Monday, August 12, 2013

What were the spiritual benefits of the Dormition of the Theotokos


Why is it really necessary for Christians to pay attention to the death of Mary the Mother of Jesus? Does it add anything to our spirituality, does it increase our moral sensibilities, does it fill our minds with wisdom? These are interesting questions. I can remember as a Protestant Christian that I would have certainly answered any questions like this in the negative, and I can remember teaching people to believe that the life and contribution of Mary really had nothing to do with their day to day Christian walk. But I’ve certainly changed my mind on this issue. in this episode of Harmony of Thunder we’re going to look again at the sermon of Patriarch Modestus on the Dormition of the Theotokos in order to try and uncover the answer to the question: in what way does our attention to this great feast of the Orthodox Church benefit us as Christians?








Hi, welcome to Harmony of Thunder, where we explore and enjoy the rich tradition of Orthodox preaching. I’m your host, Fr. David Smith. Each week, Harmony of Thunder chooses a sermon from scripture or from the works of a saint and we spend our time together looking at the style, the illustrations, and the spiritual message of the preacher. For the past two weeks we’ve been looking at the sermon entitled, “An Encomium on the Dormition of our Most Holy Lady, Mary, Mother of God and Ever Virgin By Our Father the Holy Modestus, Archbishop of Jerusalem” as found in the book On The Dormition of Mary, Early Patristic Sermons, translated and with an introduction by Brian E. Daley, S.J., and we’ll spend one more week with it. I think he has some answers to our question that will help and enlighten us.

While I don’t address this particular sermon in my book Mary Worthy of All Praise, published by Conciliar Press in 2003, I do speak to the difference between my pre-and post-Orthodox conversion opinion of the Mother of our Savior. If you’d like to hear more about this, I hope you look for it in my book.

Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother and of all the saints, bless your Holy Orthodox Church with great preachers and people who want to hear them. Amen.

There are three aspects of the celebration of the Dormition that add to the spiritual riches of Orthodox Christians. First, the Holy Spirit has designated that this fast and feast become a part of the church. Second, the invisible events which occurred around the falling-asleep of the Mother of God are truly amazing and worthy of recollection. And third, Mary does not cease to be the Mother of God, even after her earthly demise. We not only have her as an intercessor for us before the throne of her Son, but we also must expect that in the eternal Kingdom of God she will continue to play a major role, just as the mothers of earthly kings play an important part in their courts.

First, we have the fact that the Holy Spirit has moved upon the fathers of the church to make the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos one of the major days of commemoration in the calendar, made even more consecrated by the inclusion of a strict fast during the 14 days preceding. This is part of the opening of Patriarch Modestus’ sermon: “…these inspired prophets (and here he’s speaking of those who were chosen to be “teachers in the Church of Christ our God”), these inspired prophets have been judged worthy to discover sacred writings and to expound them for each holy festival of the Mother of God, and so to escort the devout people towards riches that can never be taken away, toward the Spirit’s most splendid array of honors, towards the divinely designed edification of the orthodox Churches, for the glory of God our Savior.”

The preacher really speaks about two works of the Holy Spirit here. First, the Spirit chooses those who He wants to serve as teachers, prophets and leaders in the Church. When he first mentions those “teachers in the Church of Christ our God,” he specifically says that they were given that place “by the divine grace of the all-holy Spirit.” While it is not the safe prerogative of Orthodox Christians to simply sit back and let the hierarchy do, say, and teach as they please, it is likewise the duty of all Orthodox Christians to understand that a movement of the Holy Spirit has placed these leaders in our midst, and that any criticism must take this important fact into account.

