January 3, 2014

Included in the mysteries of God.

Daniel 2:45

Whereas you saw the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, it ground to powder the clay, the iron, the copper, the silver, and the gold. Thus the great God has made known to the king what must come to pass after this. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.

Encouraging Words...

One of the largest hurdles that I have had to overcome on my journey into Orthodoxy was the understanding of Mary's role and place in the church. I know that this is a controversial subject and it was so even in my own mind as I recalled all that I was taught before. It has been great learning more and more about the "Eastern" way of thinking and how our early church fathers viewed the Old Testament and the teachings of Christ and the apostles. This is so important to me because if you really want to understand how something works or why things are done certain ways you must get as close to the original source as possible. The early church fathers believed that the Old Testament was full of typology (interpretation of certain historical events as "types" that prefigure events to be fulfilled through the Incarnation of the Son of God, and in His life and ministry as confirmed in the New Testament (Orthodox Study bible, p. 190)) and that there were many "types" of Mary prefigured. Some of these include the burning bush, the fiery furnace in Babylon, the one here in Daniel, and many more. If one reads the Old Testament through this grid (typology) then the truths of God become all the more evident.

Well, back to Mary. Only God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are worthy of our worship. We venerate (regard with great respect) her as we do the saints that have gone before us. We acknowledge that by the grace of God and the mystery of His power Mary was able to carry God within her body. As the bush in the desert was able to contain the fire and not be consumed, or the fiery furnace contained the three young men and the pre-incarnate Christ, Mary was able to carry God within her and not be consumed. This verse "types" Mary as the mountain from whom the stone was cut that carried the law handed to Moses and the ultimate completion of that law...Jesus Christ. There is so much more that could be said here, but this is enough for today. Glory be to God for His mysteries are far beyond our understanding and yet He continues to include us in them.