And as he sowed, some seed fell by the
wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where
they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had
no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they
had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns
sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:
some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him
hear!” (Matthew 13: 4-9)
The
parable about the sower depicts the different relationships of the soul as it
interacts and lives by the word of God.
First, we
see those who do not heed the word at all. They hear, but the words do not
enter their soul, instead they simply lie on top, like a seed on the road. The
word is not compatible with them, because they have a different way of
thinking, different rules, different tastes. Therefore, it it vanished from
their memory very quickly,it is forgotten, as if it had not been heard at all.
The
second group are those who hear the word willingly and accept it quite quickly,
but do not want to put any effort in keeping the word. Therefore, they enjoy
the word and especially the promises that come with it but only until personal
sacrifices are required. As soon as there is a need to sacrifice something for
the sake of loyalty and faithfulness to the word, they begin to turn away from
it and refuse both the word and the promises in favor of their passions and the
things they are attached to.
The third
group of people are those who accept the word and begin to live by its
guidance, but they are still heavily devoted to the worries, sorrows and other
earthly cares, which suppress all the good beginnings that were formed under
the influence of the word of God.
Finally,
the forth group includes those who accept the word with full faith and have
decided to live by its rules while showing readiness for any and all necessary
sacrifices and do not allow their hearts to fall into the earthly trap of worries.
May the
Lord grant everyone the strength to sit down and decide for themselves: Where
do you belong?
Daily Gospel Reflections of St. Theophan the
Recluse for June 29
Translated by The Catalog of Good Deeds
CONVERSATION