Homily Helper 13th Sunday of Pentecost

Thirteenth Week of Pentecost
August 27 – Sunday Preaching The Word (The Parable of the Sower)
Book of Offering Page 425 or 492 1Cor. 3:1-11 Lk. 8:1-15

Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-11
Brothers, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving in an ordinary human way? Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human? What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.

Biblical Exegesis
[3:1–4] The Corinthians desire a sort of wisdom dialogue or colloquy with Paul; they are looking for solid, adult food, and he appears to disappoint their expectations. Paul counters: if such a dialogue has not yet taken place, the reason is that they are still at an immature stage of development (cf. 1 Cor 2:6).

[3:1] Spiritual people…fleshly people: Paul employs two clusters of concepts and terms to distinguish what later theology will call the “natural” and the “supernatural.” (1) The natural person (1 Cor 2:14) is one whose existence, perceptions, and behavior are determined by purely natural principles, the psychē (1 Cor 2:14) and the sarx (flesh, a biblical term that connotes creatureliness, 1 Cor 3:1, 3). Such persons are only infants (1 Cor 3:1); they remain on a purely human level (anthrōpoi, 1 Cor 3:4). (2) On the other hand, they are called to be animated by a higher principle, the pneuma, God’s spirit. They are to become spiritual (pneumatikoi, 1 Cor 3:1) and mature (1 Cor 2:6) in their perceptions and behavior (cf. Gal 5:16–26). The culmination of existence in the Spirit is described in 1 Cor 15:44–49.

[3:3–4] Jealousy, rivalry, and divisions in the community are symptoms of their arrested development; they reveal the immaturity both of their self-understanding (1 Cor 3:4) and of the judgments about their apostles (1 Cor 3:21).

[3:5–4:5] The Corinthians tend to evaluate their leaders by the criteria of human wisdom and to exaggerate their importance. Paul views the role of the apostles in the light of his theology of spiritual gifts (cf. 1 Cor 12–14, where the charism of the apostle heads the lists). The essential aspects of all spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:4–6 presents them as gifts of grace, as services, and as modes of activity) are exemplified by the apostolate, which is a gift of grace (1 Cor 3:10) through which God works (1 Cor 3:9) and a form of service (1 Cor 3:5) for the common good (elsewhere expressed by the verb “build up,” suggested here by the image of the building, 1 Cor 3:9). The apostles serve the church, but their accountability is to God and to Christ (1 Cor 4:1–5).

[3:5] Ministers: for other expressions of Paul’s understanding of himself as minister or steward to the church, cf. 1 Cor 4:1; 9:17, 19–27; 2 Cor 3:6–9; 4:1; 5:18; 6:3–4; and 2 Cor 11:23 (the climax of Paul’s defense).

[3:10–11] There are diverse functions in the service of the community, but each individual’s task is serious, and each will stand accountable for the quality of his contribution.

Gospel: Luke 8:1-15
Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources. When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, he spoke in a parable. “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’ “This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.

I. Biblical Exegesis
[8:1–3] Luke presents Jesus as an itinerant preacher traveling in the company of the Twelve and of the Galilean women who are sustaining them out of their means. These Galilean women will later accompany Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem and become witnesses to his death (Lk 23:49) and resurrection (Lk 24:9–11, where Mary Magdalene and Joanna are specifically mentioned; cf. also Acts 1:14). The association of women with the ministry of Jesus is most unusual in the light of the attitude of first-century Palestinian Judaism toward women. The more common attitude is expressed in Jn 4:27, and early rabbinic documents caution against speaking with women in public.

[8:4–21] The focus in this section is on how one should hear the word of God and act on it. It includes the parable of the sower and its explanation (Lk 8:4–15), a collection of sayings on how one should act on the word that is heard (Lk 8:16–18), and the identification of the mother and brothers of Jesus as the ones who hear the word and act on it (Lk 8:19–21).

