On St. Mary: Syriac Fathers

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this lesson is to discuss St. Mary in the thought of the Syriac Fathers.

INTRODUCTION

Do you remember what St. Mary said to the angel Gabriel at the annunciation? First, "she was troubled" (Luke 1: 29) and then said 2 sentences: (1) "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" (Lk 1: 34) and (2) "Behold the maidservant of the Lord Let it be to me according to your word" (Lk 1: 38).

What do these words signify? (discussion) It means submission to God's will and it means that St. Mary is humble. But It seems St. Mary here quickly and meekly agreed to something that sounds impossible. What if the angel was tricking her? Actually, do you remember when Eve was deceived by the serpent in the garden of Eden? Let's try to compare the two situations.

The serpent came to Eve and said: "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate" (Genesis 3: 4-6). Is Eve's attitude submission also?

It seems both women believed someone who appeared to them and told them something impossible But the outcomes are very different. This leads us to ask: what is the real meaning of submission??

CONTENT (KEY POINTS)

The question above is a big question. Christ told us to: "be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10: 16) didn't He? At some times, it is easy to obey God, even without fully understanding. If my father of confession gives me spiritual advice or a spiritual exercise I don't fully understand, I can still do it and ask God to help me, because I trust that this direction comes from God. And God uses it to help me grow in my own spiritual life.

But at other times it is really difficult to tell where the truth lies, and even if I want to obey God with all my heart, I am still confused. In this case, even if I try to be submissive I cannot deny that I have questions. Actually, if we don't ask our questions we may sometimes get ourselves into trouble. Surely that can't be what God means. So surely, we need to be wise as well as obedient.

The second statement that St. Mary said above- "Behold the maidservant of the Lord Let it be to me according to your word"- clearly shows her submission to God. But the first sentence -"How can this be, since I do not know a man?"- also shows that she questioned the angel, not out of doubt (as this would contradict her full submission to God in the second statement), but out of understanding. But when we apply this to our lives it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference, and we may wonder how we can be submissive to God while dealing with our questions.

"For truly when she said, "How shall this be?" she did not doubt concerning the outcome, but sought the nature of this same outcome." -St. Ambrose of Milan

In the history of the church, many people realized this difficulty. So the two church fathers that we'll talk about today decided to do something about it, and to guide their people what to do when they were confused and unsure what to believe. These church fathers are St. Ephrem the Syrian and St. Jacob of Serugh, who lived in the 3rd-5th century. They were both theologian poets. In other words, they wrote A LOT of poetry and liturgical hymns and taught them to female choirs to sing in the church.

Why poetry and hymns? Well, is it easier for you to remember songs or just plain words? We all remember music & rhymes better, and sometimes a tune sticks in our heads to an extent we can't get it out So, because St. Ephrem and St. Jacob were really talented, they wrote lots of beautiful poetry and hymns, and we have many of them today. You can read them if you want to Also, until today we call St. Ephrem "the harp of the Holy Spirit" and St. Jacob "the flute of the Holy Spirit" because of the beauty of their poetry.

What did these poems and hymns talk about? Well, they talked about a lot of things---about God, about the Bible, about the lives of the saints, and about how to live as good Christians. One thing they both stressed was how to be wise and not be tricked by Satan.

At this point, divide the youth into 3 groups and continue into Discussion below.

DISCUSSION/ACTIVITY

Give each group one of the attached poems (3 total), and these guiding questions. Give them 10-15 minutes to read the poems and discuss the answers. Then gather again as a class.

Questions:

  • Who is this poem speaking about? (Answer: St. Mary and the Archangel Gabriel)
  • What is the situation? (Answer: The annunciation)
  • What is the poem saying about the person and the situation? (Answer: That St. Mary kept asking before she accepted the annunciation of the angel Gabriel.)
  • How does it sound to you? Is it strange? (Answer: Open discussion with the youth.)

Explain

These 3 poems you read were written by St. Jacob of Serugh, and he wrote them to teach his people from the example of St. Mary when Gabriel came to her. From the question that she asked the angel in the Bible, when she was troubled and said: "how can this be, since I do not know a man?" (Lk 1: 34), he wrote these poems that fleshed out her trouble and her questions. But the important question here is why? Why do you think it mattered so much to St. Jacob to emphasize the questions that St. Mary asked the angel?

Because he was teaching his people about discernment Discernment means the ability to tell right from wrong. In the first epistle of John, we find this verse: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4: 1). St. Anthony calls discernment the mother of virtues because without it, we can be loving but gullible and easily tricked.

