The Story of the Nativity of the Theotokos (18+)

Our hymns and prayers in the Orthodox Church are filled with praise and thanks to Mary, the Theotokos, the Birthgiver and Mother of God, for her willingness to obey the Lord and be the mother of His Son. But Mary was the child of two parents, and we also are grateful to them for sustaining their faith over a long, difficult period, and for starting her on the road of faith so that she could be capable of the great destiny God had prepared for her.

The story of Mary’s birth does not appear in the Bible. We know it from other writings which, while not part of the New Testament, are still used by the Church. They are part of the Church’s Tradition.

It is in these writings that we meet Joachim and Anna. They were a loving couple, faithful to God and devoted to each other. But the long years of their marriage had never brought them a child. They prayed daily for the blessing of a son or daughter, but they years went by and no child was born.

In the Hebrew society of Joachim and Anna’s time, the greatest of earthly blessings was to have many children. So, as you might guess, childlessness was considered to be a terrible misfortune, and a failure to earn God’s favor. In fact, we are told that one day as Joachim went to worship and make an offering at the temple, he was turned away because he was not a father, and was therefore considered unworthy to make an offering.

Anna, too, suffered greatly from her lack of children. Like her husband, she felt the shame and humiliation of childlessness. The aging couple watched others rejoice when babies were born. They saw others have the joy and pride that comes with seeing your children grow up and begin lives of their own. We are told that Anna sometimes looked at birds gathering food and calling to their young, and felt that even those tiny creatures could do something wonderful that she could not do.

But Joachim and Anna, unlike many, did not resent the happiness of others. They did not “give up on” God or cease to trust and pray to Him. They patiently waited and kept asking Him to fulfill their desire for a child. And God did something that no one would expect. He gave them a child, but not just any child. She was to have the most wonderful destiny that any human being has ever had: she would be the Theotokos, the Birthgiver, the Mother of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.