The preacher then speaks of a second gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the actual teaching of these inspired prophets. Let me read a part of the sermon in which he speaks of the miraculous gathering of the apostles at her death: “So the divine apostles, whom we have mentioned before, hastened from every corner of the earth, led and assisted by an impulse from on high, to find that all-holy Mother, through whose offices they had been found by Christ and had been considered worthy of a mission in the Holy Spirit – the highest dignity by far which the Spirit bestows. She had already attained that honor, and was, at that moment, about to receive in addition Christ’s heavenly gifts.” The Brian Daley, the translator of the sermon, points out that the preacher here refers to a comparison of the Spirit’s call upon the apostles and His earlier call to Mary. The Holy Spirit had given her a job to do, a job which, when done properly, would make the call of the apostles possible. Here we see how the Spirit moved upon a series of God-lovers; Mary, then the apostles, then the fathers of the Church, in order to bring to us the amazing story of the salvation of the world, a story in which we play, hopefully, an additional, contemporary role.

Secondly, this great feast of the Dormition feeds our souls by teaching us about the unseen forces that accompanied the events it commemorates. Listen to these remarkable words by Modestus: “Think of it! Holy angels were sent from God to his holy and glorious Mother, to one who is higher than they and all the powers of heaven, the one who had found grace with God; they are sent from heaven on high to one who has been shown by God to be higher and wider than heaven itself – sent now, not to announce the incomprehensible news that God has been conceived, as once the archangel Gabriel did, but to lead her towards the one she conceived, in his heavenly kingdom; not to proclaim her inconceivable childbirth to all the world by bringing good tidings to shepherds, but to receive her with everlasting glory and to let her enter into the ineffable joy of the Lord, who was born of her.”

Now you might say, “How does Modestus know all this?” Look at what he’s done. We have in the Holy Scriptures the clear description of the angelic activity around her giving birth to the Christ. Doesn’t it follow that that there was a similar angelic gathering at her falling-asleep? Certainly! All that Modestus has done is to bring the two events together, as he says: “sent now, not to announce the incomprehensible news that God has been conceived … but to lead her towards the one she conceived.” His witness here is reasonable, poetic, and true.

And finally, we look toward the heavenly kingdom. There Christ is king over all, and every subject bows before him in love. Will his mother just stand to the side as one of the rank and file? Not a chance. Not a chance. If you’re a person who desires to dwell with Christ eternally in the Kingdom of God, you’re a person who is preparing to honor his mother forever, as Modestus says, “They placed in a tomb as in a shrine of life, in the place called Gethsemane – they who had become the eye-witnesses and servants of the Word, and those holy ones who then were in their company. Their desire in doing this was that through her, our kindly and just judge might be rendered merciful towards us – Christ our God, who came forth from her, and who will appear in glory like lightning from heaven, to take his place where the prophets have foretold, to judge the living and the dead with the divine apostles, through the ministry of the holy angels.”

The picture is truly awesome, the lightning, the judgment of the living and the dead, the ministry of angels. This picture is truly awesome, and those who carefully handled the body of the Theotokos after her demise had this awesome picture in their mind. “Remember how we lovingly cared for her body!” we can hear them say, “when you come to judge the earth with awesome power and glory!”

What a lovely sermon this has been, how good it has been to explore and enjoy it! Especially with you, dear listener. I’m still not sure if I’m going to read you a couple of my favorite poems on the Theotokos next week, but I hope you’ll give Harmony of Thunder a listen to find out!

Lord Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, the Savior of the world, grant that we may glorify you with our love for you and your mother as we acknowledge the angelic powers and the reality of your eternal Kingdom, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.

Ἀπὸ τὸ Γεροντικό


Ἕνας γέροντας εἶπε:

- Ἂν ἀρρωστήσεις καὶ ζητήσεις ἀπὸ κάποιον νὰ σοῦ δώσει ἕνα πρᾶγμα ποὺ χρειάζεσαι, καὶ δὲν σοῦ τὸ δώσει, μὴ γογγύσεις ἐναντίον του, ἀλλὰ πές:

«Ἂν ἤμουν ἄξιος νὰ τὸ πάρω, θὰ πληροφοροῦσε ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸ νὰ μοῦ τὸ προσφέρει σὰν ἐλεημοσύνη».

