Concerning the Soil of Human Hearts
21St Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Galatians 2:16-20; Luke 8:6-16
“A sower went out to sow his seed.” (Luke 8:5)
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself clarified that by the grain-seed He meant the spiritual seed - the Word of God. The Lord is the Sower of that seed-grain, the Sower of the Word of God, the Gospel of God. And, of course, all those who continue to sow the evangelical Word of Christ - priests, bishops, preachers - they are sowers who sow not their own, but God's seed.
Just as plants grow from the grain-seeds of various crops, herbs, and vegetables, and fruits grow on them, so the soul of a Christian grows from the “incorruptible” seed - the living and long-lasting Word of God and bears fruit for the glory of God. And the Christian himself is born by the gospel, the word of God, which came from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We read in the first chapter of the Bible that the Lord declared,
“Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth” (Genesis 1,11).
And neither an atheist nor an agnostic can deny that the seed, having in itself the impulse of life from the Creator, restores itself -- we are all witnesses to this. And that ability of a seed or grain is the key to the continuation of life of all living creatures and plants.
In the same way, the Lord Jesus Christ, having come into this world and having sown the spiritual seed of the Gospel Truth in the souls-hearts of his disciples, immediately made sure that it continuously renewed itself and bore fruit:
"Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature!" (Mark 16:15).
Again, even atheists who deny God, Jesus Christ, cannot deny that since that time the Gospel has been preached continuously, the seed-word of God has been sown throughout the world, as the Lord Jesus Christ commanded.
The seed sown by God germinates in the hearts and souls of many people, bears fruit and regenerates itself. Both the material grain and the spiritual one renew themselves through the fruits, because the source of their creation, origin is God the Creator. As we know from life experience, the most advanced or simplest human creations do not have seeds and therefore cannot regenerate themselves. Many examples can be given for this (cars, airplanes, watches, computers...).
In the parable of the sower that we have read today, the Lord only affirms that although the sower (the Lord) always sows good seed, however, not in all souls, not in all who listen does it germinate. To be sure, there are people who are full of unbelief and malice and, therefore, never listen to the word of God; yet, there are those who do listen:
1. Some, because of indifference and frivolity, even when they listen to the Word of God, then they do not seek to perceive it in life, in their consciousness; it is when, as Jesus Christ figuratively says, the seeds "fall by the wayside", they can never germinate, so the fruits of faith cannot be expected from such listeners.
2. There are people who may even like the word of God, the spoken truths. They can even praise the preacher for uttering a good word, but after leaving the church such people do not think to apply the given instructions of Christ, do not seek to fulfill the will of God in their daily life. For them, the preaching of God's word is simply words: good or bad, well or badly declared. This is the stony ground of human hearts, so it is not surprising that such nominal Christians, who can even often come to the Divine Service, are those, as Christ says,
"who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. " (Luke 8:13)
There is nothing in their souls that could prompt them to affirm, to defend their faith, which they formally profess. They believe and can belong to the Church for appropriation, as long as the society around them honours the members of the Church of Christ. When power is seized by godless people, such people easily become traitors to Christ's faith and servants of godless power. It is mainly due to the treacherous role of such nominal Christians that godless regimes sow enmity within the Church of Christ and succeed in destroying it.
3. But there are Christians who sincerely try to germinate the seeds of Christ in themselves through Christ’s gospel, to educate themselves and their children according to the commandments and instructions of God, however, only until the time... Until, for example, they become wealthy. Life’s benefits, luxuries, as Christ says, destroy good beginnings. And for the sake of preserving their estates, such people are ready to change both their faith and their nationality.
It was from among such people that Vyshnyvetski, Kysili, Rodzianka and others like them emerged, who, in order to preserve their estates and privileges, transformed into either the Polish nobility or the Russian nobility. They renounced their people, the language of their ancestors and, in many cases, the faith of their parents. If they formally preserved, for example, the Orthodox faith among the Russian nobility, then in their daily life, in their relations with people, they did not profess that true faith.
In the contexts of democratic states, such people--until they became rich, until they reached privileged positions--could actively work for their Church and among the organizations of their people. Later, such people no longer find time for their Church, and begin to consider their people unworthy. They prefer to devote their time to various clubs, where people are grouped according to the “principle” of wealth or professions.
4. And if there were only those three groups of people that Christ mentioned at the beginning, then The Word of God would not germinate properly among humankind, it would not bear fruit. However, there are still other people who have good intentions in their hearts, who have completely sincere intentions and desire to know God's truth and to profess it in their lives. Such people perceive the Word of God, "keep it in a good heart, and they bear fruit in patience." (Lk. 8:15)
In normal times, such people raise their children with devotion; they always have time for the Lord, for his Church, for their neighbours. And during times of persecution, great confessors and martyrs emerge from the midst of such people.
For such people prefer to lose everything, all material possessions and benefits, yet keep their inheritance in God. They know that whoever loses his soul for the sake of Christ, "and the gospel's will save it." (Mk. 8:35).
Because of the reality that such people live, with such fertile soil in their hearts and with such an orientation toward God's gospel, because of that the Church of Christ--no matter its centuries of persecution--has stood and "the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16,18)
Amen.
Very Rev. Fr. Taras Slavchenko
Taras Slavchenko was born on March 8, 1918 in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine. After graduating from school and the Pedagogical College, he entered the language and literature faculty of the Scientific Pedagogical Institute. Having successfully completed it in 1938, he served as a teacher in a secondary school.
