Learning how to trust the Saviour

Bishop Seraphim : Homily
Learning how to trust the Saviour
8th Sunday after Pentecost
14 August, 2005
1 Corinthians 1:10-18 ; Matthew 14:14-22


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

There is a great deal about the Christian life that involves simple and plain trust in Jesus Christ, even when He asks us to do strange and difficult things. Had I been there amongst the crowd, I can hardly imagine being able to comprehend what Christ is doing today : feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. Yet, it happened.

The apostles, even though they had questions, nevertheless went ahead and did precisely what our Lord asked them to do. They gave Him the five loaves and the two fish ; He prayed, and they distributed them. To prove the whole point, our Lord said to pick up what was left over : twelve baskets full of leftovers. The leftovers were more than what they began with. This is just to prove to them, and to us, Who Jesus Christ is : the Lord of the universe, the Lord of everything, the Provider of everything. He knows what He is doing with us. We do not know anything. He knows everything.

It is important that we put our hearts towards the Lord. We have to put our hearts first, our minds second. With the eyes of our hearts on the Lord, we will be able to trust that He knows what He is doing with the universe that He created, that He knows what He is doing with your life and my life. We will be able to accept this even if things are not working out the way we had hoped for them to work out. The Lord knows what He is doing with us. In this case, we cannot find our own property and building yet, because the time is not right. That does not mean that we do not keep looking. We do keep looking, but we wait until the Lord blesses one of the things that we come up with to offer Him, or, until He sends something to us that we do not expect at all. However, we keep offering our part, which is our looking and our growing together.

This community has been stable for a while, and is slowly growing. This slow growth at the very beginning is very important. It is important for the founders of any community to know each other, and to trust each other in Christ. It is important for them to trust that each one loves Jesus Christ, and to trust that each one is going to do the best he or she can in building up the church here. It is greatly important that we nurture one another here. When the time comes to grow substantially, visibly, you will need jet propulsion at that time. You need this time (although it seems long, and you might be impatient). You need this time for putting down deep, spiritual roots, and learning how to trust the Saviour, as the apostles did.

The Apostle Paul in the Epistle today was speaking about how some people in the church in Corinth were being divided, and were saying : “I belong to this apostle” ; and “I belong to that apostle”. It seems that they had forgotten all about Christ. Nevertheless, they all belong to Christ. Ultimately, Peter, Paul and Apollos are only there for Jesus Christ. The devil is the great divider. He plays with people’s hearts and emotions in order to break up Christian communities, so that the light of Christ will not shine. It is our responsibility to trust our Lord as the apostles trusted Christ with the five loaves and the two fish, and as the Apostle Peter trusted our Saviour when He called to him to walk on the water with Him (see Matthew 14:29).

It is up to us to learn to trust the Saviour with our lives and with the growth of this community. It is up to us to trust each other, and not to allow the devil to divide us with silly suspicions, silly ideas, and silly fears. That is all he ever needs to do with us, because we usually are such stupid sheep about these things. He only needs to plant suspicion and fear in our hearts one for another and we, like silly, silly sheep, fall for it. I begin to believe that my brother or sister does not like me. Very often, a brother or sister does not behave normally towards me on a particular day because he or she does not feel well on that particular day, or has had bad news about the family, or is worried or pre-occupied about something. I am not the centre of the universe. Jesus Christ is. If someone is behaving strangely towards me, it is my responsibility not to say : “Poor me, my brother or sister has got something against me”. It is for me to say “Lord have mercy” for my brother or sister for what is bothering him or her. “Lord have mercy ; help my brother or sister”. It is important for us to keep our hearts warm towards our brother or sister, no matter what, and to live in forgiveness and reconciliation in Christ with each other.

It is on this firm foundation that this community will shine brightly here in n, and will grow for Christ. It will grow new Christians, and grow rehabilitated Christians for Christ. Thus as Saint Herman of Alaska said : “From this day, from this hour, from this minute, let us love God above all, and do His holy will”. In doing this, we will glorify the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages.