"Having been delivered from immeasurable needs and sorrows, and from enemies, ill-will, and the misfortunes of life, O All-Ancient [Ever-Ageless], by your mighty power, I hymn and magnify your immeasurable compassion and your intercession toward me" (Ode 1).
(Because I was delivered, O All-Ancient, from immeasurable needs and sorrows and from evil enemies and misfortunes of life, through your mighty power, I hymn and glorify your immeasurable compassion, as well as the consolation you give me).
The ecclesiastical hymnodist continues this same pattern in his thought and his reference to the Most Holy Theotokos, as well as in the rest of the troparia of the canon: he faces a multitude of needs, sorrows, and misfortunes in his daily life; he flees to the mighty help of the Panagia (the All-Holy); he feels the need to glorify her for her saving interventions. And of course, it is self-evident how what happens to him—within his many duties as a king—also happens to every believer whom God has allowed to find themselves in this world. For both sorrows and, often, misfortunes frequently accompany us in our lives; and for the believer, the Panagia is a ready help at any moment due to her mighty power from her unique relationship with her Son and God; and her immeasurable love and compassion, as the poetic cause of this help, is given to all Christians.
And what we consider in need of special commentary is precisely this "duality" of the Panagia—a continuation and expression of the "duality" of our Triune God and the leader of our faith, Jesus Christ: on one hand, the mighty authority and power she possesses, and on the other, her immeasurable love toward us, her children, which results in consolation for hearts that are sorrowful and scorched by the heat of sin and the misfortunes of life. And we explained further: our Panagia is almighty; she has become even more almighty due to her unique relationship with her Son and God, just as He Himself had promised: "all things are possible to him who believes" and "if you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you." If every Christian can become almighty when they place themselves under the obedience of the will of God—as the Apostle Paul also emphasizes: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"—how much more She, who was the Mother of God as a human, and especially who was constantly in a warm love of obedience toward her Lord and God?
So, indeed, her authority, given by God through His grace, is ungraspable, something that every Christian can confirm when, with faith, they turn to Her, in reality to Christ through Her.
And then there is her love and her compassion toward each of us. Our Panagia has as much authority as she has love. Rather, her authority is the fruit of her immeasurable love toward God's creatures, especially toward the faithful person, who will see that true power exists where one touches true love, just as our Lord Himself demonstrated this most clearly, showing His omnipotence throughout His entire journey on earth in love, especially in His Crucifixion. Upon the Cross, therefore, in His apparent weakness and humility, the Lord eliminates sin, tramples down death, and nullifies the evil devil. It is not a coincidence that the Apostle Paul uses this as the foundation of his theological thought, as we see in a very vivid way in his Epistle to the Romans (15:1-3):
We Christians are the strong ones in this world, not because we are characterized by our supernatural powers, psychological or physical, not because we have the power of money or high positions—which are hallmarks of a world fallen into sin—but because we walk according to the pattern of Christ, that is, without setting as our principle what is pleasing to ourselves, but what is pleasing to our neighbor, which reveals true sacrificial love. "We who are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please our neighbor for good, to the building up of others. For even Christ did not please himself" (As those of us with strong faith ought to endure the weaknesses of those who have weak faith, and not to do what pleases us. The behavior of each of us should be pleasing to our neighbor, so as to help them progress in good and thus contribute to the building up of the Church. After all, even Christ did not live to please Himself).
One is worth reflecting upon the theological thought of the king-poet in his paralytic canon to the Most Holy Theotokos. Because while he was a king, and thus possessed worldly authority, he did not fall into the trap and the temptation that authority brings into the hands of man. Authority is correctly understood within the framework of love; then it becomes literally a ministry that consoles hearts and leads to salvation. Our Panagia possesses this highest possible humble authority of love and calls us to activate it daily for our own sake. Because then She also participates in our joy resulting from our deliverance. And along with Her, certainly, both the Creator and our God rejoice infinitely.
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