The Incarnation: Cause of All Things Made, and Caused by None

 

img_1188

The title of this post is a chapter heading in George Gabriel’s Mary the Untrodden Portal of God. Gabriel occasionally strikes hard at the West and the book would perhaps be strengthened with a less combative approach to the differences of East and West in the faith (my own opinion), but I liked the book and found Gabriel addressing many things, well foot-noted, that are not found in many other places. I share an excerpt. Post reprinted from 2007.

From eternity, God provided for a communion with His creation that would remain forever. In that communion mankind would attain to the eternal theosis for which it was made. The communion, of course, is the Incarnation through the Ever-Virgin. Mankind’s existence and, therefore, that of all creation is inexorably tied to Mary because she was always to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word. The fathers say that neither the course of human events nor necessity of any kind forced the Uncreated One to join to Himself a creaturely mode of existence. God did not become flesh because some actions of the devil or of man made it necessary, but because it was the divine plan and mystery from before the ages. Despite the works of Satan and the coming of sin into the world, the eternal will of God was undeterred, and it moved forward.

History and the course of human events were the occasion and not the cause of the Incarnation. The Incarnation did not take place for the Crucifixion; the Crucifixion took place so the Incarnation and the eternal communion of God and man could be fulfilled despite Satan, sin, and death. Explaining that there was no necessity in God the Father that required the death of His Son, St. Gregory the Theologian says of the Father “neither asked for Him nor demanded Him, but accepts [His death] on account of the economy [of the Incarnation] and because mankind must be sanctified by the humanity of God.” St. Gregory is telling us that, from before the ages, it was the divine will for mankind to be sanctified and made immortal by communion with the humanity of the Incarnate God, but corruptibility and death came and stood in the way.  By His Passion and Resurrection, Jesus Christ destroyed these obstacles and saved, that is, preserved, mankind for the Incarnation’s eternal communion of the God-Man and immortal men. St. John of Damascus repeats the same idea that the Incarnation is a prior and indeed ontological purpose in itself, and that redemption is the means to that end. Thus, he says the Holy Virgin “came to serve in the salvation of the world so that the ancient will of God for the Incarnation of the Word and our own theosis may be fulfilled through her.”

It seems worthwhile to me, for us to meditate on the fullness of our salvation which is to be accomplished in God’s great Pascha. Indeed, it seems to me that everything always was about Pascha – the “Lamb was slain before the foundation of the earth” (Rev. 12:8) We are approaching the end of all things – and, I should add, their beginning as well.

About Fr. Stephen Freeman

Fr. Stephen is a priest of the Orthodox Church in America, Pastor Emeritus of St. Anne Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He is also author of Everywhere Present and the Glory to God podcast series.



Posted

in

by

Comments

6 responses to “The Incarnation: Cause of All Things Made, and Caused by None”

  1. fatherstephen Avatar

    Photo: Icon shrine outside the tomb of the Mother of God in Jerusalem. The tomb, of course, is empty.

  2. […] From the Beginning — Limitless Love Posted on March 30, 2009 by Mark Epstein Mankind’s existence and, therefore, that of all creation is inexorably tied to Mary because she was always to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word. The fathers say that neither the course of human events nor necessity of any kind forced the Uncreated One to join to Himself a creaturely mode of existence. God did not become flesh because some actions of the devil or of man made it necessary, but because it was the divine plan and mystery from before the ages. George Gabriel […]

  3. Katia Avatar
    Katia

    Father Bless,

    Do you know the name of the icon?

    “Partake of the immaculate Body and Blood of your Lord with the fullest faith, certain that you are receiving wholly the Lamb Itself. The mysteries of Christ are an immortal fire. Take care you do not rashly search into them, lest you be burned partaking of them. Abraham the Patriarch placed earthly food before the heavenly angels, and they ate of it. A truly great wonder: to behold incorporeal spirits on earth eating the food of corporeal men. But what surpasses all wonder, all understanding, all speech: what Jesus Christ our Saviour, the Only-begotten Son, has done for us. For He has given us who are clothed in flesh fire and spirit to eat and to drink: namely His own Body and Blood.”

    Ven. Ephraim the Syrian, + 373 A.D.

  4. fatherstephen Avatar

    I should have noted it. It is the icon, Our Lady of Jerusalem. There were many pilgrims the day I was there – from all over the world – primarily Orthodox and Catholic. Joachim and Anna were originally buried there, as was Joseph (I believe), but their relics have been removed elsewhere. Nonetheless, shrines to them remain.

  5. Katia Avatar
    Katia

    I have asked because i ve got the icon at home and it is so beautiful, when you look at it as if She is smiling back at you with such a love in Her eyes.

    Another question father have you read:

    Redemption or Deification?*
    Anselm’s Question,
    “Why Did God Become Man?”
    and Nicolas Cabasilas
    by Panagiotes Nellas (†1986)

    by my ‘opinion’ it is a must read

  6. katia Avatar
    katia

    “…St. Diodochos points out in
    the Philokalia,there remains a further subjec-
    tive dimension to salvation, in which as persons we become transformed
    into the likeness of God: “His likeness is granted only to those who through
    great love have brought their own freedom in subjection to God.”43 Lewis
    himself captures both the objective and subjective dimensions of salvation
    when he writes, “The business of becoming a son of God, of being turned
    from a created thing to a begotten thing, of passing over from the temporary
    biological life into timeless ‘spiritual’ life, has been done for us. Humanity
    is already ‘saved’ in principle. We individuals have to appropriate that
    salvation.”44

    If We Let Him

    This appropriation of salvation, this bringing of our human freedom into
    subjection to God, naturally requires our cooperation. Therefore, deifica-
    tion hinges upon human free will. For Lewis, human freedom was a bedrock
    belief, fundamental to the idea of what it means to be created in the image
    of God and essential to the possibility of genuine love. This finds expression
    in The Magician’s Nephewat the creation of Narnia, where Aslan says in a
    strong and happy voice, “Creatures, I give you yourselves.”45 Lewis thought
    that all humans beings had been given this same gift. Writes Lewis,
    You must realize from the outset that the goal towards which [God]
    is beginning to guide you is absolute perfection; and no power in the
    whole universe, except you yourself, can prevent Him from taking you
    to that goal … If we let Him — for we can prevent Him, if we choose —
    Hewill make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess,
    adazzling, radiant immortal creature, pulsating
    all through with such energy and joy and
    wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine.46
    Lewis’s doctrine of synergy was akin to the
    model of St. Paul, who said we are to be fellow-
    workers (synergoi) with God (I Cor. 3:9). This
    interaction of divine grace and human will was
    described memorably by a monk of the Eastern
    Church as “the cooperation of two unequal, but
    equally necessary forces.”47 For his part, Lewis
    once described this paradox as follows: “I don’t
    mean that I can therefore, as they say, ‘sit back.’ What God does for us,
    He does in us. The process of doing it will appear to me (and not falsely) to
    be the daily or hourly repeated exercises of my own will.”48 ”

    Shine as
    the sun:
    C.S. LEWIS and
    the doctrine
    of deification

    Friend of Road to Emmaus, Chris Jensen, first presented this luminous essay at the 2005
    C.S. Lewis Summer Institute at Oxford University. We are very pleased to offer it here,
    adapted for our readers as Part II of “The OrthodoxWorldview and C.S. Lewis.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Subscribe to blog via email

Support the work

Your generous support for Glory to God for All Things will help maintain and expand the work of Fr. Stephen. This ministry continues to grow and your help is important. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!


Latest Comments


Read my books

Everywhere Present by Stephen Freeman

Listen to my podcast



Categories


Archives