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The Annunciation
"The incarnation of the Word was not only the work of the Father, Son and Spirit – the first consenting, the second descending, and the third overshadowing – but it was also the work of the will and faith of the Virgin. Without the three divine persons this design could not have been set in motion; but likewise the plan could not have been carried into effect without the consent and faith of the all-pure Virgin. Only after teaching and persuading her does God make her his Mother and receive from her the flesh which she consciously wills to offer him. Just as he was conceived by his own free choice, so in the same way she becomes his Mother voluntarily and with here free consent.” (St. Nicholas Cabasilas - 14th c.)
The text for meditation above is hardly "lenten." But neither is the Feast of the Annunciation that falls every year on March 25, and invariably during Great Lent. This feast, therefore, is an event that we can call a "festal interlude" during this season of fasting, and because it is a Great Feast, it is the only time during Great Lent that a full Liturgy is celebrated on a weekday.
Be that as it may, the passage above from St. Nicholas Cabasilas has become the classic text for how we, as Orthodox Christians, understand the relationship between divine initiative and human freedom. The Virgin Mary contributed her freedom and awareness of "choice" to the divine oikonomia (economy) of our salvation by her response to the archangel Gabriel. This process we call synergy - the harmony between divine grace and human freedom. The relationship between the two may be asymmetrical, but both are essential to the process of salvation.
For those who may be interested, here is a longer presentation on The Annunciation written a few years ago.
