Annunciation!

By Priest Aleksandar Radunovic

With fear of God, with faith and love, let us draw near to the Mystery of Mysteries—the Mystery of the eternal Message revealed in time, when Timelessness bows down into time, when the Unsearchable One humbles Himself in a Virgin’s womb, when the Eternal Light appears through the shadow of humanity; for the good tidings of salvation are being proclaimed to mankind.
“Rejoice, O Full of Grace! The Lord is with Thee; blessed art thou among women!” (Luke 1:28)
These words are not merely a greeting.
They are a thunderous cosmic hymn that shatters the silence of the ages, through which the Archetype of the Word enters the form of a servant.
This is no ordinary “Rejoice,” but a divine “Rejoice” by which the universe is again filled with meaning.
For from Eve we weep, but from Mary we begin to rejoice.
From her who gave ear to the serpent, to her who gives ear to the Archangel.[1]
And where?
In Nazareth.
Not in Jerusalem, not in the Temple, not among scribes and Pharisees. But in silence, in secrecy, in a humble and obedient girl, who in her heart treasures the Law and the Prophets like a treasure in a vault.
“The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee…” (Luke 1:35)
Oh, what a Mystery is this!
Who dares to approach this fire and not be consumed?
Who can speak and not be condemned to silence?
For here unfolds that which even the angelic hosts had not known until the day Gabriel was sent: that God would not only speak with man, but become man.
Not as He spoke with Abraham beneath the oak of Mamre, nor as He appeared in fire, in cloud, in shadow; but in flesh, in womb, in blood and in the milk of the Virgin.
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38)
This is the moment when the entire world of salvation hung upon a single human answer.
This word of the Virgin is stronger than Adam’s fall.
For where man said: “Let it be according to my will,” here it is said: “Let it be according to Thy word.”
And in that moment, the Truth took up flesh, and the Logos became fruit.
This Mystery is indescribable.
For the Father sends the Word, and the Spirit overshadows.
A Trinitarian act, a consubstantial operation.
She who knew not man comes to know God.
She who knew not flesh comes to know the Fashioner of flesh.
And as Saint Justin says: “God the Logos was conceived in the All-Holy Virgin as man without ceasing to be God, that man might become god by grace.”[2]
Let us pause, therefore, brothers, and behold what takes place.
Is this not a new beginning of creation?
As in the beginning, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters (Gen. 1:2), so now the Holy Spirit hovers over the Virgin.
And as it was said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3), so now the angel says, “You shall bear a Son.” This is the new Light, which shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (John 1:5).
Oh, how sublime is this Mystery!
What divine humility—that the Son becomes obedient, that He who created the Virgin now dwells in her.
And we dare call this a “beginning”; but for Him who is before all ages, there is no beginning.
He, without mother according to the Father, is now without father according to the Mother; twofold in birth, one in Person.
“He who is, becomes; He who is beyond time, enters into time; He who holds all, is held within a womb.”[3]
All the prophets fell silent in that moment.
For what could Isaiah add?
What did Ezekiel see, once that which had been foretold was fulfilled:
“Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son…” (Isaiah 7:14)
And what gate remains shut except that through which the Lord passed and remained shut; for He did not destroy virginity, but sanctified it.
Magnify, O my soul, the Annunciation!
For this is no ordinary message.
This is the beginning of the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

This is the key that opens the closed Paradise.
For if through Eve came death, through Mary came Life.
If through the tree came the curse, through the Tree of the Cross came blessing—and the beginning of the Cross is the Annunciation.
But who can comprehend this?
Only those who have renounced the world and clothed themselves in humility.
For God does not reveal Himself in noise, but in a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12), not in golden palaces, but in the silence of a maiden.
She who was betrothed but knew not man becomes the Immaculate Bride, the Mother of the Beginningless One.
Let us also look to Elizabeth, who was barren and aged, yet conceived.
That Mary’s faith might be strengthened, that the hope of the human race might be confirmed.
For, “with God, nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)
If she who lived in reproach became the mother of a prophet, what then shall we say of Her who becomes the Mother of God Himself?
And so, all creation trembled.
Angels sang, Archangels bowed, demons cried out.
For the Hour had come.
The fullness of time had arrived.
A birth mysterious had come—one that does not destroy nature but transfigures it.
All the prophets are witnesses of this hour.
For Mary is the New Temple, not made by hands; She is the Ark of the Covenant, wherein is no longer the stone law, but the Living Logos.
She is the Ladder of Jacob, by which God descends among men.
O Most Pure Virgin, Mother of God, in Thee divinity and humanity meet.
And not only art Thou a Mother, but also a Throne, a Palace, a Crown, and a Heaven wider than the heavens.
For the heavens cannot contain Him, but Thou didst contain Him in Thy womb.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa says:
“As lightning flashes in the night and illumines all, so in this dark world, Mary was illumined by the Unapproachable Light.”[4]
And what shall we do, brothers?
Shall we remain silent?
Shall we pretend to be deaf to this Message?
No!
Rather, let us bow down, let us weep, let us rejoice, for the Lord is manifesting Himself.
He is manifesting in the womb, but will come in the flesh, to lead us to the Father.
This is the beginning of our deification.
This is the beginning of Baptism, Communion, the Church, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection.
The beginning of all things—for God begins the work of salvation in the most hidden corner of the world: in the heart of a pure Virgin.
And therefore, let this feast be not merely a remembrance, but the beginning of our repentance.
That we too may say: “Behold the servant of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy word.”
For only when we too give our consent, is God born within us.
Not in the womb, but in the heart.
Not in the flesh, but in the life.
Rejoice, O Full of Grace! Through Thee, mankind rejoices, for Thou art the fountain of consolation, the reconciler of heaven and earth, the bridge that unites what was once divided.
Thee do the Cherubim magnify, Thee do the Seraphim glorify.
Thou art the first to kiss God and not be consumed, for Thou hast humbled Thyself.
Annunciation is not one day; it is Eternity calling us.
To hear the Message, to receive the Word, to become an ear of hearing, a heart of purity, a will of obedience.
Let it be unto us also according to Thy word, O Lord! Amen.
Footnotes:
[1] St. Ephraim the Syrian speaks of the contrast between Eve and Mary as the key to salvation: “As through Eve came death, so through Mary came life.”
[2] Justin Popovich, Dogmatics of the Orthodox Church, vol. 2.
[3] A paraphrase from a patristic homily on the Nativity: “He who was, became what He was not, that we might become what we cannot on our own.”
[4] Gregory of Nyssa, On the Nativity of Christ; speaking of Mary as a channel of light into the world.