Friday, October 1, 2004
The Protection of the Theotokos
Kellia: Jeremiah 31:10-32 Epistle: Ephesians 6:18-24 Gospel: St. Luke 4:22-30
Jeremiah 31:10-22, especially vs. 13: "I
will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow." There
are myriad deaths along the journey of life - the parting of friends, the leaving home of a beloved
child, the laying down of arms by defeated soldiers, trudging into exile, the dying of a loved one.
For these little deaths, it is right to mourn and sorrow, for they are the wages of sin.
Consider the Prophet Jeremiah sitting in the king's guard house, arrested because he had
persisted in declaring, in the royal court, an unwelcome word from God. Still, as the weeks and
months went by, he observed the truth of God's word being fulfilled; and then, at last, he saw the
inexorable end approaching, the bitter defeat, the loss of national identity, exile, death for the
king, and destruction on every side. Then there came from God a strange new word that spoke to
the sorrow: "the Lord has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for
him. They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the
goodness of the Lord...." (vss. 11,12). How incongruous, how out of time! In defeat, a message
of hope and restoration came to this Prophet known only for "doom and gloom."
At this juncture God promised to reverse the pain and affliction that were being endured under
the swarming clouds of defeat. Not only would the famine, eating at the strength and life of the
people of Jerusalem, come to an end, but, God also proclaimed, a time to come when "the grain,
the wine, and the oil, and...the young of the flock and the herd" would flourish again, and "their
life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more" (vs. 12). In a vivid portrait,
Jeremiah declared that the people would enjoy restoration: "the maidens rejoice in the dance, and
the young men and the old shall be merry" (vs. 13). Joy for mourning!
Exile to Babylon and enslavement were certain to follow the breaching of the city's walls and the
overwhelming of the city's defenses. Nebuchadnezzar would requite this little vassal kingdom
that had withstood his great might and dignity. And in this, God promised to reverse what surely
was coming: "they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future,
says the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country" (vss. 16,17). To make
His promise clear, the Lord told His People how to prepare for the long, sad march into exile:
"Set up waymarks for yourself, make yourself guideposts; consider well the highway, the road by
which you went. Return, O virgin Israel, return to these your cities" (vs. 21).
One of the very worst moments to be endured in the coming defeat would be the destruction of
the Temple of God and the end of Divine worship. There would be nothing for the priests, for
the place of worship would be torn down and all the vessels and furnishing taken by the pagan
idolaters; yet God vowed: "I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people
shall be satisfied with My goodness" (vs. 14). How strange were these prophecies, hard to
believe and wondrous, but the prophecies established Jeremiah as a true Prophet of God.
Finally, there was a mystical promise added to these immediate declarations: "a new thing in the
earth: a woman shall compass a man" (vs. 22 KJV and the Hebrew). As Saint Hippolytos says,
"Concerning her (the Virgin Mary), we read of a great miracle....that a woman should compass a
Man, and the Father of all things should be contained in a virgin's womb." For this promise, the
Church sings at the Nativity, "Showing forth the advent of Christ in the flesh, Jeremiah cried
aloud, 'God hath appeared on earth, Incarnate...being born of His Mother....'"
Let us go before, O nations, and celebrate the Nativity of Christ, lifting our minds to Bethlehem,
for Eden hath verily been opened by the coming forth of God from the Virgin.