Annunciation
by Danielle Solomon (Mar. '01)
In the Orthodox Church we commemorate the day in which the Archangel Gabriel was sent from God to tell Mary she was the Chosen One to bear the Son of God. We celebrate this on March 25. Annunciation is probably one of the most well-known messages sent from God because it’s one we all know something about.
“And in the 6th month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.’” (Luke 1:26-31)
Mary was scared at first when the angel told her that, but she had great faith. Why is she so important to our tradition? Without her consent, the Son of God might never have been born. If He was never born, He couldn’t have saved us from our sins. We would not be able to live an eternal life with God.
Mary had been raised in the Church and grew up very faithful. She is a role model for all Christians. The early Church thought so highly of her that five of our major feast days center on her: the Conception of the Theotokos, the Birth of the Theotokos, Her Presentation to the Temple, the Annunciation, and the Falling Asleep (or Dormition) of the Theotokos.
Mary conceived a child, but she was still a virgin. In the Nativity icon, Joseph is shown pondering this. I ponder this as well and it makes me appreciate the holiness of this feast day.