We hear the familiar
parable today about the sower who is planting seeds, and how some of the seeds
falls on ground in which it is able to take root, but that other seeds are not
able to thrive at all because of rocky ground or thorns. It is that way with God’s word, Jesus tells
us. Sometimes it reaches our hearts and
has a place to grow, but at other times, at the times of persecution or
hardship or when we would rather follow the ways of the world, God’s holy world
dies and withers. It can be that way at
certain times in our lives as well, can’t it?
We can hear God’s holy word at different points in our lives, and we can
apply the meaning of that word as to how it speaks to the reality of our lives,
or at times we can try to ignore God’s holy word because we are afraid of what
it is trying to tell us.
Most of you know that I am
very fascinated by the saints of our Church, that they have had a great affect
on my own life of faith and the way I’ve tried to live out my faith. We have a very interesting group of saints
that we celebrate today called the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. Supposedly these seven young men named Maximian,
Malchus, Marcian, John, Denis, Serapion, and Constantine, were hiding in a cave
during the persecutions conducted by the Emperor Decius because they refused to
make pagan sacrifices. The cave was
sealed, and legend has it that they fell into a miraculous sleep and later woke
up approximately 300 years later where they were seen by the townsfolk of the
city. This incident was revered by both
the Christian and Muslim traditions because it was interpreted as validating
the resurrection of the dead that is a part of our belief. Martyrdom was respected and honored in the
early Church for the sacrifices and testimony those individuals were giving for
the faith.
How does God’s holy word
speak to us today? How are we providing
rich soil in our lives for it to grow?
And how are the traditions of our Church speaking to us today and
encouraging us on our journey of faith?
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