Philippians 2;5-11  -- "'Let it be" obedience.

Mary, Theotokos: Philippians 2:5-11, especially vs. 11: "...every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Much loved among the services of Orthodoxy is the well-known Akathist to
the Theotokos. The name is derived from the custom of not sitting -
from "a" and "kathisma," meaning "not" and "seated." The practice is
to stand throughout. But study the imagery in the words of the Akathist
and discover a 'gold field' of spiritual and scriptural treasure. The
Akathist consists of a series of 13 sets of 'kontakia,' or abbreviated
songs, and 'oikia,' or condensed hymns. 'Oikos' means a 'house.' As
our homes provide for our physical necessities, so the oikia reveal Mary
interceding for our needs spiritually.

The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos is an opportunity to find
blessings in the Akathist, to unearth treasures laid down by its
authors. We can trace many of its images to Holy Scripture; and one of
those sources is the Epistle appointed for the Feast. As Saint Paul
writes to the Church at Philippi, he speaks of three attributes of
Christ our God: 1) service on our behalf, 2) obedience to the will of
God, and 3) exaltation in heaven. While the Apostle's words apply to
the Lord Jesus, the attributes may be applied to the Theotokos as well.
You will find them in abundance throughout the Akathist, a portrait of
Mary's self-giving, obedience, and service. Significant in the Hymn is
God's call to us: that we make these virtues foundational in our lives.

Service: to save us, our Lord took "...the form of a bondservant..."
(vs. 7), healing lepers, the blind, the lame, the grief-stricken,
demoniacs, and foundering sinners. In selecting Mary as His mother,
Christ transformed her into His "...maidservant..." (Lk. 1:38),
remembered "...in every generation and generation" (Ps. 44:16). The
Akathist describes Mary as the "...heavenly ladder by which God came
down" (Oikos 2). She offered herself for the Lord's descent into human
life. And He Who descended to us by Mary the 'ladder' is more than an
angel (Gen. 28:12). He is the very Sovereign of all that is (Jn.
1:51). How often the Akathist speaks of the Theotokos as a servant!
She is named as the "...bridge that conveyest us from earth to heaven"
(Oikos 2), and the "...laborer that laborest for the Lover of Mankind"
(Oikos 3). She serves as a "...ship for those wishing to be saved" and
a "...harbor for the sailors on the sea of life" (Oikos 9).

Obedience: the Savior reveals unfathomable depths of 'obedience' to God
the Father; for "...being found in appearance as a man, He humbled
Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the
Cross" (Phil. 2:8). Likewise, Mary as first among His Saints is an
eternally obedient "...initiate of God's ineffable will" (Oikos 2). She
submitted to the Divine message of the Archangel Gabriel: "'Let it be to
me according to your word'" (Lk. 1:38). Therefore, she shines as a
"...radiant token of grace" (Oikos 4). She obeyed, whereas the first
mother, Eve, disobeyed (Gen. 3:2-6). Thus, Mary "...didst extinguish
the furnace of error" (Oikos 5), becoming the compliant "...guide of the
Faithful to chastity" (Oikos 5).

Exaltation: Christ reigns, exalted "...and given...the Name which is
above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow..."
(Phil. 2:9,10). Also in all generations, the wise and God-fearing
magnify "...the Theotokos and the Mother of the Light," whose motherly
prayers evoke our magnification as she foretold: "...behold, henceforth
all generations will call me blessed" (Lk. 1:48). She is exalted as
"...the King's throne" (Oikos 1), as "...the all-holy chariot of Him Who
sitteth upon the Cherubim" (Oikos 8). The Akathist honors the Theotokos
as the "...land of promise" (Oikos 6) and the "...flower of
incorruptibility" (Oikos 7).

O maiden Mary, the unwedded bride who didst give birth to God, the whole
universe rejoiceth today at thy birth through which thou didst undo the
first curse of Eve at birth giving.

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