From “A Sermon for the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary”
But just what is this dropping of the heavens, this storm of grace; what is this word that goeth forth? It is the inspiration of the prophet and the seer expressed in human words; and thus we speak of Scripture as the word of God. But the word of God, behind the words, is nothing less than God himself. “In the beginning was the Word”, says St. John, “and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. The Word is God’s eternal and complete self-knowing, the perfect self-uttering, which is not other than God himself; it is “the word of his power”, “the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person.” The Word is, as our Creed reminds us, “God from God, Light from Light, Very God from Very God”.
The Word of God is eternal, and eternally begotten; the Word of God goes forth within the life of God himself. And the Word of God goes forth in all creation, for “without him was not anything made that was made.” “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” That word is the life of every creature, and “the light that lighteneth every man”, in all the world, from the beginning. And in Redemption, the Word of God goes forth, to dwell amongst us in the flesh, “that we might behold his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”. Who but St. John would have dared to say it: “We have touched and handled of the word of Life”.
The rain of grace descends, and the barren furrows of the earth open to receive the word of God. The word of God goes forth, in words and signs and sacraments, and is expressed in a myriad of vocations, as the spirit’s gifts are divided, “severally as he will”. There must be prophet and apostle, pastor and teacher, and poet and healer, artist and craftsman, and all those walks of life we sometimes dare to call “ordinary”. Only in our diversity – only in the whole spectrum – can we reflect and imitate the infinite goodness and unity of God. Only thus the word of God in us fills all things, in every aspect of creation, and returns it all in a symphony of praise. “My word shall not return empty”, says the prophet.
This festival bespeaks a double motion: the descent of the Word, and the rising up of earth in fruitfulness. And St. Mary is, as it were, the fulcrum of that double motion. The rain of grace descends: “Hail, thou that are highly favoured; Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” And earth rises in response: “Be it unto me according to thy word”. All is the work of grace – sola gratia – yet grace presupposes nature, which it heals and elevates and transfigures. As St. Thomas puts it, “Grace does not destroy nature, but perfects it.”
Robert Crouse (1930-2011) was a Canadian Anglican priest and classics scholar who taught for decades at King’s College and Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. He deeply influenced several generations of Canadian clergy with his focus on the integration of Christianity and the Western Tradition and his deep appreciation of the traditional Anglican prayer books.
