In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Dear brothers and sisters, today we solemnly honor the Most Blessed Theotokos. Her Dormition was the end of Her earthly journey, crossing the threshold of eternity, and the beginning of imperishable life. To ordinary people, death seems to be a sad and terrifying thing, regardless of whether it concerns you personally or your neighbor. But in relation to the Mother of God, the reaction that is customary to human society is inappropriate and even inapplicable. Why is that? We find the answer in the troparion of today’s feast, which reveals the essence of what happened: “In giving birth, O Theotokos, thou hast retained thy virginity, and in falling asleep thou hast not forsaken the world.” Just as after giving birth to Her Son, Who was conceived by the Divine intervention of the Holy Spirit, the Most Pure One remained a Virgin. And while knowing the joy of motherhood, She did not know a man through carnal intercourse; so having completed Her earthly journey, She did not disappear from our lives and did not turn into nothing. Her soul, separated from Her body for a short time, was received by Her Divine Son, and according to church Tradition, on the third day Her body was taken to the Throne of the Most High God where Her soul and body were reunited, but reunited in a special way. As theologians say, the body of the Mother of God was deified: She became immortal and incorruptible, and She changed, becoming a full-fledged dweller of the Heavenly Kingdom.
Although Holy Scriptures does not mention Her resurrection, the centuries-old life of the Church of God faithfully testifies that the Mother of God is alive. Having become immortal and incorruptible by grace, becoming as Godlike as possible, She was given the possibility to put into practice Her deep and generous love for the human race, which had previously been limited by the physical laws of the created world. Her help is more powerful now than it was during Her earthly life. Now each one of us, wherever we are and in whatever language we speak, can turn to the Most Pure One and be sure to be heard. And each of those who turn to Her will receive according to the measure of his faith and in accordance with his real need, which is known to God the Almighty alone.
Today we rejoice at the victory over death, at the greatness of Divine Providence, and at the miraculous finding of a powerful Intercessor and Helper in the person of the Ever-Virgin Mary.
The Typicon prescribes the following Gospel reading for the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Our Lord came to a house where the hostess was a certain Martha, who had a sister named Mary, and there was a meal in that house. But the Lord, in addition to eating and feeding those beside Him, continued to teach and reveal the mysteries of His Kingdom, so that through this people could be saved, turning their spiritual eyes to themselves and to God’s plan for the entire universe. And Martha, as a hospitable hostess, made sure that the food was served on time and the dirty dishes were cleaned on time. And seeing that her sister was not helping her, but sitting next to the Teacher and listening to the Word of God, she felt resentment. It was humanly understandable: “I’m slaving away here, but my sister is sitting and enjoying listening to the Teacher. I’d gladly sit down too, but then who’s going to keep an eye on the table?” And with such indignation, albeit with gentle indignation, she nevertheless turned to God, to the Savior, the Great Teacher Jesus Christ, asking Him to note the fact that the elder sister was busy with work and chores, while the younger one did not seem to care about it. But the Lord lovingly addressed Martha, saying that she was preoccupied with many things, while only one thing was needed.
And to reinforce this thought, today we have heard another short excerpt from the Holy Gospel. Our God and Savior Jesus Christ was told that His Mother had come to see Him. But what did the Lord reply? Blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it (Lk. 11:28). That is, those who listened to it eagerly, desired to be saved from the bondage to sin and the law of death and enter the Heavenly Kingdom. This is more precious to God than family bonds.
It’s a clear and well-known story, but let’s look at it in the context of today’s feast. Human life on earth has a certain limit, and no matter how long it may seem, it flies by very fast. And the most important thing we must do in this period of time is to work the salvation of our immortal souls, making them amenable to life with God and already here on earth letting the Lord into our hearts and minds in order to start our spiritual unity with Him.
Learning sciences, work, leisure, taking care of our homes and other property, earning money—these are all just means to attain the main goal: salvation from sin and acquiring virtue, a means to use the talents that God has endowed us with. Although it may sound very cynical, our nearest and dearest, our relatives, are just our fellow travelers towards the Heavenly Kingdom. They are “simulators” on which we can practice sacrifice, love, forgiveness, care, and attention; these are the means by which we learn to be fulfillers of God’s commandments.
Of course, we need something to eat, a place to live, something to wear, and we need our loved ones so as not to feel lonely, to be able to speak our mind and be heard. But all this should not overwhelm us and turn from a means into an end in itself. And the Mother of God testified by Her life that She did not neglect work, did not disdain to share in the hardships of life with those close to Her. But at the same time, She understood that all the people near Her were Her traveling companions to the Heavenly Kingdom. And love comes first: love for God and for all these neighbors as the main condition for our amenability to a blessed life with God and in God in the Heavenly Kingdom.
In conclusion, I would like to read to you the words of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) regarding today’s feast: “The Mother of God rose from the dead on the third day after Her blessed Dormition and now She dwells in Heaven in body and soul. Not only does She abide in Heaven, She reigns in Heaven… The Holy Church, offering up petitions to all the greatest saints of God, to all the Angels and Archangels, addresses them, saying, ‘Pray to God for us.’ But with regard to the Mother of God alone does it use the words, ‘Save us.’”
My dears ones, today, with childlike sincerity and concentrated thoughtfulness, let us turn to the Mother of God before Her icon in the center of the church and Her Holy Shroud with this brief, but weighty prayer: “O Most Holy Mother of God, save us!”
Happy feast to all of you! May God bless you!
