but be filled with the Spirit,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks always and for everything

A Catholic, a Protestant, and an atheist were walking down the street. As they passed by a church the Catholic bowed his head. The Protestant and the atheist were wondering what it meant.

Sounds like the beginning of a joke doesn’t it? Rather, our Catholic friend engaged in a physical expression of the attitude St. Paul exhorts us to have: We must:

be filled with the Spirit
singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks always and for everything

If our Catholic hearts are to be set on the Lord, if the melody and harmony in our hearts are to be focused on the Lord, then what is within us must burst forth. The music of our Catholic faith must show in what we say and what we do.

The psalmist knew this when he sang:

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

Our Catholic friend, walking down the street, practiced this. His Protestant and atheist friends didn’t get it.

For them the words from Wisdom mean something completely different:

—Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding.—

Our Protestant neighbor would never bow in front of a church. To him the church is just a building, a meeting place. Sure, he may bow his head in prayer, but there is no bowing to the ‘things’ in the church, or the church itself. Without people in it, the church building is nothing. To him, his Catholic friend is foolish and lacking in understanding. Things are not the way to God. God cannot be found in silly superstitious practice. His Catholic friend has to read more, and discern God’s message for himself. By doing so, he will advance in understanding.

Our atheist neighbor would probably feel sorry for his Catholic friend. He is bowing to a building. What nonsense. His Catholic friend should leave his foolish voodoo superstitions and realize that reason and logic are the way to go. He seems like such a civilized fellow —“ it’s really sad. His Catholic friend needs to advance in understanding.

Our Catholic friend remembered his scripture and his catechism. He remembered that Jesus said:

—I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.—

Our Catholic friend remembered that:

Jesus said to them,
—Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.

And our Catholic friend knows that to be Catholic requires that we kneel, bow, and prostrate ourselves before God. He knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that the church building is never empty —“ for it contains the Lord.

To be Catholic is not to walk through a set of rituals that have no meaning. Jesus is God and God told us that:

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.

We know both by the light of faith, and by God’s very words, that what is here, on this altar and in this tabernacle is the flesh and blood of God.

Jesus, being God, is definitely not stupid. He is not a liar and cannot teach what is false. He specifically told us that:

For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.

Jesus didn’t tell us that He was giving us a cool symbol. He didn’t tell us that he was giving us magical mystery food. He told us that He is giving us His flesh and blood to eat and drink.

The Holy Church in Her wisdom has taught us, has exhorted us, and commands us to bow, to kneel, and to prostrate ourselves before the reality of God’s presence. The Holy Church teaches us in complete unity with the Word of God that God’s presence is real, physical, and necessary.

Our Catholic friend remembered that. He remembered to live out the love song that is in his heart. He remembered to bow before the reality of the One who loves him beyond telling, who loves him enough to give him the bread of everlasting life.

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.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Imagine the astonishment Peter, James, and John experienced on that mountain.

It was incredible. It was the sort of thing many religious people hope for —“ a direct one-on-one experience with God’s power and majesty.

I’m sure the apostles were familiar with the words from Daniel. Words from the visions Daniel received:

Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
his throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.
The court was convened and the books were opened.

And there they were, confronted by all that power and glory —“ the words brought home in their experience of the Godhead.

As they came down from the mountain, in the same way Moses came down off the mountain in days of old, bearing the Law written by the hand of God, they debated what it all meant. Maybe they were still in shock. It hadn’t hit home yet —“ and it wouldn’t until Peter, James, and John, along with the others, saw the resurrected Christ.

They would need hindsight to understand their experience clearly.

My brothers and sisters,

Peter, James, and John play an important role. In Jewish Law, the testimony of witnesses was the sole determinant of truth. We see that over and over.

From Deuteronomy:

On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

and

One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

In Matthew, Jesus speaks about how we are correct our neighbor:

But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

In the Book of Daniel, Chapter 13, we read the story of Susanna the eminently beautiful wife of the wealthy and influential Joakim. Her beauty inspires lust in two Jewish elders who often come to Joakim’s house.

The elders plot to find her alone and entice her to sleep with them; should she refuse, they will tell everyone that they caught her committing adultery with a younger man. Their testimony would be believed because it would be on the authority of two witnesses.

Despite the threat, Susanna refuses their advances. We hear:

“I am completely trapped,” Susanna groaned. “If I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your power. Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord.”

So the elders accuse her. The story proceeds:

In the midst of the people the two elders rose up and laid their hands on her head.

They laid their hands on her to accuse her – not to bless her.

After a brief trial she is found guilty and sentenced to death. On the way to her execution, Daniel appears. The story continues:

As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud: “I will have no part in the death of this woman.”
All the people turned and asked him, “What is this you are saying?”
He stood in their midst and continued, “Are you such fools, O Israelites! To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence?
Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her.”

Daniel examines the elders. Daniel shows that they are lying by demanding that they, while being kept separate, name the tree under which they allegedly found Susanna and the young man. Their testimony did not agree, and Susanna was exonerated and the two elders were executed in her place.

Witness meant an absolute fidelity to the truth. Life was decided by witnesses. False witness brought death.

Peter’s letter, when taken in combination with the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles of the other apostles, and along with the first hand oral testimony relayed by the apostles to the Fathers, and by the Fathers to us, gives us the witness we need. Peter says:

We did not follow cleverly devised myths
when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.
For he received honor and glory from God the Father
when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory,
—This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.—
We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven
while we were with him on the holy mountain.

In hindsight the apostles understood the significance of what they experienced. They not only understood the significance, but they proclaimed its meaning.

They did not hide their knowledge under a bushel basket; they set their witness like a light on a lamp stand, a light for all to see. Peter says:

Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
You will do well to be attentive to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place

Let me make it clear. The testimony we have received and that we pass on to you has been handed down to us by the apostles and God’s Holy Church. We are the keepers of this testimony. We witness to the reality and truth of Jesus Christ.

In this age of lies, lying is cheep and easy. No one seems to mind or care. The witness we bear is the truth, and the death of our souls is the price for not witnessing the truth.

Take up this witness and proclaim what you know. Listen to this witness and be attentive to it.

You will do well to be attentive to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place