Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.

In the Orthodox Church, the Epistle for the Solemnity of the Dormition is the great Christological Hymn found in St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Chapter 2.

It seems odd, at face value, because the Epistle makes no specific reference to Mary. If we look at the Gospel for the day, taken from Chapters 10 and 11 of St. Luke, it is the story of Martha and Mary receiving Jesus into their home. Martha is complaining about Mary.

Except for the coincidence of names in the Gospel, there is no mention of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the first part of the Gospel.

Listen again to the opening lines of the Epistle:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus

Jesus is God incarnate. He set aside the magnificence of the heavenly host to be born of lowly estate, of a Virgin, with a carpenter as His stepfather and protector.

By the words of the Gospel and by Holy Tradition we recall Mary being born to Joachim and Anna, also of humble estate. By the particular graces given to Mary she found, written on her heart, the call to humility. The call to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus, even before she knew Him as the child she bore.

That is the miracle. God has written His name upon our hearts. God calls us to be like His Son, Jesus, who:

emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.

Jesus’ lesson in humility was part of Mary, and is part of us.

Mary was prepared to say yes to God because she knew that despite the risks, the possible divorce, her being labeled, and the probable stoning, God would take care of everything. Mary had complete trust and complete humility.

She didn’t rely on knowledge, practices, or any other human invention. She simply said yes to God.

In the second part of the Gospel, taken from Luke, Chapter 11, we read:

As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

By the particular graces given to Mary she found, written on her heart, the call to obedience. The call to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus, even before she knew Him as the child she bore. Mary listened to the Word of God and she obeyed.

Mary was a young girl, now with child. She has ‘enough problems’ as we would say. Yet her problems did not get in the way of her obedience. Upon hearing of her kinswoman Elizabeth she ran off to care for her. When Joseph said ‘we’re going to Bethlehem’ she went. When Joseph said ‘we’re going to Egypt’ she went. Not complaining, not focusing on her desires, she gave her life over to her Son, completely obedient to God’s will.

Jesus Christ was humble and obedient. Because of this humility and obedience:

God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

That is God’s promise to us. Not that every knee will bend at our name, but that the glory of the Godhead will be ever present for us to worship in the exaltation of heaven. That is our destiny; that is heaven —“ humility and obedience before God.

My brothers and sisters,

Mary was not only humble and obedient, by the particular graces she received, she remained pure. As with the call to humility and obedience, she was called to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus, purity and chastity.

The merit of Mary’s intercession, and the reason we celebrate her feasts, is completely tied to the threefold model of life she lived. Mary lived a life of complete love and dedication to God.

This model of life, perfect humility before God, perfect obedience to His will, and the grace to remain pure is the very reason for this Solemnity.

In beautiful iconography we see Jesus at His mother’s side. In His arms He holds her soul which He has taken from her at her death. The Apostles stand around her, ready to bear her to her tomb. Mary is entombed. In three days the tomb will be empty, her body having been taken to heaven, not by her power, but by her Son.

The tomb is empty specifically because of her life, lived in perfect accord with God’s will, written in her heart.

Mary need not be specifically mentioned in the Epistle or Gospel. Mentioning her name would be the mere recitation of a fact. Rather, the magnificence of her life is the fact that she lived it in accord with God’s will.

This is not just wonderful and marvelous; it is a call to you and to me. It is a call to remember, and to live in accord with the Word of God, written in our hearts.

Live the threefold model we are called to follow. Be perfectly humble before God, practice perfect obedience to His will, and remain pure in your relationships and in your dealings. Live the Christian life.

You have been given the grace, the message, a mother who intercedes for you, and Jesus who showed you the way —“ do not forget, and do not despise your destiny.

Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert,
until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it.
He prayed for death saying:
—This is enough, O LORD!
Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.—

How many of you have been to a Synod, perhaps a Diocesan Synod or the quadrennial Synod of the Polish National Catholic Church?

How many have walked in feeling like Elijah?

It’s appropriate isn’t it? Most synods are a day’s journey from Albany. Perhaps, some who have gone have felt like praying for death. It would be easier, this is enough Lord…

Maybe, when you arrived at Synod, you were greeted by an angel. That angel, with a smile and grayish white hair greeted you. That angel, like all the angels of our Church who work so hard and are so dedicated, prepare us for the journey —“ the journey we must walk together, the journey to God.

—Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!—
Elijah got up, ate, and drank;
then strengthened by that food,
he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God.

As we prepare for the Twenty-Second Synod of the Church we prepare for the journey. We prepare for the walk. It is about forty days away. It is a journey that our Holy Church perpetuates, and one in which every member, man and woman, clergy and laity, has a voice and a vote.

I ask those who have been elected to represent us and all of you to reflect on these facts:

When you go to a Synod you are walking in the footsteps of our ancestors. You are walking in the footsteps not just of our ancestors but of the saints.

From the Council of Jerusalem presided over by Saints Peter and James, to the great Ecumenical Councils where the faith was defended by St. Athanasius the Great, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, St. John Chrysostom, St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Andrew of Crete, St. John of Damascus and many other Fathers of the Church, you walk in the footsteps of those who defined what it meant to be Christ’s Church.

You walk in the footsteps of those who helped to define our particular traditions and practices, our Solemnities and Feasts, the Sacrament of the Word, married clergy, and so many other of our usages.

You walk in the footsteps of those who pledged undying allegiance to Jesus Christ, the teachings of the apostles and of the great Councils, changing nothing that has been defined. Those who pledged to depart from nothing that is essential, at the same time leaving us with the understanding that we have liberty to act in things undefined.

It is especially important that those who step forward to represent us do so paying close attention to the words of St. Paul:

Brothers and sisters:
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.
All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling
must be removed from you, along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

Go to the Synod in faith. Go to the Synod as the Fathers went to the Councils, not with an agenda or malice, but rather faithful to the Holy Spirit.

Those who proceed with an agenda or malice have little room left for the voice of the Holy Spirit. As the Spirit led the Fathers of the Church, so you must go forward as sheep, willing and open, surrendering yourselves to be led.

When people hear things like this they say —“ stupid Christians, they will roll over you like a tank. But those of no faith, those who say such things, have closed themselves off from the light of Christ. Those who say such things, who rely on agendas and malice, trust that their brains are more powerful than the Spirit of God. They forget to trust in what is permanent and what is good. Jesus told us:

Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.

My brothers and sisters,

That is what we are about. We are about what is eternal. In the end that is what our Synods are about —“ our work and cooperation with the Holy Spirit in assuring the perpetuation of the Holy Church, so that all may be brought to Jesus Christ.

Jesus told us:

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him

You and I have been drawn to Jesus. Whether willing or reluctant, we have been drawn to Christ. As Church we have been drawn together as a people. We are drawn together in the light of Christ, with true freedom in the Spirit.

Remember, that is what the Synod is. It is our active participation in the capital ‘C’ Church. The Church that guides us and all people on the journey to God.

We here are but a parish, a part of the Church. We are not the Church onto ourselves. Yet by the Holy Traditions we follow, the Holy Sacraments we receive, and our democratic model, we are an icon, a symbol of the entire Church at the local level.

We are the children of the seven great Ecumenical Councils. We are the heirs of the teachings handed down to us by the Fathers. Our Synods are the children of these Councils. We remain faithful to the tenants of these Councils in all we do and their Holy Tradition is the basis for our action this coming October.

As we prepare for this Twenty-Second Synod of the Church recall the gift of freedom and democracy that is found within the Church, a gift in which you fully participate. Remember our place as a part of, and symbol of, the entire Church. Remember whose footsteps we walk in. Remember humility, kindness, and compassion. Remember to prepare for the journey, nourished on the Bread come down from heaven. Remember to pray for Father Andrew and our elected representatives, and most especially for the light of the Holy Spirit upon all who participate.

As we go forward, like Elijah strengthened by angelic food, let us sing out the words of Psalm 34 together:

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
Let us together extol his name.