Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The Collect of the Day
O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
~BCP pg. 243

The Psalm
34:1-9

The Readings
Isaiah 61:10-11 + Galatians 4:4-7 + Luke 1:46-55

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God . . . as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
~ Isaiah 61:10

August 15 is observed in the Roman Catholic Church as the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Among the Orthodox it is called the Dormition ("Falling Asleep") of the Theotokos. In both cases, the feast reflects the ancient belief that at her death, Mary was taken up, body and soul, to glory--to the presence of God. Though the Anglican tradition has never officially affirmed such a belief, it also does not deny it. Today's collect, in language at once reserved and solemn, demonstrates the Anglican characteristic of seeking to say neither too much nor too little about the deep mysteries of faith.

But I will nevertheless venture here to say something. Regardless of one's views (or agnosticism) about the end of Mary's earthly life, the traditional doctrine points to and is undergirded by a central article of faith: "the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come." As always, Mary does not point to herself, but to her Son--and by extension, to all who are in Christ. "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (Rom. 6:5). Christians do not profess hope in some future of eternal disembodiment, nor in a vast, cosmic sea in which all individuality is obliviated. Rather, we profess by faith that we shall be raised, in the totality of our being. Whatever that mystery may look like ("raised a spiritual body," as St. Paul puts it in I Cor. 15), our Christian hope is that we shall be more, not less, than we were--more fully ourselves than ever before. And perhaps it is not too much to imagine that the body of the one who carried and bore the eternal Word of God into the world is already there where we shall by grace also be--the fullness of her being exulting in the glory of God her Savior.   

Closing Prayer

Anthem to the Theotokos
(from Saint Augustine's Prayer Book, p. 392; Greek Orthodox Hymn)

Into his joy, the Lord has received you,
Virgin God-bearer, Mother of Christ.
You have beheld the King in his beauty,
Mary, daughter of Israel.
You have made answer for the creation
to the redeeming will of God.
Light, fire, and life, divine and immortal,
Joined to our human nature you have brought forth,
    that to the glory of God the Father,
    heaven and earth might be restored. Amen.

Sunset at Saint Mary's, Sewanee

The Great Vigil of Easter

The Great Vigil, when observed, is the first service of Easter Day. It is celebrated at a convenient time between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Morning.

In the darkness, fire is kindled …

~from the opening rubrics for the Great Vigil in the Book of Common Prayer

The Easter Vigil, as contained in the Prayer Book, is based upon one of the earliest known liturgies of the church, dating to at least the second century. In the early church (and still today in the Eastern Orthodox churches), it was a true vigil that lasted throughout the night, with multiple readings culminating in baptisms and the first eucharist of Easter. Our celebration at St. Timothy's will be more modest; however, the structure of the service will remain that which has formed the principal liturgy of the church for two millennia.

The liturgy begins after sunset with the kindling of a new flame, from which the Paschal Candle is lighted. This candle burns throughout the Great Fifty Days of Easter (it is also lighted at every baptism and every burial, regardless of when in the year they occur). The congregation bears candles lighted from the same, and the Deacon (or a person appointed) chants the Exsultet—an ancient hymn-prayer, which praises God for the victory of Christ’s resurrection. The faithful are then invited to “hear the record of God’s saving deeds in history” in the scriptures that follow, leading up to the joyful proclamation of the Resurrection and the Easter Gospel.

It is one of the curiosities of language that English speaking countries are alone in using the word Easter for this central Christian celebration. In almost every other language, the term for this day is the same as that used for the Jewish Passover—Pascha. More than any other liturgy, the Great Vigil makes this connection explicit to draw us into “the paschal mystery.” In the words of the late Marion Hatchett, one of the chief editors of the Prayer Book, “In the Great Vigil of Easter we celebrate and make present the pivotal events of the Old and New Testament heritage, the passover of the Hebrews from the bondage of slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land, the passover of our Lord Jesus Christ from death, and our own passover from the bondage of sin and death to the glorious liberty of new life in Christ Jesus.”

This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave...

The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple

The Collect

Almighty and everliving God, we humbly pray that, as your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple, so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Psalm
84

The Readings
Malachi 3:1-4     +     Hebrews 2:14-18     +     Luke 2:22-40

"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."
~Luke 2:29-32

Today's feast is full to overflowing in its imagery. The presentation of Jesus in the temple, as Luke relates it, was in accordance with the Mosaic Law. According to Exodus 13, the firstborn was to be dedicated to the Lord, and following Leviticus 12, a woman presented an offering to the priest for her ritual purification forty days after the birth of a male child. Hence, the date of this feast, February 2, forty days after Christmas, as well as its alternate title: the Purification of St. Mary the Virgin. The day has yet a third name: Candlemas. Traditionally, this is the day on which candles for the coming year are blessed--an appropriate occasion, given Simeon's recognition, by the Spirit, of Jesus as the Christ, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.*

Taken together, the readings continue to unfold the significance of this commemoration. This helpless and unassuming infant, recognized by the prophets Simeon and Anna, is in fact the Lord, suddenly come to his temple. The child submitting to the law is in fact the incarnation of the God who gave the law. The baby presented to the priest is himself the great high priest of God, who through his death will destroy the one who has the power of death for all humankind, and present them pure before the Lord.

This feast is an example of the multitude of meanings that can be present in a single commemoration. This is so often the case when we begin to look closer at the Bible and the tradition of the church--there is always more there to be seen. The themes on this particular day include, but are not limited to: the beauty of the house of the Lord, and of God's presence there; faithfulness to the commandments of the Lord; waiting on God, and the surprises and challenges that can accompany the fulfilment of God's promises; the meeting of the Old and the New in Jesus; the juxtaposition of the coming of the Lord in power (and who can stand when he appears?) with God's coming in poverty as a baby; God's own initiative and action to save; Jesus as the Christ and the Light of the world.

Choose one of these themes (or another). Read again through the readings with that theme in mind, and see what the Spirit may speak to you.

Closing Prayer
O Lord God, through your prophets Simeon and Anna you revealed your Son Jesus as the light of the nations and the glory of Israel. Grant that, by your Holy Spirit, we may live by the light of faith until we come to the light of glory; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

* If you are not already in the habit of praying Compline, consider doing so tonight, and light a candle, in observation of Candlemas. It is a brief and beautiful way to end the day in prayer. It begins on page 127 of the Book of Common Prayer, and concludes with Canticle 17, the Song of Simeon.