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