Society of Saint Polycarp: Short Homily on the Feast of St. Mary

Friday, August 15, 2014

Short Homily on the Feast of St. Mary

THE FEAST OF THE DORMITION OF ST. MARY, BLESSED THEOTOKOS

13 August Anno + Domini 2014 (Observed)

Luke 1:46-55 (Is. 61:7-11; Gal. 4:4-7)

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Some seven centuries before the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, came down from heaven and was conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, the prophet Isaiah prophesied: “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exalt in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness . . .”

And “when the fullness of time had come and God sent forth His Son to be born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons,” the woman to whom He was born, the Blessed Virgin Mary, declared, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant.” Thus, is Isaiah’s prophecy here, and indeed all of his prophesies about the coming, Virgin-Born Savior of the world, fulfilled.

Dear friends, we set aside this day on our calendar to remember and honor the Blessed Mother of our Lord Jesus, whom we rightly confess to be the Theotokos, the “God-bearer” or “Mother of God.” We do so not so much to honor St. Mary in and of herself, but to honor the grace with which she was filled and the faith which was given to her by the Holy Spirit who overshadowed her and led her to proclaim, “Let it be done to me according to Your Word.” For that grace and faith took up residence within her and has a Name: The Holy One of God, Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior. Thus, in honoring St. Mary, we honor her Son, our Lord, as she herself does, and teaches us to do, in the beautiful words of her Magnificat.

St. Mary magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in her Son, her God and Savior, for she knows that He has come to save her and all humanity. She knows that He has come to do great things for her, and for you – to clothe her and you in the garments of salvation, the robe of righteousness.

And so He has, for He assumed flesh and blood from St. Mary that He might be born under the Law to redeem those under the Law – all sinners – by fulfilling that Law perfectly and offering up that same flesh and blood as an atoning sacrifice on the Cross for all. That’s how He’s St. Mary’s Savior, and yours, too. He has looked upon your humble estate and done marvelous things for you. He clothes you in His perfect holiness and righteousness, for He has paid for, and buried, all your unholy and unrighteous deeds and brought you into His perfect and eternal life at the font, where you were called by His Name and clothed in Him. And He is ever present here in His Holy Church to wash your baptismal gowns clean in His Blood as you partake of Him in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Oh yes, He has done, and continues to do marvelous things for you. Holy is His Name, which is your Name by grace and mercy and love.

Come, then, O Sinner redeemed by St. Mary’s Son, your Brother, and be exalted in Him. Come and be filled with the good things of His Body and Blood, helped and strengthened by His grace, mercy, and love. In so doing, your soul magnifies the Lord and your spirit rejoices in God your Savior, and St. Mary’s beautiful Magnificat becomes your song. Thus can you, even you Lutherans, unashamedly confess, knowing that it is a confession of your redemption in Jesus Christ who became Incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary to save you: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Amen.”

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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About our Society

The Society of St. Polycarp is made up of Lutheran clergymen and laity committed to the confessional, liturgical, sacramental, and spiritual renewal of the Church of the Augsburg Confession. Since our Church's problems are not political, but rather spiritual, we pray God to grant us repentance, and seek no political aim. Members of the Society commit themselves to the following Rule.

The Rule
1. Members of the Society confess Holy Scripture to be "the pure, clear fountain of Israel" and also "the one true guiding principle," i.e., the sole norm or "judge, rule, and guiding principle" of the same (FC Ep. Comprehensive Summary, 7; FC SD Comprehensive Summary, 3). We rejoice in the tradition of the Holy Doctors and Fathers of the Church, in whom Christ kept His promise that "the gates of Hell shall not prevail against (My Church)" (Mt 16:18), so that the Lutheran confessors could say that "the churches among us do not dissent from the catholic church in any article of faith" (AC Preface to XXII, 1, Latin). We reject all methods of interpretation that seek to understand the meaning of Scripture apart from the guidance of the Church, through which God gave us the Scriptures.

