Don’t Be Stingy with God’s Message

In the Gospel we hear one of the great Parables of Our Lord about the “Sower.” This is the only parable where Christ also gives an explanation of the meaning of the parable. We are encouraged to be good fertile soil to allow the Word of God to take root in our hearts so that we can bear fruit with great abundance to the glory of God.

There is another aspect to the parable that the Fathers of our Church bring to our attention. Saint John Chrysostom teaches, “For as the sower makes no distinction in the land submitted to him, but simply and indifferently casts his seed; so He Himself too makes no distinction of rich and poor, of wise and unwise, of slothful or diligent, of brave or cowardly.” In these words we see clearly the beautiful gift that God does not limit His love only to a select few….and neither should we.

God has given us His Gospel to share with the world. Just as the “Sower” does not carefully set seeds only into the ground he thinks is the most important, neither should we limit where, and with whom, we share the word of God. We have been given the gift of the Church and the Gospel of Christ, and He has asked us to share it with EVERYONE!

I recall one conversation I had once about inviting other people to attend Divine Liturgy. As part of this conversation, I was told by someone, “I was just speaking with my neighbor the other day, and she was asking about a local church to attend.” I asked, “Did you invite your neighbor to join you at our church?” I was shocked to hear the answer. “Oh no! This is not the right Church for her!” If the neighbor had asked where a good restaurant was, the answer would have been obvious, but when it came to church attendance, the answer was, no.

When we refuse to share His Word with our friends and family, we are acting selfish rather than with Christian love. Let’s face it….the only reason a tree bears fruit is to send seeds out to make more trees. And the only reason for us to have the Church is to sow more seeds so God can harvest more Christians. “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.”  (Matt 9.37)

Don’t be stingy with God’s message of hope. He sends His seeds to everyone and so should we.