Homily on the Fourth Sunday of Luke: On the Good Sower
By Archimandrite George Kapsanis,
Former Abbot of the Sacred Monastery of Gregoriou, Mount Athos
(Delivered in 2001)
By Archimandrite George Kapsanis,
Former Abbot of the Sacred Monastery of Gregoriou, Mount Athos
(Delivered in 2001)
Today’s parable is our Lord’s most beautiful parable concerning the Good Sower, who sows the seed, whose fruitfulness or ultimate loss depends on the soil on which it falls. This parable prompts us to reflect on our responsibility concerning what kind of soil we ourselves are.
That is, whether we offer ourselves to God as good soil, into which His word can fall and bear fruit “thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold,” or whether, on the contrary, because of our passions, our indifference, and the cares of this life, the word of God falls and is heard by us but bears no fruit. It is lost.
Once again, we see that our salvation is the result of synergy. God works our salvation, but we too must cooperate. God sows His word, but we must be ready to hear the word of God and bear fruit, as the holy Evangelist characteristically says, “with patience.”
This word, “with patience,” is of great importance, because it is not easy for someone to make the word of God bear fruit within him. It requires patience and struggle. It requires a daily struggle. And when a person loves God, he wants to undertake this struggle. He wants to offer himself to God; he wants to be fertile soil in which the word of God will fall and bear fruit.
Let us not forget this. God wills it, but He also awaits our response. He awaits our own “I will.” God acts, but He also awaits our cooperation.
Herein lies the great responsibility of us all. We must not forget this. We heard it today, but let us not forget it. Let us ask God to help us remember it every day: whether we receive the word of God and whether we make it bear fruit.
On this occasion, I would also like to say that we must study the word of God, so that we may know what this word of God is. Certainly, when we attend church, the sermon is heard in the churches we visit, but that is not enough. Saint John Chrysostom, whose most beautiful homily we read today, says elsewhere that Christians must study the Scriptures and that “it is impossible to be saved without reading the Scriptures.”
The Holy Fathers whom we celebrate today, those of the Holy Seventh Ecumenical Synod, are the ones who, through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, established that Orthodox Christians should venerate icons, not as God—for worship belongs to God alone—but with honor. The honor “passes to the prototype.” We do not honor the wood, but the one depicted upon it, namely Christ, the Panagia, and the Saints.
Thus, the Holy Fathers established the veneration of icons, because the Gospel is depicted in these icons. Indeed, the Greek word zographos (“painter”) derives from the expression zoēn graphō, meaning “I write life.” The true Life is Christ. Those who depict Christ and the Saints depict the true Life, and for this reason they should also be called zographoi.
We also have icons, which are themselves a Gospel depicted in images. Let us therefore look upon the icons and once again raise our minds to heavenly and spiritual things.
But once again, you see what the devil has managed to accomplish even today. He has filled the world with sinful images. People look at these instead of looking at the icons of the Saints. The wretched things shown on television and through other mass media, which are means of darkening people’s minds, have filled our eyes, our very being, and our souls with images that are anything but worthy of human dignity. And so people forget the icons of Christ and the Saints.
Look, now we are inside the refectory. This refectory is adorned with sacred iconography. As we look here at all the Saints depicted in the refectory, we see those who became imitators of Christ. Every Saint we see is another Christ, an imitator of Christ. And we too say to ourselves: therefore, the purpose of our life is for us also to become Christs, that is, to become gods by grace. In this way, our life is gradually elevated. Even if we are still subject to the passions and are sinners, little by little we come to see that we must overcome our sins and passions and become like Christ, who is the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
These, then, beloved brothers, are the things I wished to share. Both you and we—all of us—need the word of God. May the word of God fall into our hearts. May our hearts be fertile, and may the word of God bear spiritual fruit. Always to the glory of God. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
