I. The parents of the Most Holy Theotokos, Joachim and Anna, were pious, virtuous, and righteous before God. Having sufficient wealth, they devoted part of it to the needs of the temple service, and gave part to the poor. Their life, apparently, from the outside, was happy, if all happiness is considered in material abundance and family peace, love, and harmony. And yet they were very unhappy. They bore the yoke of childlessness. Having been married for fifty years, they had no children. This misfortune is little understood by people of the present age; now they are more burdened by having many children than by childlessness, and those who have no children are often considered happy. But it was different then. Then the childlessness of spouses was considered a sign of God's punishment for some grave sins. Why is this so? Because at that time the appearance of the Redeemer was expected on earth; and it is clear that everyone, in addition to the natural desire inherent in uncorrupted parents, wanted to have children and in order, if God so desired, to become the progenitor of the Redeemer. And whoever did not have children, therefore, had no hope of this. Therefore, the childlessness of spouses was recognized as a punishment from God even in the eyes of strangers. It is understandable from this what grief accompanied the righteous Joachim and Anna's childlessness. But this grief was aggravated by outside reproaches. Once the high priest in the temple did not accept the sacrifice from Joachim, saying to him with reproach: "You are not worthy for us to receive a gift from you to God; being childless, of course, you do not have the blessing of God for any secret sins." And the Jew, who brought the sacrifice together with Joachim, reproachfully remarked to him: "Why do you precede me in approaching God? Do you not know about your barrenness?" Thus, both the internal, heartfelt grief and the outside reproaches for some secret crimes, which the righteous spouses had not committed, caused such moral suffering to the righteous spouses as can be understood only by people who suffer like them. They grieved in the depths of their righteous souls; but at the same time they did not despair of God's mercy. They cast all their sorrow upon God, and with constancy and zeal, little understood by people who do not trust in God, they prayed to God that the Lord would grant them, even in their old age, a child, promising to dedicate it to the service of God. The Lord heard their prayers, but delayed in fulfilling them, in order to surprise the righteous elders with His mercy, in order to raise their faith in the living Providence of God, in hope in Him and love for Him.
The righteous spouses bore God's severe trial! But what consolation the Lord sent them after the trial! The Lord God sends His angel to gladden the righteous elders with the news that they will give birth to a most blessed daughter, through whom salvation will be given to the whole world. And indeed, they gave birth to a daughter, whom they named Mary, and Mary was deemed worthy to become the Mother of the Lord; and Her parents were deemed worthy of the name of holy and righteous grandparents of God. Wondrous are the works of the Lord, revealed in human life!
II. Brethren! Even at the present time the Lord sends people trials, to whom He pleases.
Let us be patient in enduring trials. May God protect every person from becoming faint-hearted in trials of God's Providence.
Let us bear trials with constancy and hope in the mercy of God, which never leaves a person completely, and with faith in a better future, which the Lord will undoubtedly arrange, if only we prove worthy of it.
Let us be inspired in enduring trials by the thought that whom the Lord loves, He disciplines, for the spiritual and moral benefit of the one being tested and disciplined.
Seeing those tested and disciplined by the Lord, let us not vainly philosophize that the Lord punishes them necessarily for some grave sins, and even more so reproach them. The ways of the Lord in relation to the lives of people are inscrutable; and we cannot know why the Lord God acts one way with one, and differently with another. "Judge not, lest ye be judged."
Brethren! Let us commit ourselves and our whole life to the all-wise and all-good will of the Lord, Who grants us incomparably more than we ask or even dare to think about. Let us meekly, following the example of the holy righteous ancestors of God Joachim and Anna, endure the misfortunes sent upon us: through them, as gold through fire, the Lord cleanses us from every filth of sin and makes us incomparably more blessed both in this and in the future life than we would be blessed without these cleansing sorrows.
And when disasters and various sorrows seem ready to crush us, let us cry out for help to Him, without whose will not a hair falls from our head, Who will never send a temptation that exceeds our strength.
Source:
A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
