Mary's dormition
29/08/14 05:10
As the Protestant reformation spread throughout Europe and began to give rise to new communions of Christians the practices of many Christians changed. One can argue that the reformation was about theology, and certainly there were intense theological arguments and differences began to appear in various corners of the church. But there is also a sense in which the reformation was about practice and the behaviors of Christians. Some corners of the church changed their approach to music and the use of instruments in worship. Some questioned the elaborate buildings and opted for simpler architecture. Some examined the complex calendar of feasts and fasts and opted for a different attitude towards the calendar.
Among the practices that was questioned was the veneration of saints. There has long been disagreement among Christians about the specifics of individuals who have been named saints. Clearly the church has experienced exceptional leadership and there have been great persons who have gone before this generation. But the complex arguments of who did or did not perform miracles, who did or did not experience death, who left a body behind and who took their earthly body with them were left behind in some parts of Protestant Christianity in favor of a broader understanding of the nature of saints.
Some view the position of some Protestant churches as simply leaving behind all of the talk of saints. Some Protestants claim that rather we have expanded the notion to include many more people. It isn’t that we don’t believe in saints, rather we believe that every Christian has the ability to be a saint. Lesbia Scott’s hymn, “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God,” expresses well the idea that saints not only lived in the distant past but also live and work in everyday lives in our time. The hymn has become a favorite of many congregations for the observance of All Saints’ Day. The tradition of All Saints’ Day on the first of November has become a time to recognize and remember those who have died. In most Protestant congregations the observance of individual saints’ days is down played.
So we don’t keep a regular calendar of the feast and fast days for saints in our part of the church. Much of what we know about saints comes from the theologies and books of worship of other communions of Christians.
In Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions the day for a saint is the day of her or his death. Saints are recognized on that day rather than on their birth days. Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox celebrate August 15 as the day for Mary, the mother of Jesus. They have different stories and traditions surrounding the day. In the Roman Catholic tradition there is a difference of opinion. Some Catholics believe that Mary died, was resurrected and then ascended into heaven in much the same way as Jesus. Others believe that Mary was directly assumed into heaven without experiencing an earthly death. Regardless of the differences of belief, August 15 is recognized as the Assumption of Mary and celebrated as the day that she entered into heaven. In the Orthodox tradition, the death, resurrection and bodily assumption of Mary into heaven is firmly entrenched in centuries of tradition. August 15 is celebrated as the Dormition of the Theodokos - the falling asleep of the Mother of God. There are many other differences. Roman Catholics rest authority in dogma and official statements whereas Orthodox Christians tend to place more authority in tradition and liturgy.
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the first 14 days of August are fast days in anticipation of the dormition of Mary and then August 15 is a day of feasting and celebration.
Of course we don’t play up the holidays for Mary in the same way as do those in other parts of the church. August 15. August 15 in our church this year was the beginning of a relatively calm weekend between the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and our summer rummage sale. We didn’t host any feasts.
But one of the saints of our church did come to the end of her life on that day. Marge had been very active in our congregation and was especially beloved by my family. She chaired the committee that called me to be pastor of this congregation. She served as confirmation mentor for our daughter when she joined the church. She welcomed our parents when they moved into this community and became a special friend of my mother in her aging years.
Like Mary, we might not all agree on the specifics surrounding Marge’s death. We didn’t lose her all at once. Marge developed the symptoms of dementia several years before her death. As the disease in her brain spread to the areas that control language, she began to experience dysphasia. The words wouldn’t come out right and the wrong words came out when she had a different meaning in her mind. Over the months as the disease progressed she lost more and more of her ability to communicate with others. By the end of her life, facial expressions and the gentle squeeze of her hand were the only tools she had left to express her thoughts and ideas. It wasn’t a gentle disease for a teacher and excellent communicator. A shrinking vocabulary and incomprehensible speech must have been terribly frustrating for her.
But the day of her death was August 15, the same day that tradition gives to the death of Mary. Marge’s daughter Liz thinks that her mother would have been amused at the coincidence. I agree. There is a kind of gentle poetry in the sense that two different mothers of our faith shared something in common.
