Homily 672 – 33 APE
Holy Transfiguration, Ames, Iowa
January 25, 2026
Epistle:  (285-ctr) 1 Timothy 4:9-15 and (151) 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Gospel:  (94) Luke 19:1-10 and (36) John 10:9-16

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God.

One of the many things that has always amazed me is the curiosity of Zacchaeus.  He wanted to see for himself, but had to climb a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus.

One thing I think we forget when we think about that day and time is that the only pictures were of the kings and Caesars.  People were known by their reputation, not by their appearance.  The only way to see was for yourself.

Now, I’m planning on going in an unexpected direction with this focus on curiosity.  What I want to do with this is talk about our future.  The future of the Church, right here in Ames, Iowa.

I want to talk about the most important effort we can make in our world, and that is how we educate and reveal Christ to our children.  I would like to set out an idea to use the inherent curiosity that our children have, to lay a foundation for a life in Christ.

With the growth in children over the past couple of years, we have, in my view, a unique window of opportunity to build in our next generations this solid foundation built on knowledge, and experience, of Christ.

The Church is limited in what we can do.  The foundational experiences can be supported by the Church, but truthfully must involve family as the primary driver.  All of us, I believe, want to do right by our children in this regard.  Hopefully, the Church can be a help to us in this effort.

It will involve a significant commitment on our part, though.  We’ve got an excellent start with our church school, and the participation of our children in the worship service and prayer life of the Church.  My question, to me and to us all, is how to build on that, expand on that, to answer the questions our children put forth.

Let’s spend a couple of moments thinking about the essential truths we want to communicate.  Overall, the goal is that by the time our children hit their sophomore and junior years of high school, if not before, they are equipped to own their own faith.

Recognizing that most tend to come to Church because their parents do, it is important to me to give our children the necessary motivation to participate in the life of the Church because they see the truth of the Church, the reality of Christ, and the relevance of Christ to their lives and the world around them.

What I envision is a world away from what our society, even our Christian society, would offer.  It isn’t the Roman Catholic idea of obligation and duty.  It isn’t the Protestant idea of fear of punishment.  It is the Orthodox ideal of love – love of others, love of Christ – that should be the basis of our instruction to our kids.

Two main ideas are critical here.  The first is one that begins very nearly at birth.  It is the idea of self-sacrifice as a path to joy.  It is finding happiness not in satisfying our own desires and our own wishes, but the joy that we experience when someone else experiences joy, and we can experience it with them, and they can experience with us.

Everything in life, everything in Christianity, can be tied back to this Truth.  This is what Christ did.  Christ set aside everything He was due, everything He was entitled to as God, to become incarnate.

We have to learn, and demonstrate, this to our children.  They need to see us as adults stepping out of our comfort zones and helping others where we can, without regard to the beliefs or morals or teachings of others.  We as adults must absolutely model this behavior.  Because that is what Christians do.

We can start as young as pre-school, emphasizing the idea of sharing, and that playing together in peace is more important than getting our own way.  This concept can grow with our children, as they get into their social life and their circle expands beyond family and Church.

The second thing I believe is important is making sure our children get comfortable from a young age that two things seemingly incompatible with one another can be true at the same time.  The observations they make, and will be taught, about the world around us can be true and at the same time, the statements of the Church about the world around us, particularly the spiritual dimension, can also be true.

One thing I speak to our college students about is the need to have people that are conversant in both science and theology.  Because in my mind, we don’t need to argue about which is right.  We need people who can converse in both worlds to reconcile the perceptions of Truth that each perspective gives.

For instance, I’ve said before that if you asked someone 4 or 5 thousand years ago to describe the Big Bang and what brought the universe into existence, Genesis 1 and 2 would likely be the result.  This is what we believe Moses was given on Mt. Sinai.  A vision of Creation, which he was tasked to describe.

If we tried to reconcile the creation of everything with what we find around us and call evolution, perhaps it is possible to be describing the same thing, only we see it on a different time scale than God, who is timeless.

What we see in the archeological record is the record of God’s creation.  We see the morphing of creatures into what we know today, in what appears to us to occur over millions of years – which are but a day in the sight of God.  Maybe we aren’t interpreting it correctly.  That’s always a possibility.

Finally, the expansion of the services of our church – what we pray together, whether here in Church or on our own with our families – that allow the Church, and its instructional hymnography and practices, to be presented to us in a meaningful way.

We need to experience Church collectively, and individually, more than just on Saturday night and Sunday morning.  We need to periodically have matins, and vespers, during the week.  We need festal liturgies to teach us the ways that Christ would have us be.  Those things can really only be accomplished with a full-time priest, and resources for a choir and/or cantor, and congregational participation.

These are but a few of the ways in which I think we begin this journey, but begin we must.  Now is the time.  This is the path I believe we must commit to, now, and develop our resources and teaching to support, beginning now.

What I’m asking from each of you is your support and assistance as we build out these tools – both in education and example, as we strive to follow Christ.  Commit with me, for Christ, and for our children and their salvation.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God.  Glory to Jesus Christ!