by The Rev. Peter Burfeind
August 15th is an important day in the liturgical year. It is the Feast of Mary, Mother of Our Lord. The day corresponds to the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Roman Catholic tradition, and the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Eastern Orthodox tradition.
What is the Assumption of Mary? What is the Dormition of the Mother of God? Both basically describe the same event. Tradition has it that at the end of Mary’s life, all the apostles were transported from various places in the world to her side. Only Thomas was not present. Thomas arrived after her burial, and he asked to bid her farewell at her grave. When the apostles and Thomas arrived at the grave, Mary’s body was gone. The apostles believed that she was “assumed” bodily into heaven. Mary, it was taught, participated in the bodily resurrection ahead of schedule. The rest of us will be resurrected bodily at Jesus’ second coming, but Mary was granted this gift of early resurrection.
(Where the Eastern Orthodox believe that Mary experienced death just as Jesus did, Roman Catholics leave it an open question whether she even died. Roman Catholics are allowed to believe that Mary – partly because she was free of original sin – did not have to suffer the punishment of death, so she was assumed into heaven without having died.)
There is nothing per se that Lutherans cannot accept about this tradition of Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven after her death. However, because there is no evidence of this event prior to the fifth century A.D., most are skeptical about the tradition.
Lutherans are careful about traditions. We continue and embrace the historic traditions of the Church – such as the liturgy, the creeds, church practices, and other feast days – but we do not state anything dogmatically unless it can be supported by clear teachings of Sacred Scripture.
Therefore, we have no problem celebrating the incredible grace that was given to the Blessed Virgin. We confess that she, like the burning bush, was a receptacle of God Himself as He came into our world. What did God say to Moses from the burning bush? He said, “The place where you stand is holy ground.” If we have no problem stating that dirt is hallowed because God was there, we should certainly have no problem honoring Mary as holy and blessed.
Mary is, as the feast day declares, the “Mother of our Lord.” Jesus is both God and man, and Mary is the mother not just of Jesus’ humanity, but His whole Person (humanity and divinity). Therefore, she is the mother of God through the Person of Jesus Christ. That indeed makes her a unique and special individual who was graced by God unlike any other human being in history.
What does Mary mean for us? Many have observed that Mary is a type of the Church. What does this mean? It means that, even as she was at the receiving end of God’s grace given by the Holy Spirit, so is the Church at the receiving end of God’s grace given by the Holy Spirit. Her faith is therefore an example for the Church.
This may seem well and good, but many would be surprised to learn that this very point explains a huge chasm between Lutheran and Roman Catholic teaching. One of the reasons why the Roman church has lifted Mary to a role that Lutherans find unacceptable – to the point that some have called her the “co-redemptrix” with Jesus – is because they believe that Mary used her free will to accept the Holy Spirit when Jesus was conceived in her. If Mary, they say, used her free will to work with God to effect salvation for the world, is she not partly responsible for our salvation? If so, we too could use our free will to work with God’s grace, and so also be co-workers with God for our salvation !
What Mary actually said when Gabriel came to her serves as a wonderful reminder to us. It is the reason why we cherish her, and why we honor her day. She said, “Let it be according to your word.” And later she sang the Magnificat (found in Luke 1), a wonderful canticle which gives all glory to the Lord. The Lord is the subject of all the verbs, and Mary is the object! As a professor at Concordia Seminary used to ask, “Who’s running the verbs?”
If Mary teaches us anything, and if there is a reason to observe the feast day on August 15, it is this: The Lord has done great things for us. He has shown great grace to us. What he began with Mary, He continues with us today. Whether Mary was assumed or not may be left to the personal pieties of any Christian, but what is most important is what has been left behind in the Gospel, that Mary serves as a wonderful example of God’s grace to all people.
The Rev. Peter Burfeind is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Toledo, Ohio. He also is a partner with the Rev. Dan Feusse in Pax Domini Press, an independent publishing house for Lutheran catechetical materials.
The Bible teaches that we are not evolved from ape-like creatures millions of years ago, but that we are noble creatures descended from one man and one woman. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, we now live in a fallen world. Many people assume that because the Scriptures were written by people a long time ago (although inspired by God’s Holy Spirit) that they were backward and unsophisticated. 
Yes, by faith we trust what the Scriptures tell us, but remember that when it comes to your teachers teaching about evolutionary theory, all kinds of evidence can have more than one interpretation. When someone presents us with a picture of a bone fragment (or the actual bone), we might ask, why was “he” living in a cave, why are “his” features ape-like? One person might say, well, it was because he was descended from an ape and he didn’t know any better. Another can look at that same evidence and say, no, the effects of sin caused this man and his people to degenerate and devolve. 
Unfortunately, in Christendom the church choir is often seen as a democracy, but for Lutherans – this cannot be! And if this is not understood by all up front, a degree of chaos could be the weekly result. Why? Because when it comes to matters of music in the church, everyone not only has an opinion, everyone believes the subject is only about opinions and tastes. Therefore the flock looks for opportunities to voice what they want. Ponder this; it is the formula for chaos.
A second part in the choral decision-making process has to do with musical periods, composers and styles. I try to draw on that wealth of music that has been written over the centuries for Lutherans by Lutherans and their Divine Service. It only makes sense to look there first at some of the biggest names in all of music: Schuetz, Praetorious, Bach, Pachelbel, Buxtehude, Mendelssohn, Distler, Wienhorst, Manz. If I do not find something there that is appropriate for the day and that choir can do well, I continue the search with music from all periods by less famous names; nevertheless, it is music that serves the text well and has the same standards used by the greats. I am happy to report that there are many today writing well-crafted, faithful liturgical music for our use in this time.