I’m not likely to get swept up into the traditions of the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches. I’m quite at home in our little corner of Christianity. But I won’t have trouble remembering the feast of the Assumption (or Dormition) of Mary.
She isn’t the only saint worthy of remembering on that day.
Among the practices that was questioned was the veneration of saints. There has long been disagreement among Christians about the specifics of individuals who have been named saints. Clearly the church has experienced exceptional leadership and there have been great persons who have gone before this generation. But the complex arguments of who did or did not perform miracles, who did or did not experience death, who left a body behind and who took their earthly body with them were left behind in some parts of Protestant Christianity in favor of a broader understanding of the nature of saints.
Some view the position of some Protestant churches as simply leaving behind all of the talk of saints. Some Protestants claim that rather we have expanded the notion to include many more people. It isn’t that we don’t believe in saints, rather we believe that every Christian has the ability to be a saint. Lesbia Scott’s hymn, “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God,” expresses well the idea that saints not only lived in the distant past but also live and work in everyday lives in our time. The hymn has become a favorite of many congregations for the observance of All Saints’ Day. The tradition of All Saints’ Day on the first of November has become a time to recognize and remember those who have died. In most Protestant congregations the observance of individual saints’ days is down played.
So we don’t keep a regular calendar of the feast and fast days for saints in our part of the church. Much of what we know about saints comes from the theologies and books of worship of other communions of Christians.
In Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions the day for a saint is the day of her or his death. Saints are recognized on that day rather than on their birth days. Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox celebrate August 15 as the day for Mary, the mother of Jesus. They have different stories and traditions surrounding the day. In the Roman Catholic tradition there is a difference of opinion. Some Catholics believe that Mary died, was resurrected and then ascended into heaven in much the same way as Jesus. Others believe that Mary was directly assumed into heaven without experiencing an earthly death. Regardless of the differences of belief, August 15 is recognized as the Assumption of Mary and celebrated as the day that she entered into heaven. In the Orthodox tradition, the death, resurrection and bodily assumption of Mary into heaven is firmly entrenched in centuries of tradition. August 15 is celebrated as the Dormition of the Theodokos - the falling asleep of the Mother of God. There are many other differences. Roman Catholics rest authority in dogma and official statements whereas Orthodox Christians tend to place more authority in tradition and liturgy.
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the first 14 days of August are fast days in anticipation of the dormition of Mary and then August 15 is a day of feasting and celebration.
Of course we don’t play up the holidays for Mary in the same way as do those in other parts of the church. August 15. August 15 in our church this year was the beginning of a relatively calm weekend between the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and our summer rummage sale. We didn’t host any feasts.
But one of the saints of our church did come to the end of her life on that day. Marge had been very active in our congregation and was especially beloved by my family. She chaired the committee that called me to be pastor of this congregation. She served as confirmation mentor for our daughter when she joined the church. She welcomed our parents when they moved into this community and became a special friend of my mother in her aging years.
Like Mary, we might not all agree on the specifics surrounding Marge’s death. We didn’t lose her all at once. Marge developed the symptoms of dementia several years before her death. As the disease in her brain spread to the areas that control language, she began to experience dysphasia. The words wouldn’t come out right and the wrong words came out when she had a different meaning in her mind. Over the months as the disease progressed she lost more and more of her ability to communicate with others. By the end of her life, facial expressions and the gentle squeeze of her hand were the only tools she had left to express her thoughts and ideas. It wasn’t a gentle disease for a teacher and excellent communicator. A shrinking vocabulary and incomprehensible speech must have been terribly frustrating for her.
But the day of her death was August 15, the same day that tradition gives to the death of Mary. Marge’s daughter Liz thinks that her mother would have been amused at the coincidence. I agree. There is a kind of gentle poetry in the sense that two different mothers of our faith shared something in common.
I’m not likely to get swept up into the traditions of the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches. I’m quite at home in our little corner of Christianity. But I won’t have trouble remembering the feast of the Assumption (or Dormition) of Mary.
She isn’t the only saint worthy of remembering on that day.