The way I conceive of my birthday changed forever when I read the paragraphs quoted below.
For the first time in my life, I realized that on the day I was born — March 25th, nine months before December 25th — Jesus entered this world as prophet, priest, and king. Some churches celebrate this day as the Feast of the Annunciation.
These excerpts are from an article that transcribes a talk that was given by Frederica Mathewes-Green at an Orthodox Christian Pro-Life Event. On the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, she narrated with great clarity and sensitivity the universal church’s position throughout history regarding abortion and why we should be hopeful for the future of the pro-life movement.
Our faith’s affirmation of life from the moment of conception is evident in the passage in the Gospel of Luke, in which Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, and Elizabeth says that her unborn son leaped for joy at the sound of Mary’s voice. She says, “Why do I deserve such honor, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.” (Luke 1:39-45) The unborn John the Forerunner recognized the presence of Christ and his mother, and Elizabeth, with prophetic insight, realized what was happening.
Our Lord Jesus Christ did not become a human being on Christmas Day, but 9 months earlier, on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, when the angel appeared to the Virgin Mary and told her that she would conceive a child. The Forerunner did not become a human being on the day he was born; he was already a prophet and a servant of the Most High, even in his mother’s womb. Click here to read the rest of The Pro-Life Cause, Orthodoxy, and Hope.