Who in the Bible was gullible and silly? Eve, right? When the serpent came to her, she didn't really try to think through its words or question it intelligently. And by eating of the tree, humanity broke away from God and started on its way away from the source of life. St. Mary knew her Scriptures well and more importantly, she learned from them. So she did not repeat Eve's mistake She was wise and discerning, and she asked these questions from the angel so that she could understand and, very importantly, make sure these words were really coming from God.

Does this mean St. Mary doubted God? That she did not believe God? No, of course St. Mary believed God Some people ask out of doubt, or they do not really believe God at all. For example, St. Jacob says that when the angel came to Zacharius, Zacharius doubted him and this is why the angel had to give him a sign (and make him dumb) until the baby was born. And St. Jacob says this kind of questioning is not good But St. Mary did not doubt the angel like Zacharius did Still, God accepted that she wanted to ask about how she was going to have a baby without being married, and did not deny her an answer. This means that God understands when we are confused and ask out of confusion. This doesn't imply that we doubt God.

And, until the last day of her life, St. Mary did not doubt God. It was important for her to ask, especially at the beginning, and after that she continued to trust God even when there was a lot she could not understand later in life. And in our lives we need to trust God even if we don't fully understand every single thing He asks us to do. When our Lord Jesus washed the disciples' feet, he told them: "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this" (John 13: 7). So God does ask us to obey without understanding everything. The important thing is not to be tricked by Satan when we think we are obeying God. If Eve had questioned the serpent as much as St. Mary questioned the angel, she would never have fallen for the serpent's lies.

To really make his point, St. Jacob even says (in Poem 3) that if St. Mary had not asked the angel, we would not have understood the mystery of the incarnation Her questions were beneficial not only for herself but for all of humanity.

This is why St. Jacob compares Mary to Eve and says:

Two virgins received the message from two messengers;

two by two, generations were sent forth, one against another.

Satan sent a secret to Eve by means of the serpent;

the Lord sent the good tidings to Mary by means of the angel.

St. Mary wanted to know the truth, not just argue for arguments' sake. But she had to know, because she was going to get pregnant and get in a lot of trouble. Even Joseph will not believe her without a vision from an angel What about everyone else?

Was St. Mary willing to obey God? Absolutely But she wanted to make sure it was God, not the devil, that she was obeying. St. Mary was willing to suffer for God, but she wanted to be sure she was doing the right thing. And we too, have to be sure we are doing the right thing.

APPLICATION & CONCLUSION

What can we learn from St. Mary, according to St. Jacob of Serugh?

We learn that to follow God with all our hearts and minds, we have to be wise. We trust God and want to follow in His path. Sometimes this is easy, and we know the right thing to do without doubt, and at these times we should obey God even if we find it hard.

At other times, we have to make sure we are actually following God correctly. Are we like Eve who was tricked or like St. Mary who was wise? The Coptic history teaches us about devils who appeared to monks in the shape of angels and tricked them So when we are confused, we should seek guidance. There is nothing wrong with discerning & with questions to obey God with all our mind as well as all our heart.

St. Jacob explains it more when he says:

See, O prudent one, there is (a kind of) inquiry that is advantageous,

And there is questioning that causes harm by its doubt.

And there is someone who inquires, and is on the side of truth

And there is another who disputes, and his discourse ends up in loss.

What is St. Jacob saying here? He is saying: certainly, you should ask and not be tricked, by humans or devils. Do not be foolish But at the same time, when God shows you the truth, you should accept it. Don't just argue for the sake of arguing, but argue so that you can know the truth Our Lord Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14: 6). When we question and seek further clarity, our aim should be to know the truth, because to know the truth is to know Christ. What St. Jacob is saying here is: don't settle for less but keep discerning. And at the same time, trust in God. Be like St. Mary.

How can we practice this discernment that Sts Ephrem and Jacob talk about?

  • Keep our eyes on God by regularly praying, reading the Bible & partaking of the Eucharist
  • Taking the time to think about situations we find ourselves in, and people we talk to.
  • Assessing the words we hear to the Word of God.
  • Praying for guidance.
  • Talking to our spiritual fathers

SERVANT RESOURCES

Suggested book the youth can read:

References

LESSON ATTACHMENTS

Handout Poem 1 - Grade 10 Week 4 (Patristics).pdf

Handout Poem 2 - Grade 10 Week 4 (Patristics).pdf

Handout Poem 3 - Grade 10 Week 4 (Patristics).pdf