Homily 636 – 5GL
Holy Transfiguration, Ames, Iowa
April 6, 2025
Epistle:  (321-ctr) Hebrews 9:11-14 and (208) Galatians 3:23-29
Gospel:  (47) Mark 10:32-45 and (33) Luke 7:36-50

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

I gotta tell you, there is so much going on this Sunday.  There are readings for Sunday, for both the fifth Sunday of Lent, and for St. Mary of Egypt.

One message is Christ’s announcement to the Apostles and Disciples about what is coming during Holy Week.  He tells them the whole story – and they don’t like it one bit.  Even knowing the outcome, that Christ will rise again.

What some of the disciples even started doing in response to the news was planning their exit – their future.  James and John go to Christ and ask to be His primary assistants.

In the second reading, the sinner woman comes to the Pharisee’s house, and immediately divides the group.  One part of the group was scandalized, shocked, by the presence of this woman.  They would never, ever have invited this woman into their homes.

Would you invite such a woman into your home?  Ever?  And particularly with an important person visiting?  Maybe a famous celebrity, a powerful politician, or a religious leader – maybe the Bishop or the patriarch?

Someone like St. Mary of Egypt, perhaps?  A party girl in every sense of the word.

What Jesus shows us in these interactions with both His followers and those who were not, is that the key to everything is repentance and humility.

Repentance, in changing our behavior – radically – and humility in crucifying our ego.

Jesus describes this as being a servant.  So, when the governor comes over and offers to do the dishes, you’ll know she is trying to be a Christian.

But Jesus doesn’t stop with being a servant – He says “slave.”  We aren’t to pursue power – at all.  No power, no authority, nothing.  Just service.

I’m sure this came as a big shock to those of the Apostles who were coveting authority.  The prayer of St. Ephraim perhaps puts it best calling it “lust for power”.  Lust for power – the desire to be in control, in authority – becomes for us the main opponent in our Christian life.

For some it is easy to see – we look at those in the political realm, or even in the Church administration, and we can see those who are lusting after power and authority.  Even those who are absolutely committed to use that authority to serve others.  It is so easy for us to become distracted.  Deceived.

Because where does that lust for power, that desire for authority, that need to control, come from?  It comes from our pride.  Our ego.

Our lack of trust and faith in God.  We have to control, we have to be in authority, we crave power because we have no faith in the one who rightly has those things – God Himself.

In the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, we lived a life of predictability.  We didn’t have as much need to control, because humanity was subject to the Law, and the Law controlled us.  But in the New Testament, instead of basking in the freedom from the Law, we instead think that no one is in charge.

There is no law, so we do what we want.  Do what I want.  And we recreate the fall of humanity over and over and over.

Instead what we should do is simply follow God – follow Christ.  We serve others.  We don’t seek authority and power.  We live for Christ.

We repent, moment by moment, day by day, with each and every breath we take.  I mean, St. Mary never really served anyone, did she?  She lived alone in the desert.  She lived with the memory of her debauchery and abuse of her body.

Yet, we see in St. Mary the sacrifice of repentance.  Every day, using every memory, every hunger pang, every thirst as a call, a reminder, to repent.  To refocus not on the desires she had within her body, but focus on her savior Christ, and His Birthgiver, the Theotokos.

We too can (and must) follow that path.  Not that any of us are called to the desert.  But we are called to repent.  To not seek power and authority.  To serve.  To attain that other part of the prayer of St. Ephraim – to be given a spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love.

To see our own sins, and not those of our brothers and sisters.

To always think about our repentance.  To always consider what is best for others – our spouse, our children, our neighbors.

When we do this – and we must do this – many of those around us will say we are nuts.  We are being fools.  We are deceived, we are even insane.  Yet, we do what we do.  Like the three holy youths, who didn’t go looking for trouble, but simply continued faithfully to worship God and not the idol.

The wonderful part of this is that in the midst of our being ridiculed and criticized for our behaviors, God will be with us.  Protecting us.  It may hurt.  But that hurt is really our pride being removed, piece by piece, one chunk at a time.

In that hurt, we can recognize and thank God and be happy!  This is the hard part – we are at war with ourselves.  Our ego, our pride, our will.  If we are to become humble, yes, it will hurt – but that also means we are winning.  We are being successful!

Not in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of God.  The most important eyes, the most important judge we have.

The only judge we have, if we know the truth.

As we continue through this last week of Great Lent, and through Holy Week, let’s all redouble our efforts to ignore our ego and to serve others as we can serve them.

So that we can experience the resurrection, the peace, the joy, the comfort and the contentment that comes from Christ.

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