You can probably guess that I did a lot of things that drove my mother crazy—probably still do. One of those ways was what I said after every story she read to me. Just as soon as she turned the page and read the words “The End!” I would say, “And then what?... And they what?... There had to be something more. I enjoyed stories of all kinds and simply did not want them to end.
I wonder whether you are of the same mind. If it is a good story, are you sorry when it is finished or do you want to rush to the end to see how things turned out? I want to make a simple point today as we celebrate the Feast of the Dormition of the Holy Theotokos.
It’s about endings. That’s what the Dormition is about. It’s about the end of the earthly life of the Theotokos. But that means more than just the last thing that happened in her life. The Dormition is about ending as completion, realization, and fulfillment.
Let me take a few moments to explain as we reflect on the Feast. Beginnings are important. Nothing happens without a beginning. You’ve heard the saying of Confucius: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” But we often do not take this step out of fear, insecurity, or even laziness. So we get stuck.
However, once we do start down the road, then it important to have a goal, or we will wander about in circles. A goal is a destination. And that means there is an end to the road. It is a place where one can say, “I have accomplished what I set out to do!”
Endings, therefore, are just as valuable as beginnings. When we think of the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can say that the beginning is important. We, therefore, celebrate the Nativity of the Lord with a great deal of joy. However, I think that it says something about the spiritual life of our society when it puts more emphasis on His birth than on His death and resurrection. Most of us like the beginning. But what about the ending?
I am reminded of the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ from the cross: “It is finished!” He could say those words because He had given Himself completely as the perfect sacrifice “for the life of the world” Now, nothing else needed to be done. This was indeed an ending.
His resurrection on the third day confirmed the Father’s approval of what He had done. And His Ascension into heaven meant that His work on earth was complete. He now is worthy to be called the Lord and Savior of the World.
Without this ending, we would have no beginning. We would still be subject to the powers of sin and death. We would have no hope of reaching a good end to our lives in the resurrection.
But now, for a moment, let’s apply these thoughts to the Feast of the Dormition. “Dormition,” as you know means “Falling Asleep.” This word is not just empty church talk. By using this term, we affirm that the Holy Mother of God died just as all human beings must die.
This is a point that the Orthodox Church firmly upholds. The Theotokos is one of us. As is often said, “She is not the great exception; She is the great example. We believe that the Theotokos “fell asleep in the Lord” as all believers must do. Look, there is an ending here. There was a death; there was a funeral; there was mourning.
All that was proof that the Theotokos was no longer to be physically present on earth. The All-Pure and Ever-Virgin Mary who bore the Son of God into the world travelled the same road that we all must travel. And she arrived at the signpost that finally said, “The End!”
At this end, soul and body are separated. Our souls are taken up to be with the Lord in the heavenly realm. The body returns to the earth from which it was made.
But having said this, let’s not stop there! According to the story of the Feast of the Dormition, in three days, her tomb was found to be empty. What had happened? To this day, we have relics of the robe and belt of the Holy Theotokos, But we do not have relics of her body—none. Wherever her body was buried, it is no longer there!
Why? Because the Lord raised her from the dead.! According to Saint Paul, the Lord Himself was the “first fruits of those who had fallen asleep.” But the second one to follow Him was the Mother of God. This means that the day of the Dormition is not one of sadness and mourning. It is a day of thanksgiving and rejoicing. You see the saints who rest in the Lord must wait at the Last Day. Then their souls will be reunited with the glorious resurrection bodies that God will recreate for them.
This is a deep mystery of our faith. How it will happen we do not know. But we believe that has already happened to the Mother of God! She has already been raised from the dead to live in the Eternal Kingdom of the Lord. In this, the rest of the story of the Theotokos, is a glorious sign of the resurrection. And it is a sure pledge that we too, like her, will also share in the resurrection and the life of the “Age to Come!
The resurrection is the rest of the story for the Holy Theotokos. In it, the life of the Theotokos is complete. She now shares in the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. She now shares in the accomplishment of God’s plan for the human race. She now shares in the realization of all the hopes of the world.
But her destiny is also our destiny, because she is one of us. All who hold the same faith in the Jesus Christ; follow Him as Lord and Master; “hear the [same] Word of God and keep it” in a life of obedience to God –as she did---they will reach the same end as she had already reached. They will reach the same end as she has already reached.
So then our celebration of the Dormition is essential for our faith. It is a celebration of the end, the goal, the fulfillment, and the completion of the Theotokos’ life on earth. And it is the celebration of our hope that we too will reach the same end, and goal, and fulfillment, and completion of life that she did. And so today, we have even more reason to bless the Theotokos: “Ever-Blessed, Most-Pure, and the Mother of our God.”
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