Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Micah 5:1-4a; Matthew 1:18-23)
There is a lovely Orthodox Christmas hymn that brings out
the meaning of today’s feast. The hymn
begins by asking what would be a suitable gift from humans to the newborn
Savior. It reviews the gifts of other
creatures: the angels give a hymn, the heavens, a star; the shepherds, their
wonder; and the earth a cave. Then it pronounces
the greatest gift of all. It is the
human gift of a virgin mother.
The hymn exemplifies the synergy between the divine and
human manifested. God has provided His
Son while humans have cooperated by providing a mother without whom the saving
act of Christ could not have taken place.
Mary is not God. She
does not merit worship. But she may be called the greatest of all humans
besides the Savior himself. She merits
our veneration and reflection. For this
reason we celebrate her birth today.
