Shepherd of the Springs
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

     Today, we observe the Feast of the Dormition of St. Mary, Mother of God, which occurs on the 15th of August on the historic Western Church Calendar. The Greek term for a place of falling sleep is, in English,  “cemetery,” while in Latin, term for “a place of sleeping,”is, in English “dormitory.” And thus, on this day the Church observes the falling asleep in death of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

As with every other saint’s day, this one occurs marking the day of the death of the saint. This is quite different from the way in which we mark civil and national noteworthy person, where we use the birthdate for occasion. So, Today, we give thanks for St. Mary, the Mother of God as we give thought to this important term, also from the Greek, that describes Mary’s importance: “The Theotokos.” That Mary called the God-bearer is controversial among some Christians, but this term, “The God-bearer,” the “Theotokos” in Greek, is a Scriptural issue. St. Mary is rightly called “the Mother of God” is taught by Scripture itself, especially in that portion of the Gospel according to St. Luke known as “The Magnificat,” where St. Mary rightly declares: “Behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.” So, today, your devote attention is directed to The Dormition of St. Mary, Mother of God!

I.

Historically, among orthodox and confessional Lutherans, Christian truth has been divided into three categories, generally called Dogma, Doctrine, and Theological Opinion. Dogma is Christian truth that one cannot deny without ceasing to be a Christian. For example, the teaching that Jesus is Christ is, at one and the same time, truly God and truly man, is an example of Dogma. The Three Ecumenical Creeds – Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian – are in each of their clauses, Christian Dogma.

Meanwhile the teaching that God created the universe – ex nihilo: out of nothing – is an example of Christian Doctrine. To deny an assertion of Christian Doctrine makes one in error, but it does not, as such, by itself, cause a person to cease to be a Christian.

The third category of Christian discourse and belief is Theological Opinion. For many centuries, this category has simply been called “Pious Opinion,” but of late, the term “pious opinion” has been used as an epithet – sounding like this “O that's just pious opinion,” and meaning: it's that guy's opinion, over which he even makes a big deal, but it means nothing. But that is not what historic Pious Opinion, otherwise now better spoken of as Theological Opinion, is. Theological opinion is affirm a true and helpful belief that is not explicitly set forth in the Scriptures.

II.

For example, the use of the crucifix is certainly not Christian Dogma, for your salvation does not depend upon its use. Nor is the use of the crucifix a matter of Christian Doctrine, for it is not even spoken of in the Scriptures. But clearly the use of the crucifix is an example of Theological Opinion, for, as Luther says in this particular case, “it is wrong to deprive a poor Christian of her devotion in which the crucifix points her to Christ.

The Dormition of St. Mary is a teaching from the early A.D. 100's concerning St. Mary. What it teaches is not Dogma, for your salvation is not dependent on the death of the Mother of God. Nor is what the Dormition of St. Mary teaches a matter of Christian Doctrine, for to deny it an action that makes a person guilty of false doctrine. The Dormition of St. Mary is, truly, a matter of true and helpful Theological Opinion. And in that light, consider what we mean by and learn from the Dormition of the Mother of God.

Indeed, while the Dormition – or, the falling asleep – of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not explicitly taught in the Scriptures, it is supported by St. Mary's own words found in the Gospel According to St. Luke: “For behold, from henceforth all generations will call me blessed.” Consider how the Holy Mother describes herself. And the Dormition unscores the fact that St. Mary does, indeed, fall asleep in Jesus, her beloved Son.

 III.

When the Holy Mother speaks the words of the Magnificat, she is responding to the angel's message that she will bear the Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Scripture explicitly states that the Blessed Virgin does bring forth a child, does call Him Jesus, the name given Him by the angel. But St. Mary does not simply fad into the woodwork of history, as though she returns to a previous role as an ordinary young teenager, now with a baby for which to care. No, rather – St. Mary remains the G0d-Bearer, in Greek the “Theotokos,” for the rest of her life. And the first Person who would expect that you and I given due honor to St. Mary would be her Son and our Savior, Himself.

So, we find in Scripture, St. Mary ponders what the angel, and the chorus, and the shepherds have to say about her Son, which also entails what they mean about her role and responsibilities. St. Mary ponders what the holy servants in the Temple have to say, Simeon and Anna, and her on-going relationship to Him. St. Mary also ponders over the message of the Magi, and she ponders her husband's hasty retreat from the holy land to Egypt upon the instructions of the angel of the Lord. She ponders over her child's welfare in their return to the holy land, and later in His apparently lost condition as His mother and father lose track of Him when He was in the temple at 12 years of age.

As Jesus moves into His public ministry, Mary continues to be concerned for Him and His welfare. She accompanies Him, from afar, during the painful hours of judgment and condemnation. And she stand guards at the foot of the cross as He suffers for the sins of whole world.

Mary remains with Him, after the resurrection, for we find her still remaining with the Apostles' after His ascension. Clearly, she had the role of the Mother of God, not just for nine months gestation or some hours of birth. And the Dormition of St. Mary puts the Church's waxen seal over her role in her falling asleep.

IV.

     But the lesson of the Dormition is not only's hers to learn, but yours as well. For the Dormition gives us the pattern for our own Christian lives, our own Christian struggles, our own Christian prayers, and our own Christian deaths. For we, too, following the pattern of St. Virgin, Mary, Mother of God, live unto God, and unless Christ returns first, dying onto God. As certain as St. Mary died in the hands of her Son, her Savior, her God –  we too have that same comforting end that awaits us, where while our body rests and then is resurrected, we are ever with the Lord, even as is His mother, and our precious example-- St. Mary, Jesus' mother and thus ours!