The Annunciation
I walked through the Deacon's door and into the Sanctuary this morning to vest for the Divine Liturgy being celebrated today in commemoration of The Feast of the Annunciation (our Parish is on the old calendar) and said to Fr. Nicholas:
"The Theotokos gave me a little gift this morning." (I did not pre-meditate these words. They were as much of a surprise to me as they were to Fr Nicholas.)
With a bit of a puzzled look, he asked, "How so?"
"Well", you know that jury duty summons I got about a month ago that said the trial would last at least two months?" I continued, smiling as I started to realize what I had just previously said.
"Yes."
"And remember how this trial was going to make it impossible for me to attend any of the Holy Week services at the end of April?"
"Yes."
"Well, there was a postcard laying outside my door this morning saying my jury duty had been cancelled!"
"Glory be to God!", said Fr. Nicholas crossing himself, as he turned to finish his preparation (Proskomedia) for Divine Liturgy.
No, I don't believe in coincidence. By the grace of God, I hadn't gotten all upset when I received the jury duty summons. I had been listening to Fr. Thomas Hopko's series on the Lord's Prayer for the past several weeks, and there is so much emphasis in this Prayer on submitting to God's will, that I couldn't help but see this potential 2-month plus jury duty in that light. I pretty much put it in God's hands and hadn't thought of it too much.
So, please forgive me as I enjoy my teeny little "annunciation" of reprieve this morning. I want to publicly thank the most Holy Mother of God for interceeding on my behalf and magnify her Feast of the Annunciation which celebrates her submissiveness to the will of God the Father. Her willingness to be a public laughingstock and to patiently endure the joy, confusion, and incredible pain of raising the incarnate Son of God Who was born in the shadow of the Cross, is truly our salvation. Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
"Rejoice, O virgin Theotokos, the Lord is with thee!"
