In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Celebrating the feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, we recall how She was given to be brought up at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. The Most Holy Theotokos had a special mission: to become the Mother of God. But in order to fulfill this mission, she needed a particular upbringing that was different and special compared to that of ordinary children. And she received this upbringing at the Temple of God. At the age of three, Mary was brought there and stayed in the Temple until She reached adulthood, continually communicating with God and being imbued with the grace of God. All this allowed Her at some point to become not just a great saint, but even the Mother of the God Who became Man.
The upbringing of the Mother of God at the Temple of God teaches us very important things. The Virgin Mary had a special mission: to serve the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. But each one of us also has a special mission on earth. Of course, not as unique as the mission of the Most Holy Theotokos, but still extremely important. This mission is salvation, the attainment of the Heavenly Kingdom, the attainment of union with God, and, however it may sound, sanctity. This is the mission that the Lord has entrusted to each one of us, to every person on this planet, and even more so to catechized and baptized people. And to achieve this goal, we, too, need an “upbringing” in the Church of God.
Today's feast reminds us that just as the Most Holy Theotokos was perfected in life and attained absolute sinlessness through an upbringing at the Temple of the Lord, so in order for us to draw closer to God and fulfill the mission that the Lord entrusts each one of us with, an upbringing in the Church of God is required.
Of course, there is a huge difference between the Temple of Jerusalem and the churches that we build and where the Divine Liturgy is celebrated. But this difference is in favor of our Orthodox churches, because in that ancient Temple blood sacrifices were offered, which, according to the Apostle Paul, could not cleanse anyone from sins. And in our Christian Church a bloodless sacrifice is performed, which can unite all of us with Christ. And what we receive in the Church of God is incomparably more than what anyone who came to the Temple of Jerusalem could receive. On the feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple it is truly vital for us to pay attention to the churches we come to and to our abiding in the Church of God in general.
In the Church of God everything is done to separate us from the earth and bring us closer to the Creator: these are icons, church wall paintings, choir singing, church services, and the reading of the Holy Scriptures. Every detail of what happens in church is aimed at helping us move away from worldly life, to draw closer to God, and accordingly closer to the fulfillment of this great objective--the salvation of our souls.
And here it is very important to think about how we relate to the Church. Do we always run to the house of God at every opportunity? Don’t we not only try to come here, but also to be attentive to everything that takes place here: what we see and hear here, and what the Church offers us through the services? If we perceive church in this way; if, as stated in the litany, we enter our church “with faith, reverence and the fear of God,” then we are sure to leave it enriched. And we actually won’t want to leave it, and will do it only out of necessity, because we can’t live without some everyday things.
It is clear that everyone has their own measure: some can come to church every day and more than once, while others can only come on Sundays for the Liturgy. But most important here is our aspiration. If we want to be in the Church of God, if we strive to be in the Church of God, then we are heading in the right direction, then we long for God; because here, in the Church, the Lord has deigned to reveal Himself in a special way through His sacraments, through common prayer, and through what the Holy Church offers us when we come to it.
Sometimes we hear that St. Mary of Egypt almost never attended church and still became a saint. Or that our holy New Martyrs and Confessors were deprived of church worship for many years and even decades. Yes, this is true, and it is clear that the most important service, the most important sacrament, is performed precisely in our souls. But the holy New Martyrs became saints because they loved the Church of God, strove to be in it with all their might and were brought up in it during their lives. And when circumstances changed, when they were deprived of church worship, they nevertheless retained in themselves, in their souls, all the good things that they had received in the Church of God over many years.
St. Mary of Egypt lived in the desert for many decades. We are not capable of that. But the saint had received her first experience of contact with God, the experience of the grace of God, and the transformation of her soul in the Church. Thus, through the Church, through church worship, and through common prayer are we saved.
And looking at the example of the Mother of God, Who was raised in the Temple of God and became the Mother of God, let us strive to be brought up in the Church of God, to stay in the Church of God, and be attentive to everything that happens here. Then, God willing, we will educate our souls in order to draw closer to God, to be united with Him, and enter the Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.
