:09:37.230 --> 00:09:43.549 they can be free from lust and sin. Chastity, 00:09:43.570 --> 00:09:46.399 which... the church service mentions over and 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:49.759 over and over again, doesn't equal virginity. 00:09:50.259 --> 00:09:53.779 Chastity in the context of marriage means faithfulness 00:09:53.779 --> 00:09:58.039 to one's spouse and a disposition of graciousness, 00:09:58.179 --> 00:10:04.779 dignity, decorum, moderation in all marital relations. 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:09.580 This is asceticism, isn't it? Hence the church 00:10:09.580 --> 00:10:13.120 prays at the wedding. that the Lord our God will 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:17.259 grant them an honorable marriage and a bed undefiled 00:10:17.259 --> 00:10:20.159 and cause their marriage to be honorable, preserve 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:22.740 their bed blameless, mercifully grant that they 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:26.940 may live together in purity. My goodness, brothers 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:29.379 and sisters, we're bombarded by other images. 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:33.019 This is the image we need to keep front and center 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:39.519 before us. Our life and our faith will conflict. 00:10:40.090 --> 00:10:45.129 with all that out there. That's okay. We're nonconformists. 00:10:47.710 --> 00:10:53.330 And of course, we admit, we should admit, have 00:10:53.330 --> 00:10:58.230 to admit, that many of us do not embody the ideals 00:10:58.230 --> 00:11:02.049 of what I read, the ideals of this feast, very 00:11:02.049 --> 00:11:08.700 well. But still, it's our feast. It's our preparation 00:11:08.700 --> 00:11:11.639 for Christmas. And it's a feast that speaks to 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:16.820 parents. For the reasons I said. It's a feast 00:11:16.820 --> 00:11:21.460 that speaks to children. To love their parents, 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:23.279 to pray for their parents that they may have 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:26.960 a righteous marriage. It's a feast that speaks 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:31.899 to single people. To keep chastity and prayer 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:35.480 and desire for God first. And his providence 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:38.320 in your life first. It's a feast that speaks 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:41.720 to the care of infants. It's a feast that speaks 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:46.200 to those who care for infants. It's a feast that 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:49.720 speaks to those praying for children that are 00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:53.039 having trouble. My goodness, don't we end every 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:58.720 single service asking for the intercessions of 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.240 the righteous Joachim and Anna, the ancestors 00:12:03.240 --> 00:12:06.019 of God. The church puts them right in front of 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:08.399 us every single day if we do a service every 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:12.639 day because there are heavenly intercessors for 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:17.299 all of these things. And let me say, let me say, 00:12:17.419 --> 00:12:22.860 this is a feast for married couples who have 00:12:22.860 --> 00:12:26.980 problems, who would do well to deal with them 00:12:26.980 --> 00:12:30.580 and be healed by God's grace. And mostly I speak 00:12:30.580 --> 00:12:34.840 about to the husbands. I'll venture to say, we 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:38.820 will answer before God for our neglect of the 00:12:38.820 --> 00:12:43.200 holiness, the dignity, the graciousness, the 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:48.419 gentleness, the love, tenderness of marriage. 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:55.960 Husbands, take heed. We will be judged. Let me 00:12:55.960 --> 00:12:59.000 end with the words of Venerable Father Macarius. 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:02.600 You say, what did he know about marriage? He 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:05.759 knew a lot. Not only did he grow up with parents 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:09.120 and brothers and sisters, but he was a confessor 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:13.840 to very many people. He said this to a man that 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:17.840 was his spiritual son. A home is a Christian 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:21.139 one when all of the members of the household 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:25.799 bear each other's burdens and when each condemns 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:29.679 only himself. You have forgotten this, both of 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:32.700 you. Ponder the truth of Christian marriage. 00:13:32.820 --> 00:13:36.120 Men and wife are one flesh. Humble yourself, 00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:42.799 not her. Love her, not yourself. Through the 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:44.940 prayers of the righteous Joachim and Anna, Lord 00:13:44.940 --> 00:13:49.039 Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Amen.