DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Saint Luke 8:5-15
(10/16-10/29)
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
To Succumb: Saint Luke 8:5-15, especially vs. 10: “...To you it has been given to know the mysteries of
the kingdom of God....” The parable of the Lord Jesus in this reading is quite
familiar yet may become dangerous, for the examples in the parable can readily
be applied to others, which then externalizes what our Savior says. If we do so, we reject “...the
word of God” (vs. 11) and damage ourselves. Many Christians listen to the devil (vs.
12), fall into temptation (vs. 13), are distracted from the struggle of living
for Christ, and yield nothing worthy of Him (vs. 14). Honestly, we need to look in ourselves
with these examples. It’s
dangerous to consider oneself only among those who
hear the word of God and “...bear fruit with patience” (vs.
15)! May the Lord Jesus’
descriptions of how God’s word is lost make us cautious, for we are quite
capable of satanic deception, undemanding commitment, and being choked with
life’s cares.
Self-assurance in the spiritual life is a temptation, for
to keep the word truly and bear “...fruit with patience” (vs. 15)
will bring pain. As Archimandrite Sophrony says, “Entry into the Kingdom for created
beings inevitably entails great suffering.
Many decline the Father’s gift of love precisely because the
utmost effort is required to assimilate it.” If we would not succumb, but rather
“...bear fruit with patience,” then we must look deeply into our
hearts. How readily I heed the
devil, fall in temptation, move off course, and embrace delights and
distraction!
Yes, we heed the voice of the devil. It is a painful truth to admit, but it
is recognizable the moment I accept the reality that satanic voices are
mediated through many identifiable sources - misguided friends, self-indulging
acquaintances, the word-spinners of the world who labor to sell their or
others’ ideologies, products, or services - you know: “tell them
anything, but close the deal!”
Among these we have to count the power-hungry who phrase their speeches
to gain votes and contributions.
Let us not discover that this has happened to us again, only to wake up
to see that they have taken “...away the word out of [our]
hearts...” (vs. 12).
Our actual condition is worse than an occasional slip from
keeping our Lord’s commandments.
How many times do we attend the Divine Liturgy, “...receive the
word with joy...” and “...believe for a while...” (vs. 13), only to be tempted by some little thing and fall away as
if we never heard, never knew the joy of truth, and never committed? It is shameful and bitter. Saint James warned us against being
“...a hearer of the word and not a doer...like a man observing his
natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately
forgets what kind of man he was” (Jas. 1:23,24).
Affirm it honestly: you and I often succumb to
distractions, are easily “...choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of
life, and bring no fruit to maturity” (Lk.
8:14). “I weep and I wail
when I think upon death,” yes, and not just physical death (for which we
have the words of The Funeral Service), but the death of my spirit when I yield
to any one of the thousand things that appeal to me, lure me, and draw me away
from Life Himself - from Christ my Savior.
Listen again to the Archimandrite Sophrony,
who, to his dying breath, fought the good fight against succumbing: “I
had only to think for an instant of departing from [the Lord], to find myself
plunged in murky darkness. I saw
that to withdraw from Him would be death.
Life lay forward only, in a hand-to-hand struggle....the painfulness of
the effort, however, showed me that if I willingly accepted the battle, it
meant that I was free.” We
can be free by taking up the fight to hear “...the word with a noble and
good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (vs. 15).
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst give Thyself as a ransom to
death, and cause life incorruptible to flow from Thy pierced side, turn not Thy
Face from us, Thine unworthy servants.
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