Examining the Nativity of the Theotokos

Divide the participants into three groups, each with a Bible, specified icon(s), and paper and pencils. Have The Icon Book on hand for Groups One and Two to look at. Consulting both the Bible and the story you have read, each group will consider some questions and ideas, and write down their conclusions. Then they will come back to the larger group to discuss these together. Ask each group to make notes of their discussion and choose one or more members to report to the whole group. Here are specific instructions for each group:

GROUP ONE will consider the Troparion of the Feast and the icon of the Resurrection.:

  1. Read together the Troparion for the Feast. It mentions a “curse” which some people have interpreted as being a curse on Eve (the one tempted to sin) or on women in general. Look together at Genesis 3:13-14. Whom does God address when He speaks of a curse? Does He include Eve? (No: Only the serpent is addressed here and cursed by God.)
  2. Look together at Genesis 3:20. What title of honor is given to Eve? (She is called the “mother of all living.”) Next, read Genesis 2: 8-15. How do we know that God intended for us to have both pleasure and the dignity of responsibility? (We read here that Adam was given the beauty and pleasure of paradise, and also the responsible job of tending the garden there.)
  3. Look together at the icon of the Resurrection. What in the icon tells us that Eve is part of the resurrection of all humankind, as are Adam and the other figures from the Old Testament? (Christ is pulling her out of Hades with His own hand.) 
  4. Finally, read again the first line of the Troparion. What tells us that God honors women, in the person of the Theotokos? (The hymn tells us that it is through Mary’s birth that joy is proclaimed to the universe. She is a necessary part of the salvation of all human beings.)

 Plan to present and answer the questions above when you come back to the whole group.

 GROUP TWO will consider the Kontakion of the Feast and the icon of the Conception of the Theotokos.

  1. Read together the Kontakion for the Feast. Look at the three groups of people mentioned in the Kontakion hymn as being “freed.” How are all these groups freed by the birth of Mary? Take them one by one: 
    1. Joachim and Anna are freed by their long patience, and their willingness to trust God even when others might have given up hope of having a child. If they had not had this patience and willing faith, God could not have blessed them with their daughter.
    2. Adam and Eve spoiled the closeness they had with God. Read what this closeness was like, and how it changed, in Genesis 3: 8-9. (God was used to walking with His creatures in the garden. Only when they had chosen to betray His trust did their fear of His presence begin.) Eve (along with Adam) chose to disobey God. Mary, with the same opportunity to say “yes” or “no” to God, chose to say “yes” and obey Him. This is why she is called the “new Eve.” Read Genesis 3: 21. What tells us that God continued to love His creatures even after their betrayal? (Having disobeyed God, they now were ashamed of being naked and needed garments. God provided these. Though Adam and Eve, representing all of humanity, will now suffer in the fallen world, God will still love them and provide for their needs.)
    3. The third group “freed” according to the hymn is all of us or, in the hymn’s words, “we, your people.” The guilt of sin is the sin of disobedience. Mary’s obedience to God makes the birth of the Savior possible. And her birth comes about through the faith and obedience to God’s will of her parents, Joachim and Anna.
  2. Look at the icon of the Conception of the Theotokos. It shows the love between these two people who are united in faith. Our faith is necessary for God’s plan to be fulfilled. We honor Joachim and Anna for having such faith.

 Plan to present and answer the questions above when you come back to the whole group.

Group Three will consider the Hymn to the Theotokos, the icon of the Nativity of Our Lord and the icon of the Nativity of the Theotokos.

  1. Read the Hymn to the Theotokos together. The first two lines tell us what God has done—to make a virgin a mother. Yet the third and fourth lines remind us that “in you, O Theotokos, both were accomplished.” What does this tell us about human co-operation as a part of God’s plan? (Obviously, our co-operation is absolutely necessary.) The last line claims that all earthly nations will constantly magnify the Theotokos. Of course, there are Christian churches that do NOT magnify, or praise, the Theotokos. We might ask: Is there a Biblical basis for this magnification? Check Luke 1: 48 to find it.
  2. Look together at the two icons of Christ’s nativity and Mary’s nativity. Notice the details (such as nurses and other attendants) that tell us both of these are real human births. Also, in the icon of Christ’s nativity, notice that Joseph is perplexed and is being tempted by the devil. The point is clearly emphasized that he is not the father of Jesus Christ.
  3. How do the “realness” of the births, and Joseph’s doubt, add to our understanding of what these two births mean? (These facts emphasize that God works through human beings to accomplish His will in both births. But Joseph’s doubt also reminds us that God truly has performed a miracle—Christ is born without a human father.)

Plan to present and answer the questions above when you come back to the whole group.