***

Εἶπε πάλι (ὁ ἴδιος):

- Ἂν σὲ κρατήσουν (κάπου) γιὰ τραπέζι καὶ σὲ βάλουν στὴν πιὸ ἀσήμαντη θέση, νὰ μὴ γογγύσει ὁ λογισμός σου (ἐναντίον ἐκείνων ποὺ σὲ φιλοξενοῦν), ἀλλὰ νὰ λές: «Οὔτε κι ἐδῶ ἤμουν ἄξιος (νὰ καθήσω)». Γιατὶ πρέπει νὰ ξέρεις, ὅτι καμιὰ θλίψη δὲν ἔρχεται στὸν ἄνθρωπο, παρὰ μόνο «ἄνωθεν», ἀπὸ τὸ Θεό, εἴτε γιὰ νὰ δοκιμαστεῖ εἴτε ἐξαιτίας τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν του. Καὶ ὅποιος δὲν ἔχει αὐτὴ τὴν πεποίθηση, δὲν πιστεύει ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς εἶναι δίκαιος κριτής.

***

Ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἰσίδωρος εἶπε:

- Ἡ σύνεση τῶν ἁγίων εἶναι τούτη, τὸ ὅτι ἀπέκτησαν ἐπίγνωση τοῦ θελήματος τοῦ Θεοῦ. Γιατὶ ὅλα τὰ νικάει ὁ ἄνθρωπος μὲ τὴν ὑπακοὴ στὴν ἀλήθεια, ἀφοῦ εἶναι εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωμα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἀπ᾿ὅλα τὰ πάθη, πάλι, τὸ φοβερότερο εἶναι νὰ ἀκολουθεῖ κανεὶς τὴν καρδιά του, νὰ ὑπακούει δηλαδὴ στὸ θέλημά του καὶ ὄχι στὸ νόμο τοῦ Θεοῦ. Αὐτὸ (τὸ πάθος) στὴν ἀρχὴ μὲν δείχνει ὅτι ἀναπαύει κάπως (ψυχικά) τὸν ἄνθρωπο, ὕστερα ὅμως τὸν ὁδηγεῖ στὴν κατάθλιψη, ἐπειδὴ ἀγνόησε τὸ μυστήριο τῆς θείας οἰκονομίας καὶ δὲν βρῆκε τὸ δρόμο τοῦ Θεοῦ, γιὰ νὰ τὸν ἀκολουθήσει.

*****

Αββᾶ Ἡσαΐα


Τρία πράγματα ἀποκτᾷ μὲ δυσκολία ὁ ἄνθρωπος - καὶ εἶναι αὐτὰ ποὺ συντηροῦν ὅλες τὶς ἀρετές: τὸ πένθος, τὰ δάκρυα γιὰ τὶς ἁμαρτίες του καὶ ἡ θύμηση τοῦ θανάτου του. Γιατὶ ὅποιος καθημερινὰ συλλογίζεται τὸ θάνατο καὶ λέει στὸν ἑαυτό του, «Μόνο τὴ σημερινὴ μέρα ἔχω νὰ ζήσω σ᾿ αὐτὸν τὸν κόσμο», αὐτὸς ποτὲ δὲν θ᾿ ἁμαρτήσει ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.

Ὅποιος, ἀντίθετα, ἐλπίζει πὼς θὰ ζήσει πολλὰ χρόνια, αὐτὸς θὰ πέσει σὲ πολλὲς ἁμαρτίες.

Ὁ Θεὸς φροντίζει νὰ διατηρεῖ καθαρὸ ἀπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτία τὸ δρόμο τῆς ζωῆς ἐκείνου, ποὺ ἑτοιμάζεται νὰ δώσει λόγο γιὰ ὅλες του τὶς πράξεις στὸ Θεό. Ἐκεῖνος ὅμως ποὺ ἀδιαφορεῖ λέγοντας, «Ἔχω καιρὸ ὡς τότε», βρίσκεται δίπλα στοὺς δαίμονες.

