It is little wonder that the normal subject to head the Royal Doors of the Anastasis of Eastern Rite churches is the Annunciation, it is the entrance to all the Mysteries of our faith.
Today we celebrate the Word becoming Flesh and dwelling amongst us.
Mary becomes the true gate of Grace.
Through her Salvation enters Creation.
The Immortal becomes Mortal.
The Impassionate takes on Human Suffering.
The All-knowing experiences Human Limitation.
The Creator becomes the Created.
He who holds the Cosmos in his hands is held within the Virgin's womb.
The One born of the Father before all time actually grows and develops in the Virgin's womb.
What is said in the simple narrative of the Annunciation is simply mind blowing, He who is beyond matter becomes atoms and cells and flesh and blood. What we are actually saying is that the God of the Christians actually becomes what God is not!
God transcends Divinity to save me!
He gives me the Grace to transcend my humanity.
The idea of the Annunciation on the Royal Doors, or in the West near or over a door, which is always two way, for going in and out of, is that God came into the World and entered our Humanity, so that we can out to enter his Divinity.
Why is that the ancient Fathers were able to animate the fishermen and barbers of Alexandria about the basic Mysteries of our faith but we just bore people?
1 comment:
Don't be too hard on our efforts at evangelisation. When Christ sent out his disciples he foresaw that some towns would not accept the message when he told the disciples to shake the dust from their feet as they left those places. If some people reject the message, or are bored by it, that doesn't necessarily mean we are doing anything wrong.
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