As the Day of the Dormition (the falling asleep) of the Mother of God approaches (August 15th), I was looking at the resources in the Brotherhood Prayer Book and came across the hymn that is used for the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It really is a lovely piece. You can listen to Pastor Mayes sing it here:Hymn for Dormition
As we remember the close of her pilgrimage, we join all nations in honoring her from whom our Lord took on human flesh and blood:
O God, who hast taken to Thyself the blessed Mary, mother of Thine only Son: Grant that we who have been redeemed by His blood may share with her the glory of Thine eternal kingdom; through the same, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. (Brotherhood Prayer Book, page 362)
It me the other day that the Virgin is, biologically, her Son's identical twin in that there was no genetic 'mixture' with a human father. Of course, who knows the how of the mystery of the incarnation, but the fact that Jesus and His mother have a 'twin connection' helps to underline the special relationship they have beyond what is normally discussed.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the source of that collect? Is it from their Fr. Mayes' German sources? I know it's not the collect in either the old Roman Rite nor the Sarum Rite.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Lutheran Church confesses that Mary was born with original sin, and did indeed have an earthly father, who is called by St. Luke Heli, though for some reason the church calls him St. Joachim.
Brian Westgate
Brian,
ReplyDeleteI suspect it was taken over from LBW and the proposed Book of Common Prayer. They both have one nearly identical to it appointed for August 15th. I'm not sure of their sources.
Should also note that that collect is essentially what appears also in LSB.
ReplyDeleteChristopher,
ReplyDeletePure theological speculation here, but Dr. Lee Maxwell has posited that the X chromosome came from Adam, and thus Christ is "new Adam" though strictly speaking only God is His Father.
Ack! Y chromosome! You know what I meant!
ReplyDeleteOh, and Brian, about the original sin thingy, Luther's own theory on that was quite interesting. Conceived with original sin, yes, but at the infusion of the soul there was a cleansing by the Holy Spirit. He preached on this on the day of her conception (1523 I think) and he also repeated the theory years later - toward the close of his life in the 1540's. We are not bound by Luther's opinions, of course, but by the Sacred Scriptures. But we recognize that pious opinion has long held that the Most Holy Virgin (as our Symbols term her) was sinless in regard to actual sins as a special grace of God, but subject to death through the contagion of original sin from her birth. As Piepkorn so famously preached from Concordia's chapel: "We need not invent sins for her to commit as though we were saved by Mary's sinfulness rather than by the sinlessness of her Son."
ReplyDeleteWhen such notions cease to be pious opinion and become decreed as dogma (as Rome has done - and not only in regard to actual sin!) then we must vigorously protest. But when it is held as pious opinion and no more than that, we are not troubled by Luther or those who agree with him. See, for example, his words on the meaning of the Ave in the Personal Prayer Book of 1521 (reprinted again and again throughout his lifetime).
Ah yes Fr. Weedon, you're bringing to mind Fr. Frey's sermon for the Christmass Vigil this year. I can't say I know quite what to think at this point.
ReplyDeleteBrian