Sample Homily

Mark Twain is supposed to have said that “it’s not the parts of the Bible I don’t understand that bother me; it’s the parts that I do understand.” In other words, we have more than enough already to stay busy with in the Christian life—we don’t need to go looking for new challenges.
Christ Himself reminded the Apostles that He had already taught them all that they should need: “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.” And though we find it hard to believe, that statement now applies to all of us who have entered into the fullness of the ancient Church. We share, with all the other members of the Body, the great responsibility of being faithful to what the Lord has revealed. Today’s gospel text reminds us all of the importance of being responsible for what we have received, for growing in the faith and bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God.
Jesus Christ spoke of the word of God like seed cast upon the ground. Some 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 couldn’t grow roots or receive nourishment. And some who believe at first fall away quickly, for they never seriously opened themselves to the strength received through regular prayer, worship, fasting, repentance, communion, and all the other means of support for the Christian life as taught by the Church—including the good deeds toward our neighbors that St. Paul wrote of in today’s epistle.
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 find themselves so distracted by their worries, riches, pleasures, and passions that they allow their faith to be destroyed. A gardener who is too distracted by other activities to look out for weeds will probably not be very successful. Likewise, a Christian who is inattentive to the dangers posed by anger, greed, pride, lust, spiritual laziness, or other passions will not last very long. 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.
Now in case all this gardening imagery becomes a bit too much, let’s be crystal clear: As Christians, 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 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 Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is no question what we have received in Jesus Christ: our salvation, our fulfillment, as partakers in the divine nature.
There is a question, however, about how we will respond to what we have been given. Will we take our faith for granted and decide that there are more important matters than prayer, repentance, and serving others in the name of Christ? Will we allow our spiritual life to become sick and weak, and ultimately die, because we are too lazy or distracted to fight our passions and accept the healing and strength which the Lord gives us through His Church? Will we rest content with bearing no fruit at all for the Kingdom? If so, we betray and reject Christ and shut ourselves out of His life.
St. Paul warned in his letter to St. Titus against letting foolish disputes, pointless arguments, or anything else distract us from good works, from meeting the urgent needs of others, from bearing fruit in the Christian life. We don’t have to be experts in the New Testament to know that St. Paul was always writing churches to remind them to focus on Jesus Christ, to turn away from all the nonsense that tempts us from faithfulness to Him, that threatens to waste our time and energy on anything that separates us from the Lord, from loving relationships with our brothers and sisters, and from the building up of His Church.
The question which we all face, no matter what particular set of challenges we face in life, is whether we will grow into the full stature of Christ. Namely, will we build into our daily schedules opportunities to find the strength of the Lord through prayer, Bible reading, fasting, and service toward those around us? Will we repent through confession on a regular basis and whenever we are aware of grave sin in our lives? Barring extraordinary circumstances, will we attend Liturgy on Sundays and Feast Days? Will we do all that we can to direct our attention away from anything that inflames our passions and toward that which helps us grow in holiness? Will we become so busy with good works that we have no time or energy for foolish arguments or other pointless distractions? If so, then we will be like the seed that landed on good soil, got proper nutrition, and produced a bumper crop. And we will know already the joy of the kingdom of heaven.
That, my brothers and sisters in Christ, is the will of the Lord for each and every one of us. Young or old, male or female, priest or layperson, it does not matter. We have all received the mystery of the Kingdom of God, and we all have the ability to respond to our Lord’s great mercy with repentance, love, and faithfulness in our daily lives, regardless of the circumstances we face. And, yes, that really is true for each and every one of us, no matter what sins we have committed and no matter what our problems may be. Remember St. Mary of Egypt, a wicked prostitute who later became an example of righteousness. Recall St. Peter, who denied Christ before His crucifixion, and then became the most senior bishop of the early church, a powerful evangelist, and a great martyr. Bring to mind King David, St. Paul, and countless others who turned away from evil to embrace the mercy of the Lord and find new life in Him.
Maybe we feel this morning like we have done our best to kill the seed that Christ has planted in our souls. Perhaps we have had a spiritual draught or can’t even see a sprout because of all the weeds in our lives; maybe we feel pretty far from bearing fruit, building up the church, or serving our neighbors. If that’s the case, we should remember that the mystery of the Kingdom of God is all about mercy toward sinners like you and me. In Christ Jesus, there is always hope, there is always the promise of a new life with the blessing and peace of the Kingdom. No matter how far we have to grow in the Christian life, He is with us, ready to heal our sicknesses, to strengthen us in our weakness, to calm our passions, to enable us to serve Him in our neighbors and in His Body, the church.
So in repentance and humility, it’s time for us all to become responsible for the great gift of salvation, the mystery of the Kingdom, that is ours in Jesus Christ. Instead of taking the Lord for granted, it’s time for us to root out everything in our lives that tempts us from responding to Him with a good heart, keeping His word, and bearing fruit with patience.
And then we will be like the seed that fell on good ground and flourished, becoming a blessing to the world and a sign of God’s salvation, of the great mystery of His redemptive love that is revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
– Homily delivered by Fr. Philip LeMasters