NOTE: Today, September 8th, the Church commemorates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. More information with regard to its history, background, and importance is offered below, but a brief preface is warranted. This writing is being offered today in place of the writing for Trinity 15 because the Nativity of Mary takes liturgical precedence over Trinity 15. Similar liturgical precedence is granted to feasts of Apostles, other Marian feasts, such as the Annunciation, and other feasts like Holy Cross Day. A devotion for Trinity 15 will be offered tomorrow.
Rejoice we all in the Lord,
Celebrating the festal day in honor of the virgin Mary,
At whose nativity the angels rejoice,
And together praise the Son of God.
My heart is inditing a good matter:
I speak of the things which I have made touching the king.
—Liturgical text; Psalm 45:1a
Concerning the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
On September 8, the Church celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This earliest record of this feast dates back to the sixth century, when a hymn was written for Mary’s nativity. The first liturgical celebration of the Nativity of Mary can also be traced to the sixth century, when it was celebrated as part of the dedication of what is now known as the Church of Saint Anne in Jerusalem. This basilica is built on the Shepherd’s Pool in Syria, which is believed to be the home of Mary’s parents.
In the seventh century, the Byzantines celebrated the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first organized and widespread liturgical celebration of Mary’s nativity. Because it is derived from apocryphal books, the Western Church was slower to adopt its celebration. The earliest celebrations of the feast in the Western Church began toward the end of the seventh century.
Mary’s nativity is largely derived from the Gospel of James, an apocryphal book written and compiled in the second century. It describes the birth and early life of Mary, her marriage to Joseph, the birth of Christ, and the events that took place thereafter. Mary was born to her parents Anne and Joachim, both of whom are commemorated as saints on July 26. The Gospel of James is not canonized, but its historical accounts have often served as reliable sources of knowledge concerning events not recorded in Scripture.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an important celebration in the church year. It is a principal Feast in the Roman Catholic Church, and was celebrated accordingly in the Lutheran Church for centuries. Several Lutheran agendas, hymnbooks, and postils include propers to celebrate the Nativity of Mary.* It was even included in several early Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Synod hymnals.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is one of only two saints, apart from Christ, whose nativity is included in the liturgical calendar. The other is St. John the Baptist, whose humble birth was foretold in Luke 1. Both Mary and John played foundational roles in salvific history, having been set apart by God to prepare the way of the Lord and serve the incarnate Lord on earth. John was set apart to preach the Gospel, while Mary was set apart to be the New Ark of the Covenant, the vessel in which the incarnate Lord and Savior would dwell following His conception.
Their births were also independently holy. The birth of John, according to Luke 1:15, was holy and sanctified, “for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Likewise, Mary’s birth was a holy and sanctified birth, of whom it is said in Luke 1, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you […] Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:28, 30).
The Nativity of Mary is a jubilant celebration of the blessed prelude to the gift of salvation found in the conception and birth of Christ Jesus. Before the foundation, Mary was set apart by God to carry in her womb the Godman, who would suffer and die to procure salvation. Mary is the single most important vessel to Jesus’ salvific plan to redeem mankind, for it was necessary that Christ become incarnate in the flesh, born of a woman. God also found it necessary that Christ be born of a pure, holy, and blessed Virgin.
God’s people knew that the Messiah would be born through supernatural means, fulfilled in part by Mary’s virginity. Thus, Christ received His full humanity from the Blessed Virgin and His full divinity from the Father through the Holy Spirit. In this way, it was no human act that Christ became Incarnate in the flesh; rather, it was a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary serves as an important reminder that God uses His servants to His glory. Just as Mary was set apart from the foundation of the world for His service, so also has God called us by name, led us by His grace to the redeeming waters of Holy Baptism, and made us partakers of His blessed marriage feast.
A hymn for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (LSB 359):
1 Lo, how a rose e'er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse's lineage coming
As prophets long have sung,
It came, a flow'ret bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half-spent was the night.
2 Isaiah 'twas foretold it,
The rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind.
To show God's love aright,
She bore to us a Savior,
When half-spent was the night.
3 This flow'r, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness ev'rywhere.
True man, yet very God,
From sin and death he saves us
And lightens ev'ry load.
4 O Savior, child of Mary,
Who felt our human woe;
O Savior, King of glory,
Who dost our weakness know:
Bring us at length we pray
To the bright courts of heaven,
And to the endless day.
Collect of the Day:
O God, mercifully hear the supplication of Thy servants; that we who are assembled together on the Nativity of the Holy Virgin Mother of God, may by the intercession of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, be delivered from the dangers which beset us; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee:
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
*The liturgical propers recorded in this post are borrowed from The Lutheran Missal. They have provided an excellent summary of the Feast’s historic celebration in the Lutheran Church and the myriad resources that point to it. They also provide all liturgical propers necessary to celebrate this Feast with the full Divine Service.
Thank you.
How singular & blessed is Mary!
Only she knows what it is to be the mother of Christ. She carried Jesus within herself - and his tiny human body developed within her! She was His “Mom”, and knew and loved Him in a completely unique way.