Preparing our Hearts
Adapted from a sermon by Fr Daniel Fanous
Passage Luke 8:4-8
This Gospel of the sower is a well-known parable recounted numerous times throughout the year. However, there is something special that is mentioned right at the beginning of the parable which is often overlooked.
“And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city,” Luke 8:4
He was not speaking to the disciples or a specific selection of people, He was speaking to multitudes, to thousands. These words which He spoke reached every single one of them. Similarly, Christ’s words are for every single on of us 2,000 years later. By speaking to these multitudes, He teaches us that this is not some parable, not some story aimed at a different audience. We are the ground, and His words are for us who listen to His word.
“When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”” Luke 8:8
Often, we find ourselves hearing Christ’s words, but how often do we listen to His word. How many times have we heard His Gospel and then forgotten about it, or zone out? The multitudes suffered from this, with Christ’s words entering one ear and leaving through the other. His words were not entering their hearts. Christ is trying to plant His word in us, but it is up to us whether we choose to truly listen to His word or to reject it and let it fall away, just like the seed that fell on the pathway.
When we read over this Gospel, we may tend to believe that the sower is the scripture or the Bible or a sermon we hear. But it is much more than this. The sower represents the very person of Christ. He sows Himself in us. No matter what ground we are, whatever state we are in, He still plants Himself unconditionally. Thus, it is up to us to receive him.
We all strive to be like the good ground, bearing fruit tenfold, twenty-fold or even a hundred-fold. We hope that our hearts will be ready to receive Christ joyfully. But how many of us till our grounds. How much of our daily effort goes towards preparing our ground, our hearts so that we can receive His blessing. Christ’s will for us is not a passive one where we simply hope that we can attain eternity with Him. Our faith is a proactive faith whereby we are called to live out His word each day, growing closer to Him each day and preparing our hearts to accept Him each day we awake. If we seek to be like the good ground, we must prepare each day to accept Him into our hearts. Only then can we be saved.