Homily 650 – 8 APE
Holy Transfiguration, Ames, Iowa
August 3, 2025
Epistle:  (124) 1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Gospel:  (58) Matthew 14:14-22

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

In speaking of the feeding of the 5,000 many theories exist of how this event took place.  One of the most popular ideas is that the people who gathered around Christ shared what they had, and all were filled, to overflowing.  And perhaps there is truth to this thought.  Certainly the text gives us a pretty clear accounting of things.

The disciples, in response to Jesus’s request for them to feed the people, basically said, “With what?  All we have is five loaves of bread and two fish.”  And I’m quite sure Jesus smiled, much like He probably did at the wedding of Cana, and said, “Just do it, and watch what happens.”  And they had 12 baskets of leftovers.  One for each of the Apostles.

We have a strange habit of wanting to know how certain things were accomplished.  We look at Genesis and think it is a description of how God created the earth.  We look at Exodus and think, “How did God separate the Red Sea, and allow the Hebrews to escape on dry land.”

We do the same in other aspects of life – at least some of us do.  We see someone perform an illusion, a magic trick, and we immediately want to know how it’s done.

Why are we so uncomfortable with the unknown?  Why are we, pretty much all of us I suspect, uncomfortable with mystery?

One of the most important aspects of Christianity and Orthodoxy in particular is the prevalence of mystery.  Not because God doesn’t want to share with us, but rather because we simply cannot comprehend God’s ways.  God tells us in the prophecies of Isaiah, chapter 55, point blank:  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

So many times throughout the Old Testament in particular we are confronted with this truth.  The Israelites questioned how they would survive in the desert of Sinai, preferring to return to Egypt as slaves.  They wondered again about how they would take on the giants they found in the promised land.  They wondered how they would live in the desert.

The same is true today, that was true for the Israelites and others in the Old Testament.  God rarely, very rarely, reveals how things occur.  So rarely in fact that we should consider it to be never.  The scripture especially.  The Bible will never be a book that tells us “how” God works.  It isn’t an owner’s manual, as I have heard it described before.

What the Bible does is revelation.  Apocalypse.  It reveals to us.  And, by the way, not the future either.  What it reveals to us is Christ.  What it reveals to us is God.  The whole thing – all is a revelation to us of who God is.  Who Christ is.  Because, as He told us, if you have seen Christ, you have seen the Father.

So what the Scripture excels at is telling us what God intends for us.  That intention of God is wrapped up in His very being – and it is an essential piece of His revelation of Himself.

It isn’t always easy to figure stuff out, though.  We read the Old Testament especially, and we seem to see, on the surface, a God who is vengeful and even, dare we say, hateful at time.  But we need to view it differently, I think.

What we should see is a God who loves His children.  A Father.  A Father who loves His children will correct them when they stray from the Good and Holy into the evil and selfish.  A Father who loves His children will protect them when evil threatens.  A Father who loves His children will provide for them, even though the children may not see how.

The Father never told Abraham where he was headed.  Never told Joseph the outcome of being sold into slavery by his brothers.  Never told Noah when the rain would start.  Never told Moses where they were going either.

Not because God didn’t want to tell them, but because God knew that the children weren’t ready for that information.  So, the Father told His children to trust.  And to do what He asked, because of that trust, and because of that love.

Over time, the Psalms addressed many of these concerns and gave voice to the children.  Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord is with me.  When I reflect on the past, I see God’s benevolent and loving hand protecting and providing for me.

The New Testament continues to clarify these sentiments for us.  We continue to learn, through the Incarnate Christ who reveals the Father to us, that God is to be trusted.  That God loves us.  That any painful thing that happens to us is for our correction and our salvation.

Looking specifically at the Apocalypse given to St. John the Theologian, even, what do we learn?  We learn that in the end, God triumphs over evil and every thing and every one who desires it is reconciled in Him.

So the question arises:  How are we then to live?  I can offer no better than to live out the Lord’s prayer.  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  May Your Kingdom come to us and Your Will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us the bread, your manna, today as you gave the Children of Israel wandering in the desert.  Forgive us where we turn away from You and follow our own desires.  Just as we forgive those who want to cause harm or damage to us.  Lead us away from the temptations of the world, and protect us from the evil one.

Beloved brothers and sisters, resolve today to let go of the future.  Let go of the need to know how things happen.  Be absorbed, entertained even, by the actions of God in the world and especially in our lives.  Look expectantly for every good thing.

And give thanks to God, and glory to God, in all things.

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