The Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary; Blessed Omelian Kovch, Priest-martyr.
Day 23 of the Great Fast.
Hebrews 2:11-18; Luke 1:24-38.
Read Hebrews 2:11-18
On this beautiful feast of the Annunciation, heaven bends toward earth as the Archangel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will conceive and bear a Son. The Word of God, eternal and divine, takes flesh—not in appearance only, but truly God become man! As Hebrews tells us, “He himself likewise partook of the same nature.” In her womb, Christ assumes our flesh and blood, becoming what we are, in all things but sin, so that we might become what He is.
This is not a symbolic act. It is salvation breaking into history. “He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is why He is not ashamed to call them brethren.” What a mystery! The Son of God, through Mary’s yes, becomes our Brother. He joins our human family so completely that He is able to say, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
He shares our nature so that He might share our death. “Through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” The Enemy’s strongest weapon—death—is turned against him. And in its place, Christ brings freedom: “to deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.”
This is why He had to be made like His brethren “in every respect.” He did not come to help angels, but us humanity—flesh and blood, tempted and suffering. And now, as the faithful High Priest, He makes expiation for our sins. Having suffered and been tempted, “He is able to help those who are tempted.”
Even in the midst of Great and Holy Lent, the Church lightens her Fast today. The monks are given wine and oil, because today everything changes. Today, “Adam is restored, and Eve is freed from her primal grief.” The Theotokos becomes the gate through which Life enters the world. Let us all amidst this time of fasting take the time to celebrate this wondrous feast.
So let us cry out with the angel: “Rejoice, O full of grace! The Lord is with thee! Rejoice, O pure Virgin! Rejoice, O unwedded Bride! Rejoice, O Mother of Life! Blessed is the Fruit of thy womb!”