Come and See The Blessed Theotokos

As I write this, we are just past the Dormition of the Blessed and Holy Theotokos. As Vasili and I were chanting over these days, we were both “hit between the eyes” (if you will) as we reflected on that which we chanted.

For a moment, focus again on Apolytikion of the Afterfeast of the Dormition:

In giving birth you retained your virginity, and in dormition you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos. You were translated unto life, being the Mother of Life. And thus by virtue of your intercessions you deliver our souls from death.

What we saw was the mystery of the words and the fact that each phrase revealed things normally considered opposites!

In giving birth you retained your virginity.  Normally, one would think terms of giving birth as the loss of virginity, not retention!  But look that the marvel: she gives birth but does NOT lose her virginity! She is the unwedded Bride, who gives flesh to God!  Ponder this! Think on it – not to explain or reason or discover some new fact, but to marvel in the mystery of the Word becoming flesh through Mary!

In dormition you did not forsake the world.  In her Dormition, she didn’t leave, nor did she forsake the world. Her prayers, her concerns, her Love for Her Son and for all those around didn’t cease, but continued. Having been translated to Life, the Mother of Life continually intercedes for the Church, and for the Salvation of the whole world.

You were translated to life, being the Mother of Life.  One might ask, “how can she be the Mother of Life, and yet she’s translated to life?”   That’s a head-scratcher.  But its also the marvel of it all: for she, born as I am as you are into life as we know it on this earth, being a creation of God, is given the high honor of the incarnation of Christ God as the Word becomes flesh.  That One, the Logos, the only begotten Son, receives flesh and takes on our life through her!  Thus she is the Theotokos, the God-bearer.  Alive by the grace of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, she holds in her womb Life, as His Mother!

Now, translated through her Dormition, she continues her work of prayer and adoration for the Church and for the whole of creation.

What a marvel!  It took our breath away that day at the Chanter’s stand.  What an awesome mystery!

Unfortunately, the Blessed Virgin Mary is absent in much of the broadly defined “church” or “churches” of our day.  At best, she’s mentioned at Christmas, albeit briefly, having been excised from her rightful place through ravages of time. And in our time, all too often, if something can’t be explained, it is denied or thought to be fiction.

But the truth remains!  And if one doesn’t receive Mary, the Blessed Theotokos, or believe in her and her place in the work of Christ, I’m pretty sure one will never understand the mystery of the Church, the very Body of Christ! 

But then, I’m not sure “understand” is the proper word, since when we ponder the Love of God in Christ revealed in the Blessed Theotokos, her life and dormition and continuing Life, one can say only,

Glory to God for All Things!

In giving birth you retained your virginity, and in dormition you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos. You were translated unto life, being the Mother of Life. And thus by virtue of your intercessions you deliver our souls from death.

Ezekiel