Homily 628 – 33 APE
Holy Transfiguration, Ames, Iowa
February 9, 2025
Epistle:  (296) 2 Timothy 3:10-15 and (316) Hebrews 7:7-17
Gospel:  (89) Luke 18:10-14 and (7) Luke 2:22-40

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

And so it begins.

Officially, this Sunday, this reading, begins the journey through Great Lent to Pascha.  And as we prepare for that journey, the Church offers us the image of what our goal should be.

In the story of the Publican and the Prodigal, we are given the image of what we are after.  The story illustrates so much:

Repentance, prayer, relationships with others.

We see in the publican true repentance, and in the Pharisee no repentance at all.

The Pharisee shows no indication that he intends to change his manner of living.  After all, he is doing all the right things.

He tells us so himself!

He fasts, he tithes, he gives alms, and he is generally very, very strict with himself.  He offers the credit to God – “I thank you that you have not made me like the others.”

So why should he change?  Why should he repent?

Because that behavior is not what God wants from us.

Now don’t misunderstand – the behavior itself is good!  It is pious.

But it is placing the form over the substance.  He goes through the motions, with no discernable change in his life.

His technique is flawless.  He is like the perfect athlete, with perfect form, flawless execution.  And yet, when the race begins, he moves in the opposite direction.

Perfect form – but wrong direction.  Getting to the goal requires both.  Most importantly, direction!

There is some sort of football game or something today.  And for a quarterback to throw a perfectly thrown pass in the opposite direction of the receiver is of no use to anyone.

We can reach the destination without perfect form.  And God knows that, provides for that even.

He forgives us for our form errors.  What we need to do is concern ourselves less with form, and more with our repentance.  More about our direction – our target.

We say that what we want is to follow Christ.  We say that what we desire is to be with God, in union with Him.

We struggle, though, and our actions seem to not support our words.  We concern ourselves with form, and how things appear.

We say we want to be disciples, but we don’t follow Christ.  We say we want union with God, but we go our own way, and live our life in pursuit of ease and pleasure, instead of Christ.

I had a friend a long time ago that challenged me to examine where I spent my time, and how that related to my priorities.

Take the 40 or 50 hours a week we spend at work off the table.  How do we spend the remainder of our time?

Most of us would offer similar priorities – Family and faith chief among them.  But how many hours beyond 50 do we spend with work?  How many hours do we spend mindlessly, seeking diversion and entertainment and pleasure?

We have to recognize that while we state these goals – and they are good, please don’t misunderstand!  We state these goals, then we do something different.  We make decisions that don’t point us in the direction of our goals.

Or worse, we make no decision and allow life to simply push us into the way we spend our time.

So we have this story, this illustration.  And as if to reinforce that, the Church tells us to take the week off from our ordinary discipline of fasting.

Not in celebration – as in Bright Week after Pascha, or the week after Pentecost, or the weeks after Nativity.

This week off is more about removing our focus from our form.  And refocusing our attention on our destination, our purpose, our direction.

We take this week, and recall this illustration, and think about how we spend our time, and how we interact with others, and whether or not we are serious about repentance – changing direction.

We should think about the upcoming journey, and the One whom we accompany as we journey – because it is our journey, but we accompany Christ, our Lord.

And, please – let’s be honest with ourselves.  We try to convince ourselves at times that we are something we’re not.  Let’s take this week and be thoroughly analytical with ourselves.

Let’s take the measurement of our desire to be like Christ, and see how we live according to that desire.

Do we do what is necessary to be like Christ?  Or have we chosen other paths?

There really isn’t a middle way here.  We are either pointed at Christ, or in need of repentance.

So take the week off.  Instead of physical preparation, prepare mentally.

Resolve to enter into the fasts, and enter into the suffering, and the self-sacrifice, that together with Christ, and one another, we may encounter the Resurrection.

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