Κάθε μέρα, πρὶν πιάσεις δουλειά, νὰ θυμᾶσαι ποῦ βρίσκεσαι καὶ ποῦ πρόκειται νὰ πᾶς ὅταν χωριστεῖς ἀπὸ τὸ σῶμα. Καὶ μὴν παραμελήσεις οὔτε μία μέρα τὴν ψυχή σου. Νὰ παρακολουθεῖ προσεκτικὰ τὸν ἑαυτό σου, ὥστε πάντα νὰ θυμᾶται, πάντα νὰ ἔχει μπροστὰ στὰ μάτια του τὸ θάνατο καὶ τὰ αἰώνια κολαστήρια καὶ ὅσους βασανίζονται καὶ ὑποφέρουν ἐκεῖ. Καὶ νὰ θεωρεῖς τὸν ἑαυτό σου σὰν ἕναν ἀπὸ ἐκείνους μᾶλλον παρὰ ἀπὸ τοὺς ζωντανούς.

Ἀλίμονό μας! Ἐνῷ πρόκειται νὰ φύγουμε ἀπὸ τὴ γῆ, ὅπου προσωρινὰ κατοικοῦμε, καταπιανόμαστε μὲ πολύχρονες φροντίδες γιὰ γήινα καὶ φθαρτὰ πράγματα. Καὶ στὸν καιρὸ τῆς ἀναπόφευκτης ἀναχωρήσεώς μας ἀπὸ δῶ, δὲν εἴμαστε ἱκανοὶ νὰ κρατήσουμε τίποτα δικό μας.

Ἀλίμονό μας! Γιὰ κάθε πράξη τῆς ἐπίγειας ζωῆς, γιὰ κάθε ἀργὸ λόγο, γιὰ κάθε πονηρὸ καὶ ἀκάθαρτο λογισμό, γιὰ κάθε ἀναθύμηση τῆς ψυχῆς θὰ λογοδοτήσουμε στὸν φοβερὸ Δικαστῆ. Ὡστόσο, λὲς καὶ εἴμαστε ἀνεύθυνοι, μιὰ ὁλόκληρη ζωὴ ἀδιαφοροῦμε γιὰ τὶς ψυχές μας. Γι᾿ αὐτὸ μᾶς περιμένει ἐκεῖ ἡ ἄσβεστη φωτιὰ τῆς γέενας καὶ τὸ μακρινὸ σκοτάδι καὶ τὸ ἀκοίμητο σκουλῆκι καὶ ὁ θρῆνος καὶ τὸ τρίξιμο τῶν δοντιῶν καὶ τὸ αἰώνιο ντρόπιασμα μπροστὰ σὲ ὅλα τὰ οὐράνια καὶ ἐπίγεια δημιουργήματα (Ματθ. 5:22, 8:12, Μάρκ. 9:43-48, Β´Θέσ. 1:8-10).

Ἀλίμονό μας! Τὰ κεντρίσματα καὶ τὰ δαγκώματα τῶν ψύλλων καὶ τῶν κοριῶν καὶ τῶν ψειρῶν καὶ τῶν μυγῶν καὶ τῶν κουνουπιῶν καὶ τῶν μελισσῶν δὲν τὰ ὑποφέρουμε. Δὲν φροντίζουμε ὅμως -οὔτε καὶ θέλουμε!- νὰ ξεφύγουμε ἀπὸ τὸν νοητὸ δράκοντα, ποὺ καθημερινὰ μᾶς δαγκώνει καὶ μᾶς ρουφάει καὶ μᾶς καταπληγώνει ἀπὸ παντοῦ μὲ τὰ φαρμακερὰ κεντριὰ τοῦ θανάτου. Πῶς λοιπὸν θὰ μπορέσουμε νὰ ὑποφέρουμε τὶς φοβερὲς καὶ αἰώνιες τιμωρίες;



Αββᾶ Ἡσαΐα

RECALL NOTICE BY GOD :VERY IMPORTANT !!!!!!!!!!!!


The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and
central component of the heart.
This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all
subsequent units. This defect has been technically termed "Sub-sequential Internal Non-Morality," or more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is
primarily expressed.

Some of the symptoms include:
1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion in the mental component
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion


The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct
this defect.


The Repair Technician, JESUS, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no
additional fee required.


The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R.
Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus,
into the heart component.

No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:
1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self control

Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.
WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and
problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on Jesus.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted
to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention!

- GOD

P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by 'Knee mail'!

Because He Lives!
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