WEBVTT 00:00:06.889 --> 00:00:12.529 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 00:00:16.649 --> 00:00:23.030 Today's feast, called the Annunciation, is one 00:00:23.030 --> 00:00:28.890 of the most celebrated and honored feasts of 00:00:28.890 --> 00:00:38.780 the Church. The one that is recognized as one 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:47.700 of the holy and glorious peace days. It generally 00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:53.659 falls during the great Lenten season. And even 00:00:53.659 --> 00:01:03.159 though it may even fall in Holy Week, the solemn 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:11.390 and penitential nature and character of the services 00:01:11.390 --> 00:01:19.969 are somewhat tempered because this event is one 00:01:19.969 --> 00:01:31.090 of joy, praise, and thanksgiving. Or as the scriptures 00:01:31.090 --> 00:01:39.659 tell us, this is a special day. To rejoice because 00:01:39.659 --> 00:01:48.120 in the words of St. Paul, sing hymns and psalms 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:52.700 to the Lord. And sing with praise in your heart. 00:01:53.540 --> 00:01:58.620 And give thanks for everything to God, the Father 00:01:58.620 --> 00:02:06.000 of our Lord. One of the significant elements 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:14.039 that we hear in the hymn of today, and I want 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:18.639 to quote it, as we celebrate this sacred and 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:24.219 solemn feast of the Mother of God, let us clap 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:30.580 our hands, O people of God, and give glory to 00:02:30.580 --> 00:02:35.080 God. Who was born of her. What an expression. 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:41.879 Clap your hands oh ye people. And give glory 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:49.360 to God. Who was born of her. What we celebrate. 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:55.340 On this annunciation to the Theotokos. Is that 00:02:55.340 --> 00:03:00.740 she was favored by God. To give birth to Christ. 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:09.139 The Savior of the world. In the scripture reading 00:03:09.139 --> 00:03:14.840 from St. Luke, we heard that the Gabriel approached 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:22.500 Mary and said, you shall conceive a child and 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:27.830 call his name Jesus. Well, to the wonderment 00:03:27.830 --> 00:03:30.870 and to the astonishment of this young maiden 00:03:30.870 --> 00:03:36.870 of Nazareth, she asked, how can this be? I know 00:03:36.870 --> 00:03:44.750 not a man. Fear not, said the angel, fear not. 00:03:46.189 --> 00:03:51.889 For the Holy Spirit will descend on you and the 00:03:51.889 --> 00:03:56.620 Holy One born. shall be called the Son of God. 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:06.539 Now though there was astonishment in her in hearing 00:04:06.539 --> 00:04:14.280 this incredible divine announcement, she responded 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:17.500 as she always responded since her presentation 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:23.399 to the temple. She did so with faith. humility 00:04:23.399 --> 00:04:31.300 and obedience in her words let it be Lord let 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:37.360 it be according to thy word now what is so extraordinary 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:44.339 so unique and almost incomprehensible is that 00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:51.350 God's plan of salvation God's divine plan of 00:04:51.350 --> 00:04:58.269 salvation depended upon the response of this 00:04:58.269 --> 00:05:06.050 maiden from Nazareth. Why is this so extraordinary? 00:05:06.149 --> 00:05:13.149 Because she, Mary, had the opportunity because 00:05:13.149 --> 00:05:16.629 of her free will. To say no. But instead she 00:05:16.629 --> 00:05:21.730 said. Let it be according to thy word. God never. 