Annunciation of the Theotokos
The Lord wishes to come to our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And for this miracle to happen, He always expects us to respond just like the Virgin Mary did, in practice, in our everyday life. He ex- pects us not only to say but also experience this for a whole lifetime: “Behold the servant of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word.” More or less, every man will find himself, as the Virgin Mary did, at a crucial moment, when he will have to decide whether to say “yes” or “no” to God.
This is the story of our whole life: one way or an- other, God’s grace hovers around us, trying to con- vince us to say “yes”. And if we say “yes”, the Logos becomes flesh. Christ indeed comes into us, indeed is carried in us, indeed takes us upon Himself, and this is how we become of Christ and grow in the Lord.
Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos (†)