feasts | Gladsome Lights

Today is the Feast of the Dormition, dormition meaning falling asleep.

It’s the day we have a funeral, so to speak, for the Mother of our Lord,

the Theotokos.

Our rector in his homily mentioned a couple of things that made an impression on me. Mary is not “the great exception” as some might teach. But she is our Great Example. She loved God and said “Yes” to Him, she bore Him in her heart and soul as well as in her body, and because of this love she suffered painfully with him as she stood by the cross.

Loving God was everything to her.

This love was expressed at the Incarnation and in its icon where we see her holding Christ in her arms. But in the icon of the Dormition, the detail shows Christ holding her in His arms. And of course that is where we also want to be when we fall asleep, with the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

A blessed feast to all!

Icon of the Transfiguration, Sinai, 12th century

It’s been four years since I first posted these thoughts on the Feast of the Transfiguration, and I’m finding them worth considering afresh. May He Who is the Radiance of the Father shine on and in us.

Light and Love

This quote was brought to my attention today, on the eve of the Feast of the Transfiguration.

St. Macarius of Optina:

None of your suffering has come by chance. Nothing can happen to us without our Lord’s consent; and His consent is not only wise but always dictated by His love of us. Carefully examine your conscience and your life, and I am sure you will understand what I mean. Sorrow weighs you down? Never mind. The grateful heart, humble and wise – the heart which has become grateful, humble, and wise – will be greatly consoled and blessed with serene joy.

As I was looking for an icon of this feast, I ran across a phrase “transfiguration of suffering,” and I realized that–of course–these thoughts are connected. As I have heard regarding Orthodox theology from the beginning, it’s difficult to put it into a systematic theology, because “everything is connected to everything else.” God won’t be boxed into our human and finite categories.

Just as Christ was revealed in all his glory, as much as the disciples could bear, that is, so every Christian has the potential to shine with the light of the Holy Spirit. Suffering can be used as a tool to accomplish this, as we see in the lives of many of God’s people. One person who comes to mind is Father Arseny, whose life of suffering in the last century one can read in two books of firsthand accounts. Reading about him, I caught a vision of what it might mean to be truly a Christian, a “little Christ.” There is a short review of the books about him here.

I have little suffering to bear, but if I do accept it with thanksgiving and patience, it might make me more able to show forth His light and love. This is a good thing to keep in mind and heart for the Feast.