August 1 brings us to the Dormition Fast. This special time of year again reminds us that our dear Theotokos is a great example for us. She is not an exception to the human race. She began her life being presented in the temple, she bore Jesus within herself, and she ended her life having become a Temple of the Holy Spirit. We are called to do likewise. The way that she walked with Jesus is the way we are called to walk with Him.
Walking with God has always been the path of salvation. All the way back in Genesis 5:24 we find, "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him." Much ink has been spilled debating what the words, "God took him," mean. How did God take Enoch? Did Enoch die or was he taken directly to heaven? My answer to that is that it doesn't matter. The point of the verse is that Enoch walked with God, and walking with God is what we are created to do.
During this Dormition Fast, if we've stopped walking with God or if we've strayed onto another path, let's receive the gift of this season of the year. Let's walk with Jesus as our Theotokos and all the saints have done, so that the dormition of Mary will be an example and invitation for our own falling asleep and awakening to eternal life.
Originally published in the Holy Apostles E-bulletin. Subscribe here.
