I see a child being born before my eyes, and it is a wondrous thing to witness such a birth! The pains of labor, yes they are present--yet the yoke is good, and the burden light. (Matt. 11:30) The husband had wedded this lovely bride and encouraged her to become pregnant; to give birth: "my love, take up my yoke upon you; that is, carry this weight I give to you; and learn from me;, that is, learn that I, your husband, am meek and humble in heart, but canhelp your soul to find rest and peace." (cf Matt. 11:29) Her husband said to her, "my love, you will be saved through giving birth, if the child abides in faith" (cf 1 tim. 2:15). The husband continued, "my love, you are so very precious to me, I would lay down my life for you in a heart beat if the need arose" (Jn. 10:15, 17; 13:37; 15:13). the wife responded, "yes, all that you say is true; I do believe you." She looked at her husband, and he at her, both expressing in their silence their oneness of nous. (1 Cor. 2:16)
And when will this woman give birth? yesterday, it was yesterday that she gave birth. And today. And tomorrow she will give birth yet again. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, she gives birth to the same child. "How is this possible?" someone may ask. The answer is that she is not pregnant physically, but is rather giving birth spiritually. this may astonish some, but it shouldn't: this is the truth of the church repeated continuously through all times in which a faithful person lives. "But how is it possible?" someone may ask. Saint John of Damascus answers: "But they will perhaps ask, what then is the meaning of 'male and female,' and 'be fruitful and multiply'? In answer we shall say that 'be fruitful and multiply' does not altogether refer to the multiplying by the marriage connection... the precept of the law, therefore, is to be taken in a more spiritual sense. For there is spiritual seed which is conveiced through the love and the fear of God in the spiritual womb, travailing and bringing forth the spirit of salvation." (Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, 4, 24)
"Who then is the husband, who the wife? What birth is there: is it only salvation?" someone may ask. Saint Paul answers this, for Christ is the husband, and the Church--that is, we as the human part of the body of Christ, the Church--is the wife; the birth giving process is simultaneously the coming to salvation and salvation itself; and likewise the final birth is simultaneously the coming to salvation and salvation itself. In his Epistle to the saints are are in Ephesus, Saint paul says: "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Eph. 5:22-32)
The "seed" that God places inside of us is love, it is faith, it is, in a word, goodness and the ability to choose and do good things: to choose God. God, the giver of all good things and only lover of mankind, spiritually implants the holy things--life--within us, just as the husband physically plants the good things--life--within his wife. Then, however, it is up t the wife to respond to what the husband has done. If the wife responds positively, the husband can help her more and more--for the more positively she responds, the more he helps; and the more he helps, the more positively she responds. He helps by making many things available to his wife: faith, love, meekness, patience, and the sacraments, including his own flesh and blodo in an intimate union. She helps by responding through her faith, fasting, vigils, patience, and so forth.
The child and child bearing--that is, the virtues, the mysteries, salvation itself--therefore act as a bridge between God and man, just as a physical child acts as a "bridge" between a husband and wife. (Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 12 on Colossians). Through this child and child bearing, we enter into a "spiritual marriage," "wholly spiritual, the soul being united to God by a union unspeakable, and which he alone knoweth." (Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 20 on Ephesians). This is the marriage "far better" than earthly marriages, with the spiritual marriage being "union of soul with soul more perfect," salvation and deficiation (Saint John Chrysostom, Letter to a Young Woman, 7). And all this comes through the child, through child bearing, for the child acts as the spiritual bridge between the ehad and the body (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15-16; 5:23; Col. 1:18; 2:19): "As the body and head are wone body, for they are divided by the neck, but not divided more than connected, for it [the child], lying between them brings together each with the other" (Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 12 on Colossians).
The whole of that which is good and dwells and works within us, virtues and mysteries and salvation itself, is "born of Christ and the church" just as Adam and Eve, who must be interpreted in relation to the Church, were responsible for the life of the human race. Adam and Eve, the first humans, gave humanity life; and now the new Adam, Christ, and the new Eve, the Church, gives humanity life eternally (Jerome, Epistle to the Ephesians, 3, 5, 32). And how did this life become available? Saint Methodius answers: "It is a perfectly accurate analogy: the Church has been formed from His bones and flesh (cf. Gen. 2:23). For her sake the Logos left His Father in the heavens. He came down in order to cling to his spouse, and slept in the ecstasy of his passion. He willingly died for her... He did this to maker her ready for the blessed spiritual seed which he sows and plants by secret inspiration in the depths of the soul. And like a woman the church conceives of this seed and forms it until the day she bears it as virtue" (Symposium, Logos 3)
And yet some refuse to believe, they will not accept that God has done, and is doing, and will do, that which he said he did, is doing, and will do. What can we say in response? We see constantly, throughout time, that the Lord gives the good gifts to those who ask for physical children, how much more readily will he give that spiritual birth which leads to eternal life? Because of patience and faith Abraham was promised a child (Gen. 18:10-11), and received his wish (Gen. 21:1-3), yet it was his spiritual birth that Abraham can be called the "friend of God" (Is. 41:8; Ja. 2:23) Manoah and his wife, though they thought they would remain childless, were granted a child of immense strength, Samson. And what was needed to receive this child? Merely to listen and seek after the divine guidance and to follow it. The Lord made it possible for that mighty one to be born so long ago, yet even today he allows the strength of virtue to be born in us continually if only we sincerely ask in awe How Lord? What should I do? (Judg. 13)
And what of the story of Elisha and the hospitable woman, if we take it allegorically? For she was given a child for being faithful and attentive, even though she did not even ask for it. And when the child died due to no fault of her own, her efforts brought the child back to life again! (2 Ki. 4) And so with us to, if we will be attentive and humble, not execting miracles and signs and lofty spiritual feelings, God will bless us with spiritiual birth and rebirth. And if, because of reasons beyond our control, we should stumble in this life, and even begin to die spiritually--and even die a thousand spiritual deaths!--we must not despair, for our effort, our faith, our persistence, our constantly seeking God will renew us: guve us new life and a new birth.
The Lord does not--he cannot--lie. He promises a rebirth to those that seek him, and he keeps his promise. Just as God foretold of the birth of Holy King Josiah, and then it happened (1 Ki. 13:2; 2 Ki. 21-23), so also will God bring about spiritual birth in our lives, just as he says he will. If we are like blessed Anna and Joachim, the anscestors of God, constantly seeking and praying; If we are righteous in deed like Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of the fore-runner saint John, then we will most certainly become spiritually pregnant and give birth, even as these physically gave birth to their most holy offspring. And just as the Theotokos gave birth to life Himself, to virtue Himself--the God-man--so now we Orthodox Christians give birth to spiritual life and divine virtue.
May the Lord grant us all the birth of virtue, and lead us through birth giving into salvation!