2. Members of the Society will promote the importance of daily prayer and meditation on Holy Scripture. Members will commit themselves to praying at least one of the daily offices, keeping fellow members as well as the Church Catholic herself in their prayers. The ideal use of the offices is in the corporate setting; however, the praying of the offices in private is to be carried out if there is no alternative.

3. Valuing Holy Absolution as "a voice from heaven" (Ap. XII, 40), members of the Society will avail themselves of the benefit of this sacrament, as well as promoting its use. Members will seek out father confessors of their own for regular and frequent private Confession and Absolution.

4. Members of the Society will promote the Sacrament of the Altar as the chief parochial service in the Church of the Augsburg Confession (AC XXIV, 34). Members will receive the Sacrament of the Altar often, as well as encourage others to receive it frequently, thereby restoring the traditional Lutheran understanding of the central place of the Sacrament in Lutheran worship. As the Lutheran Symbols assume the weekly celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar (AC XXIV, 34-38; Ap. XXIV, 1), members of the Society will promote this evangelical and catholic practice in their own parishes and in the work of the Society.

5. As the Sacrament of the Altar is the true Body and Blood of Our Lord that is truly present, distributed, and received (AC X, German), members of the Society are committed to the evangelical and catholic doctrine of closed communion, i.e., not admitting to the altar to receive the Holy Communion those who have not previously been examined and absolved (AC XXV, 1-2), let alone those of a confession of the Faith contrary to that of the Church of the Augsburg Confession.

6. Members of the Society will promote the historic liturgies of the Church Catholic, since such liturgies shape pastoral practice and teaching that is consistent with the evangelical and catholic Faith as it has been handed down in Holy Scripture, the Ecumenical Creeds, and the Symbolical Books of the Church of the Augsburg Confession.

7. As the Lutheran Symbols confess the Blessed Virgin Mary to be "the pure, holy, and ever-virgin Mother of God" (Theotokos, Gottes Mutter), as well as "that the blessed Mary prays for the Church" (Ap. XXI, 27; SA I, IV, Latin; FC SD VIII, 24), it is altogether fitting, proper, and consistent with the Faith of the Church Catholic to honor the Blessed Virgin in liturgical celebration. Members of the Society will seek to restore the traditional Marian feasts of the Church of the Augsburg Confession (i.e., the Feasts of the Purification, Annunciation, and Visitation) as a testimony of the grace of God through her, that we might imitate the Blessed Virgin in word and example, and in thanksgiving for the Incarnation of the Son of God through her humble submission to the will of God. Members of the Society will also promote the observance and celebration of saints' days and commemorations. This is wholly in keeping with the evangelical and catholic tradition of the Church of the Augsburg Confession, whose Symbolical Books acknowledge the saints as fitting exemplars of the catholic Faith worthy of imitation, as well as our heavenly intercessors (AC XXI, 1; Ap. XXI, 4-9).

8. As the Church of the Augsburg Confession understands herself as a part of the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, particularly as she exists in the West, members of the Society will take seriously the commitment to the proper ecumenicity this demands. Members will pursue dialogue with:
• Fellow Lutheran Christians to foster and promote Lutheran unity.
• Our separated brethren in the Roman Church, with which the Lutherans at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 clearly sought reconciliation.
• The Eastern Orthodox Church, following the example of the exchange between the Lutheran theologians of the University of Tübingen and Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople (1573-1581).
This reflects not simply the Lutheran commitment to the unity of all Christians, but ultimately the will of Our Lord Himself (Jn 17).

9. Members of the Society will make every effort to make a retreat once a year for the purpose of disciplined prayer and study, silence and reflection, as well as the celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar.

Conclusion
Following the example of our patron, members of the Society ultimately strive to be faithful to Our Lord, recalling His words to St. John the Theologian: "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev 2:10). Members also pray God's grace that we may be able to hand over to our posterity the tradition we have received as Lutheran Christians, and that we may be able to confess with our forebears at Augsburg that "nothing has been accepted among us, in teaching and ceremonies, that is contrary to Scripture or the catholic church. For it is manifest that we have most diligently been on guard so that no new or ungodly doctrines creep into our churches" (AC Conclusion, 5, Latin).