00:05:23.850 --> 00:05:30.910 Imposes his will. On any of us. We all have the 00:05:30.910 --> 00:05:35.949 opportunity. To say no to God. Because of our 00:05:35.949 --> 00:05:43.360 freedom. And in commemorating this feast. We 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:50.300 confess, we acknowledge, and we embrace a divine 00:05:50.300 --> 00:05:55.100 mystery which surpasses all human reasoning and 00:05:55.100 --> 00:06:01.639 logic. In the words of the Tramparian, today 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:06.819 is the beginning of our salvation. The Son of 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:17.009 God becomes the Son of Virgin. This is hard for 00:06:17.009 --> 00:06:23.170 the non -believer. And yet, it is the basis of 00:06:23.170 --> 00:06:30.269 our faith. The Son of God becomes the Son of 00:06:30.269 --> 00:06:37.990 the Virgin. Why is this so extraordinary? Because 00:06:37.990 --> 00:06:43.050 the Annunciation is the turning point of human 00:06:43.050 --> 00:06:48.879 history. As we hear on Pascha night, in the beginning 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:54.800 was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word 00:06:54.800 --> 00:07:03.259 became flesh. The past, the present, and the 00:07:03.259 --> 00:07:10.959 future of humanity was forever changed by the 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:16.009 affirmative response of the maiden. of Nazareth. 00:07:16.230 --> 00:07:28.230 Let it be according to thy word. And in the reading 00:07:28.230 --> 00:07:33.490 for today we also heard that following the divine 00:07:33.490 --> 00:07:41.610 announcement the Virgin Mary visited her cousin 00:07:41.610 --> 00:07:50.269 Elizabeth. And she greeted Elizabeth with these 00:07:50.269 --> 00:07:56.730 remarkable words. Blessed are you among women, 00:07:56.810 --> 00:08:07.490 and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And the 00:08:07.490 --> 00:08:12.430 evangelist Luke records the incomparable, magnificent. 00:08:14.509 --> 00:08:18.970 Of the blessing. When she sings. My soul magnifies 00:08:18.970 --> 00:08:25.689 the Lord. And my spirit. Rejoices in God. My 00:08:25.689 --> 00:08:34.269 Savior. The mystery. Of eternity. Is uncovered. 00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:45.450 The silence. Of eternity. Is broken. because 00:08:45.450 --> 00:08:51.909 of these words, let it be, let it be according 00:08:51.909 --> 00:09:04.049 to thy words. I doubt if anyone could ever overemphasize 00:09:04.049 --> 00:09:10.169 the significance of Mary's role in the history 00:09:10.169 --> 00:09:17.559 of our salvation. It took some of the saints 00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:27.799 to write books, not pages, but books on this 00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:33.620 divine revelation. It's extremely important to 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:42.539 realize that Mary was not passive, nor did she 00:09:42.539 --> 00:09:50.659 simply Played the role as an incubator. She was 00:09:50.659 --> 00:09:57.179 mother in every sense of the word. She bore Christ. 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:03.000 She nursed Christ. She raised the Son of God. 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:16.600 Spiritually, liturgically, dogmatically. The 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:27.259 fountain of tenderness, Mary, made possible God's 00:10:27.259 --> 00:10:35.000 entrance into our world. And she did so with 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:41.879 these remarkable, extraordinary, and humble words. 00:10:42.940 --> 00:10:55.950 Be it. according to thy word. I doubt that there's 00:10:55.950 --> 00:11:00.350 a greater blessing and encouragement for us to 00:11:00.350 --> 00:11:06.190 hear than the announcement that Gabriel made 00:11:06.190 --> 00:11:15.740 to the Blessed Virgin. It's glorious. It's wonderful. 00:11:18.220 --> 00:11:24.120 It goes beyond our comprehension and yet divine 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:29.659 reality had become part of our human reality 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:36.440 because the Annunciation marks the beginning 00:11:36.440 --> 00:11:48.429 of our salvation. It leads. This announcement 00:11:48.429 --> 00:11:56.330 leads to the cross. And this announcement culminates 00:11:56.330 --> 00:12:03.509 not in the crucifixion, but in the resurrection 00:12:03.509 --> 00:12:11.309 of Christ. It leads to the empty tomb, the door 00:12:11.309 --> 00:12:17.649 of new eternal life. In the risen Christ. Splendid 00:12:17.649 --> 00:12:17.889 God.