Homily 676 – 37 APE
Holy Transfiguration, Ames, Iowa
February 22, 2026
Epistle:  (112) Romans 13:11-14:4 and (176) 2 Corinthians 4:6-15
Gospel:  (17) Matthew 6:14-21 and (40) Matthew 11:2-15

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

Here we are, on the precipice of the Great Fast, and we are given our marching orders.  Christ Himself, and St. Paul, instruct us on how to fast.  But somehow it doesn’t answer our questions, does it?

We want to know what we can and can’t eat.  What days.  When.  Are weekends different?  When is fish allowed?  Not allowed?  So many questions.

The instructions from St. Paul are exactly the opposite of our questions.  He tells us, it doesn’t really matter.  Shocking isn’t it?

But there it is.  St. Paul tells us point blank not to enter into arguments over disputable matters. One has faith to eat all things while the weak eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything should not look down on the one who does not eat. The one who does not eat should not judge the one who eats because God has accepted him. Who are you who judge someone else’s servant? He stands or falls to his own master! Yes, that one will be made able to stand, because God has the power to make someone stand.

Christ doubles down on this instruction.  Don’t be like the hypocrites with their gloomy faces.  They want to be seen, recognized, for their fasting.  They want to be perceived as more spiritual, more pious, than someone else.  And that is all the reward they get.

They are getting the reward they want, because they are feeding their ego.  Fasting is supposed to do the opposite – help us to crucify our ego, not feed it.

St. Paul makes the fast significantly more difficult.  He tells us to walk in decency, throwing off what he calls “works of darkenss”.  He tells us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Embody Christ in yourself.  Cast away yourself, and become a channel for Christ.

I should be careful here.  The “self” we are casting away isn’t our entire being, it is that part of “self” known as our ego.  It is that part of self which forms the adjective “selfish”.  Christ was certainly not that.  He was the opposite of that.

Don’t forget – Christ is God.  What did Christ set aside – cast away – to be incarnate and enter our existence?

Everything.  Most of us would never even consider giving up everything we currently have to voluntarily become poor, and homeless.  Yet Christ gave up infinitely more than that.

Sometimes we may forget that.  The hymnography of the Church, particularly at the Nativity, reminds us that the angels were dumbfounded at this turn of events.  They absolutely could not grasp what they were witnessing – the God, creator of everything that exists, leaves it all behind and becomes one of us.

This is what Christ asks of us also.  It sounds kinda scary, but it really isn’t.  Christ doesn’t ask us to give up what we have.  But He does ask that we identify with the poor, the homeless, the imprisoned, those who don’t have anyone to advocate for them.  And He does ask that if we have resources that can benefit those we are asked to identify with, we use them for that purpose.

So, knowing what we know about the ultimate destination – having our course mapped out, so to speak – what we should do is focus on the next step.  Let’s see if we can determine what that will be.

First, let’s look again at Christ’s instructions.  The key is that we aren’t really supposed to let anyone know that we are fasting.  Obviously, those here and others who are Orthodox already know that.  But we should carry on life as normal for the benefit of those who are not Orthodox that we encounter.

Like all things relating to piety, we should try to keep them as private as possible.  We shouldn’t really share our disciplines and practices with the faithful at large.  And more than that, we should definitely not be terribly interested in what others are doing.  The guidance, absent specific guidance from a priest, has always been try to do your best, with the understanding that you will fail and when you do, begin again.

As we are reminded by St. Moses the Ethiopian, or possibly St. Anthony the Great – the attribution is not certain – We fast, but Satan does not eat.  We labor fervently, but Satan never sleeps.  The only way we can outperform Satan is by acquiring humility, for Satan has no humility.

Humility, as I will remind you, is not just an “aw, shucks, don’t give me credit” attitude, or a “gosh, I don’t deserve this” attitude.  It is taking our desires, and our will, and our hopes and our dreams and giving them to God, saying “Not my will but Yours be done, Heavenly Father.”

St. Paul, as usual, gets a bit more specific.  He reminds us first and foremost to walk decently, not in parties and drunkenness, not in immoral or lustful acts, and – get this, this is important – not in strife or jealousy.

Wow – not only do I have to avoid these activities, but I also have to get along with others and to not be jealous of others!

Of course, that is part of the 10 commandments too.  We sometimes forget that.  Don’t envy what your neighbor has.

What St. Paul says next, though, as we mentioned a bit ago, is maybe the most difficult part.  He says, in effect, keep your eyes on your own plate.  Don’t concern yourself with what others are doing, or not doing.  He is repeating what Christ offers.

In the end, this is about us behaving and living as God intended us to be from the beginning.  He didn’t intend for us to be trying to impress each other or our neighbors, or try to attain power, or to change anyone but ourselves.

And that is what Great Lent is all about.  Repenting.  Changing ourselves.

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