Titus 3:8-15
Luke 8:5-15
I am sure that we all waste our time and energy now and
then. Of course, sometimes we need a
diversion from our usual cares and there is nothing wrong with taking a rest
from time to time. The problem, however,
is when we find excuses not to do what needs to be done. We do not want to look back on our day, our
lives, or our relationships and be saddened because we failed to give attention
to what is truly important.
St. Paul
warned in his letter to St. Titus against letting foolish disputes, pointless
arguments, or anything else distract us from what needs to be done: namely, good works, meeting the urgent needs
of others, and bearing fruit in the Christian life. St. Paul reminds us to turn away from all the
nonsense that tempts us from faithfulness to Christ, that threatens to distract
us from the Lord and the service of His Church.
That is
a necessary reminder whenever we find ourselves distracted from what is truly
important. Perhaps part of the problem
is that we forget what is really significant and how richly God has blessed us
with His truth and life. It is fairly easy
to ignore things that we take for granted or consider not worth mentioning. Unfortunately, it is very easy to make our
life in Christ one of those assumed things that we end up neglecting.
The Lord
Himself reminded the Apostles not to take what He had taught them for
granted. He challenged them to see its importance:
“To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.” Yes,
to that group of fishermen and other rough characters who had no particular
importance or standing in that time and place, the Son of God had taught the
greatest mysteries of the universe.
Imagine that. The same is true
for us, of course, as members of Christ’s one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. He calls us not to be distracted from the
glorious truth that we have received, either by taking it for granted or giving
more attention to something else. Instead, we must respond to Him in a way
appropriate to His great gift, which means doing what is necessary for us to grow
in faith and bear fruit for the Kingdom of God.
Our Savior spoke of the word of God like seed
cast upon the ground. But, of course, some
of those seeds never even begin to grow because they fall along the wayside and
are eaten by birds. And some who hear
the good news of Christ do likewise, for they never even believe. Some seeds just begin to grow, but the
sprouts die as soon as they spring up because they landed on rocks and could not
put down roots and receive nourishment.
And some who believe at first fall away quickly, for they never really
opened themselves to the strength received through regular prayer, worship, fasting,
repentance, communion, and all the other means of support for the Christian
life that we experience through the Church.
Then
there are seeds that grow into plants that do take root; they seem to be
healthy, but are eventually choked by thorns and weeds. And some who make a good beginning in the Christian
life allow themselves to be so distracted by their worries, riches, pleasures,
and passions that their faith dies. A
gardener who is too distracted by other activities to look out for weeds or to
remember to water the plants will probably not be very successful. Likewise, a Christian who disregards the
dangers posed by anger, greed, pride, lust, spiritual laziness, or other
passions will not thrive. But some seeds fall on good ground, grow nicely, and
yield a large crop. And some Christians
not only hear the word of the Lord, but keep it in their hearts and lives, and
bear fruit with patience. They do what
needs to be done in order for them to flourish in the service of the Kingdom.
The
thrust of this parable is clear: We have
received the fullness of God’s truth, the mystery of the Kingdom of God. We have put on Christ in baptism, been sealed
by the Holy Spirit in chrismation, and nourished by the Lord’s Body and Blood in
the Eucharist. Christ Himself forgives
us when we repent in Confession. In
Jesus Christ, we receive our salvation, our fulfillment, as partakers in the
divine nature. In His Body, the Church,
we are taught the whole, complete faith of the Apostles. We are surrounded by a great cloud of
witnesses, the Saints, who inspire us by their examples and help us by their
prayers. In every Divine Liturgy, we
join them and the entire heavenly host in the worship of the Holy Trinity.
God has given
us all that we need for our salvation, our growth in holiness, and the healing
of our souls. The problem is not with
Him, but with us, for we often take our faith for granted and decide that there
are more important matters than prayer, repentance, and serving others in the
name of Christ. We become content with making
our spiritual life a low priority to the point that we become sick and weak because
we are too lazy or distracted to fight our passions and accept the healing and
strength which the Lord gives us through the ministries of His Church. Too often, we rest content with bearing no
fruit at all for the Kingdom. The
problem is that, when we live like that, we become as weak and vulnerable as a
plant in an un-watered and un-weeded garden; and then we have very little hope
of thriving.
Of
course, we all have our excuses. Out of
pride, we would like to believe that our particular circumstances are so
special that we are somehow justified in neglecting the way of Christ. The
problem is that, regardless of our preferences or situation, we make ourselves
spiritually weak and vulnerable whenever we do not take advantage of the opportunities
we have each day to open ourselves to the presence and healing of the Lord
through prayer, Bible reading, fasting, and service toward those around us. When we put off taking Confession so long
that we never take it, we rob ourselves of the spiritual benefits of humble
repentance and the assurance of Christ’s forgiveness. When we freely choose to give our attention
to what inflames our passions and turns us away from holiness, we weaken
ourselves spiritually and reject the strength and healing of our Lord. Just
as a lazy or inattentive gardener or farmer cannot expect a good crop, we
cannot expect to flourish in the Christian life by allowing ourselves to be
distracted on a regular basis from the kind of life to which Jesus Christ calls
us.
But if
we follow St. Paul’s advice to become so busy with good works that we have no
time or energy for foolish arguments or other pointless distractions, we will then
be like the seed that landed on good soil, got proper nutrition, and produced a
bumper crop. And despite the trials and
tribulations of our lives, we will know already the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven.
That is
the will of the Lord for each and every one of us, no matter how faithfully or
unfaithfully we may have lived to this point in our lives. Through His Body, the Church, Christ has
revealed to us all the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, and we all have the
ability to respond to our Lord’s great mercy with repentance, love, and
faithfulness each day.
So even
if we have horribly neglected our spiritual garden, even if our souls are so
full of weeds that we cannot see a sprout, much less bear fruit in our present
condition, we still have hope because at the heart of the mystery of the
Kingdom of God is divine mercy toward sinners like you and me. The good news is that in Christ Jesus there
is always hope, there is always the promise of a new life with the blessing and
peace of the Kingdom. We may all become
good seed by turning away from distractions and excuses as we do what needs to
be done to serve Him faithfully with repentance, humility, and love. As Christ said, “He who has ears to hear, let
him hear.”
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