Homily 625 – 30 APE
Holy Transfiguration, Ames, Iowa
January 19, 2025
Epistle:  (258) Colossians 3:12-16
Gospel:  (93) Luke 18:35-43

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God.

Sometimes, we forget the reality of our situation.  Or, maybe we choose to ignore our situation.  Perhaps the latter is more prevalent these days.

The blind man on the road to Jericho couldn’t ignore his situation.  He was without sight, and a beggar, since without sight he couldn’t do anything to earn a living.  He had to face his situation with honesty.

We in our day and age perhaps experience things differently.  One of the most dangerous things of our day is gaslighting.  What you see isn’t really what you see.  We lie to ourselves about our current condition.

We think, I’m pretty good.  I generally like everybody, I generally am honest.  And maybe we are – but we are ok with skimming the surface.

One of the most important things we can understand is that we need to be absolutely honest with ourselves – be real about ourselves, who we are, and our relationships.  We need to look at ourselves and our relationships with a degree of harshness, even.

If we lie to ourselves, we make bad decisions that aren’t based on truth.  If we lie to ourselves, we think more highly of ourselves than perhaps we actually are.

Or, we can go too far the other direction – we can be so self-critical that we find fault in ourselves where none exists.  And in so doing, give up hope and believe the falsehood that we are beyond help from anyone, including Christ.

That is despondency, and despondency may just be the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.  The belief that not even God can help.

We have to start re-thinking our self-evaluations.  It isn’t necessarily about our thoughts, or our behaviors.  Those things may lead us to think deeper in certain areas, but aren’t necessarily indicative of our true selves.

The problem, my brothers and sisters, for me, and for all of us, is pride.  It is our ego.  It is that belief that we are self-sufficient, that we don’t need anybody.  That is the lie that deceived Adam and Eve and resulted in the fall of humanity to begin with.

When we look at ourselves, and want to understand the reality of who we are, it isn’t a simple thing.  It isn’t black and white.  We always – most of us anyway – always have mixed motives in what we do.

We aren’t truly self-less, as Christ was self-less.  Perhaps we are working to that end, moving closer and closer.  But we aren’t there yet.  We think about pleasing God, pleasing Christ and pleasing our holy Mother and the saints.  But we also think about things being something that will bring us salvation.  Mixed motives.

Many people, most of the world around us, thinks nothing of the world to come.  They may speak of it, even actively embrace it, but they believe the stories that boil down to “once saved always saved.”  So that’s the last they think of it.

That too, is a deception.

We know what criteria will be used for our judgement.  Matthew 25 spells it out clearly.  Many will do those things without even thinking about it, and perhaps without even actively embracing Christ and the Church.

And many of the Church and in the Church will not do those things, because they were too focused on whether the one in need was a believer or not, or was obeying God or not.

The reality is that we will be judged not based on them, but on us.  We only need concern ourselves with us, and then in a realistic context.  We don’t expect anyone to be perfect in this life.  We expect to sin.  God Himself expects us to sin.  The issue isn’t sin.

The issue is repentance.  The issue is do we get back up when we fall and try again, with God’s help.  Do we recognize the reality of who we are?  Do we recognize that God forgives us, and is interested only in our repentance?

The blind man knew his situation.  This is important, critical even.  Since he knew his situation, he also knew to call out to the Lord for help.  If we don’t know our situation, we don’t know to call out to God for help.

Yes, we pray Lord have mercy hundreds and thousands of times, but somehow we don’t understand how much we need God’s mercy.  We don’t know the reality of our situation.  The words are just that – words, devoid of meaning and significance.

If we know the reality of our situation, which comes over a period of time of examination of self, and yes, confession, and the activity of the Holy Spirit to allow us to see ourselves as we are, then knowing that reality, we understand our need for mercy.  We understand that we are undeserving of God, and that even being in God’s presence can be painful.

Like Peter and others, we may say “Depart from me, Lord, for I am sinful.”

But in knowing ourselves, we can truly ask God for mercy, and know, in the depths of our soul and the core of our being that God loves us, and is here for us.  God loves us and wants to be with us, always!

In everything we do, God wants to be with us.  Our Lord stands ready to receive us, even commanding that we be brought to Him, as the blind man was brought to Him, so that sight may be restored.

That belief that God loves us, and desires our communion with Him, and wants to heal us – that, beloved, is faith.  Faith isn’t the mental assent to a set of facts about Christ and Christianity.  Faith is the understanding and believe that God loves us, and desires our companionship, and wants to heal us from our separation from Him.

Let this knowledge be the beacon for us.  Let this knowledge, and the willingness to be honest with ourselves and before God, be the guide for us.  If we can get our ego out of the way – which will likely take the remainder of our lives – if we can crucify our ego and our pride, we can also be restored, just as the blind man received his sight.

And we can all follow Jesus, glorifying God.

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