Mary, the Theotokos, was described by St. Irenaeus in the 2nd century, as the “New Eve.” Like Eve, she is the “mother of us all,” if we have the eyes to see her properly. She is a quiet figure in the New Testament – not a preacher or worker of miracles. We see the story of her humility and openness to God as she embraces His condescension: “Be it unto me according to Your word.” We see her maternal concern when the 12-year old Jesus is missing during their return journey from Jerusalem. There is, also, a very frightful prophecy from the Elder Simeon when she presented the infant Jesus in the Temple:
“Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”(Lk. 2:34-35)
There is no description given at the time for the terrible things that will constitute the “fall and rising of many,” nor the tormenting content of the sword that will pierce her soul. Understanding the crucifixion was a revelation for a later time.
The Church has gone on to say much more about the Theotokos as it has pondered her in its heart. She is described as “without sin.” In Orthodox thought, this is not a reference to original sin (a Western concept), but a confession that, by grace, she maintained the integrity of her will, never turning away from God. She was/is fully human, and nothing more, a wondrous example of the grace of God.
All of the wonder that we associate with her (“more honorable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim”) does not exempt her from the soul-piercing sword. As she stood steadfast at the foot of the Cross, beholding the death agonies of her Son (and God), the mystical wounding of her soul continued the union with Him which she had known since the moment of His incarnation. It was a life of theosis.
Believers should stand quietly by her side as the sword is embraced and consider its meaning for us all. To be united with Christ does not exempt us from suffering. Indeed, we are told that to be His disciple is to “take up your cross.” We cannot follow the Crucified and not be ourselves crucified. The sword will pierce our souls as well.
We live in a culture that abhors suffering. Suffering is seen as failure and worse. The remedy of suffering is the great mantra of modernity, even as it uses it to mask its covert drive for wealth (“all they want is your money”). The mystery of our salvation is not the story of suffering’s elimination. What happened on the Cross was not the end of suffering – it was the revelation of suffering in its true purpose and meaning.
We have the promise:
“…God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”(Rev. 21:4)
This, however, is not a promise fulfilled in our lifetime. It stands at the end of all things. The Cross is more than a means to that end. There is within it an eternal revelation of the End as well.
“…I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” (Jn 10:17-18)
The Cross is not so much something we did to Jesus as it is something He did for us. It is voluntary. It is revelatory. The Cross makes known to us the love of God and something of its very nature. It is a love that “lays down its life for its friends.”
It is this same love that is made manifest in the sword that pierces the soul of the Mother of God. It is, if we can receive it, the same love that pierces our own souls day by day as we move through the world acquiring the true existence given to us in the image of God.
Receiving the wound of that sword, Mary can say with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live; yet, not I, but Christ lives within me.” As a mother, the sword had long been nested in her soul. Pregnancy and childbirth, mothering and giving Him up, are swords that every mother knows to some extent. It is the original suffering of our race, a primordial foreshadowing of the love of God.
The Theotokos is an exemplar to us of theosis – of the likeness of God made manifest in our flesh. This week, the Church celebrates its fulfillment as we mark the falling asleep of the Theotokos, the Feast of the Dormition. Like Christ on the Cross, she dies. We also believe that after her death, her Son received her, body and soul, into heaven. “The Queen stood on Thy right hand, arrayed in golden robes, all glorious” (Psalm 45:9).
May God in His mercy hear our prayer as we unite ourselves to Him, offering the wounds of our love in union with His.
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