Homily 697– 8APE
Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa
July 26, 2026
Epistle:  (124) 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 and (n/a) Philippians 3:7-14
Gospel:  (58) Matthew 14:14-22 and Mark 10:29-31, 42-45

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

There is so much to talk about this morning.  We have in the Gospel the feeding of the 5,000, and in the Epistle reading, we have an important lesson about what we might call today “jurisdictionalism” in the Church at Corinth.

Would you have wanted to be present at the feeding of the 5,000?  I want to start there, because it is so familiar yet there is one line that I believe we all continually overlook.  There is a great crowd, and Christ ministers to them.  As the day turns to evening, we know the story – the disciples want Christ to send them away to find food.  And Christ’s answer to them is the line that is often skipped.

He tells them not to send the crowd away, but – quote – “You give them something to eat.”  You feed them.  We know what happens, the people are instructed to sit, and everyone eats, with 12 baskets of scraps picked up – a doggie bag for each of the 12, we might say.  So what is the Gospel saying to us, here, today?

First, perhaps, is that God doesn’t always answer our prayers Himself.  Sometimes, frequently even, He tells us to do it.  We pray for someone – God, please provide food for my friend, or transportation for my friend.  And God says, OK, you have the capability to meet that need.  You do it.

Our reaction to that may be like the reaction of the disciples.  “We don’t have enough.”  “We only have this small amount, only enough for us.”  I can imagine Christ – He sighs, and says internally, “Oh you of little faith.”  Because what Christ is telling us is that what we have is absolutely sufficient, not just for us, but for this incredible crowd.

When we give of what we do have – all of it, holding back nothing – Christ multiplies it, and to drive the point home, He produces an abundance of leftovers.  We only believe we don’t have enough, because we don’t find God present.  Nor do we truly believe in God’s provision for us.  We don’t take seriously Christ’s instruction to not worry about tomorrow.  That He will provide for tomorrow – our focus is, or should be, on here and now.  What is it that is right before us.

Many of us, myself included at times, hold on to our safety nets too tightly.  We don’t trust God – and as a result, we don’t see the amazing miracles that Our Lord does.  We ask God to do something, expecting a miracle, and God says no – you do something.  Watch the miracle unfold before you.  You don’t know how, but the needs will be met, and the miracle will occur.

That is the amazing part.  All of us here have been through times of need and of want.  Yet, we are here.  We have our daily bread, our manna from heaven, to sustain us, even when we didn’t know where the manna would come from.

Now, we may say, “Well, Father, you know that was then.  God doesn’t do that anymore.”  Really?  Are you sure about that?  Have you tested that theory?  Because, brothers and sisters, God doesn’t change – Christ doesn’t change.

Everything He ever was is everything He is now.  The Psalms are full of reminders that God has never failed His children, even when things were absolutely bleak.  When they were in Egypt, a foreign land, in captivity.  When they were in Babylon, a foreign land, in captivity.  When they were in the United States, in Iowa, in Ames, a foreign land, in captivity.

We can afford to be radically generous, because God will take care of us.  God will be radically supportive of us.  And for that very reason, we need to be radically generous to others.  Including the Church.  I’ve said before, the goal for our giving here is that we can do two things.  One, we need to put the fellowship space in the basement.  And two, the priest, my successor, needs to be full time.

Full time so that we don’t have to have a vespers divine liturgy for our parish feast day, and so that we can celebrate all the feasts of the Church, as a community.  A part-time priest, even one working full time hours in the Church, can’t do that.

And throughout all this, we have to remember that our support isn’t a purchase.  It isn’t a payment for a service.  It is an offering for God.  We use that offering in the way our bishop determines.  We give it, because it isn’t ours, but belongs to God.

Thankfully, our bishop allows us to determine much of what we do with the money we receive in our parish.  We pay the diocese an amount to support them, and then our bishop allows us as a community to determine the rest of our use of the funds.

Which brings up an important aspect of the conflict at Corinth mentioned earlier.  There was disagreement, and factionalism.  Some claimed Paul, some Apollos, some Kephas, some Christ.

It’s pretty easy to say which is correct – that would be Christ.  Sometimes, we see this in our day, too.  Some follow Moscow, some Constantinople, some Kyiv, some Antioch, some Jerusalem, some Belgrade.  Some, in our case, Toledo – Ohio.

And that is the point.  Our connection to Christ is not through the patriarchs or primates.  Our connection to Christ, and to the Church, is through our Bishop.  And every other connection of every Orthodox Christian is through their own bishop.

So if someone tries to tell you about Orthodoxy, if they are not your bishop or your bishop’s priest, you should basically ignore them.  They are not your father.  Even if they are popular and famous on the internet.  We are, all of us, one in Christ – but our bishop is given the gift to care for us specifically.  No one else.  That’s why we commemorate our Bishop, Archbishop Alexander, in the Great Entrance, and no other bishop.  That is the Orthodox Way.

We call him our Father in Christ, and so he is.  Maybe – just maybe – more important than our earthly parents.  We can disagree with him.  We are not asked to be blindly obedient.  Yet, if we want the fullness of the Church, the fullness of Christianity, we will honor – we will take into account – what our Father in Christ instructs us.

Regardless, we keep our attention fixed squarely on Christ.  And we do that through our Bishop, and on those Christ places in and around us with needs we can meet.  For the life of the world, and for our salvation.

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