Titus 3:8-15; Luke
8:5-15
That is why we all
need to concentrate our attention today on commemorating the 367 Holy Fathers
of the 7th Ecumenical Council, which met in Nicaea in 787. The council rejected the false teaching that to
honor icons is to commit idolatry, for it distinguished between the worship
that is due to God alone and the veneration that is appropriate for images of
Christ, the Theotokos, and the Saints.
The council’s teaching highlighted the importance of the Savior’s
incarnation, for only a truly human Savior with a physical body could restore us
to the dignity and beauty of the living icons of God in every dimension of our existence.
The 7th
Ecumenical Council addressed matters that strike at the very heart of how we embrace
our fundamental vocation to become like God in holiness in a world that so
desperately needs the peace of Christ. Too
often, however, we think that iconography simply has to do with wood and paint,
and is unrelated to the question of whether we are becoming more like Christ
and gaining the strength to seek first His Kingdom. The icons are not merely religious art, but
reminders that to become a truly human person is to become like Jesus Christ, who,
according to St. Paul, “is our peace… and has broken down the middle wall of
separation” so that “He might reconcile…both [Jew and Gentile] to God in one
body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” (Eph. 2:14-16)
The more that we become like our Lord, Who worked this reconciliation, the less
we will see anyone through the darkened lenses of those who place their hopes
in earthly kingdoms of whatever kind.
Today’s gospel
reading addresses these same questions with different imagery. Christ used the parable of the sower to call
His disciples to become like plants that grew from the seed that “fell into
good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold.”
He wanted them to become “those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in
an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience.” Not all who hear the Word of God will do so,
even as not all seeds will grow to fruition. Some never even believe, while others make a
good start and then fall away due to temptation or “are choked by the cares and
riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.”
This parable
warns us about what happens when we fail to fulfill our potential as those who
bear the image of God. Our vocation is
to become more beautiful living icons of the Savior, but we diminish and
distort ourselves when we refuse to become who God created us to be. Plants must grow and flourish as the kinds of
plants that they are in order to become healthy and bear fruit. Farmers must care for them accordingly. The sun, soil, moisture, and nutrients must
be appropriate for that particular type of plant in order for them to
flourish. In order for us to bear good
fruit for the Kingdom, we must attend to the health of our souls with the
conscientiousness of a careful farmer or gardener. We must do so in order to become more fully
who we are as living icons of Christ.
If, to the contrary, we become obsessed with worry and fear about earthly
cares of whatever kind, we will never gain the strength to bear good fruit for
the Kingdom.
In today’s
epistle lesson, St. Paul urged St. Titus to tell the people to focus on doing
good deeds and helping others in great need.
He wanted them to avoid foolish arguments and divisions, “for they are
unprofitable and vain.” St. Paul did not
want the people to waste their time and energy on matters that would simply inflame
their passions and hinder them from attaining spiritual health and
maturity. He called them to care for their
spiritual wellbeing with the conscientiousness of farmers who are
single-mindedly dedicated to bringing in a bumper crop. If they let down their guard to the point of
being so consumed by pointless controversies that they ignored basic disciplines
like loving and serving their neighbors, they would risk dying spiritually like
a neglected plant overtaken by weeds.
If we are to
become “those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart,
and bring forth fruit with patience,” we must refuse to allow the passions of
worry and fear to take root in our hearts and minds, regardless of what is
happening in our world, our nation, or our families. We must do the hard, daily work of learning
to trust and hope in the Lord as we mindfully turn away from fueling our
passions and instead invest ourselves in serving the living icons of Christ who
are our neighbors. In order to bear good fruit for the Kingdom, we must refuse
to focus on anything that will distract us from sharing more fully in His blessed,
eternal life. Unless we struggle
mindfully against this temptation, it can easily choke the life out of our
souls. Because our risen Lord has conquered even the grave through His glorious
resurrection on the third day, we must refuse to become enslaved to the fear of
death and instead focus on becoming more beautiful icons of Christ. That is
the only way to know true peace in this world.
The example of
St. Jacob of Hamatoura should inspire us in this regard. After a year of torture, he was beheaded for
Christ in the fifteenth century in Lebanon. Centuries later, monks returned to restore
the ancient monastery on the mountain of Hamatoura. The monastics and pilgrims then
began to encounter the saint through visions and miracles, but his name was not
known until the discovery of a manuscript in 2002, after which his relics were discovered
also. St. Jacob is a shining example of
how even the very worst that the corrupt powers of this world can do can never
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:39) Our
Risen Lord has liberated us from slavery to the fear of death, which is at the
root of all our anxiety and despair. So the next time that you find yourself worried
and afraid about anything, mindfully commend that concern to Christ and invest
yourself in prayer, fasting, and generosity with your time and resources to
help the neighbor right next to you. That
is how we may become “those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest
and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience.” There is no other path for entering into the joy
of the Lord.
