110th Anniversary of Saint Vladimir Orthodox Church
Trenton, New Jersey
October 19, 2025
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today, the Lord speaking in parables describes the faithful as different types of soil: some are good fruitful soil, but others are bad soil – rocky, thorny, shallow.
Heard in one way, this parable might sound discouraging: soil, after all, has no agency. Bad soil was simply made that way. Thus, it can sound as if there is no individual responsibility: some people may just be bad soil, and it’s not their fault if the word can’t take root in them. More troubling, we may start to wonder about ourselves: am I just bad and unfruitful soil?
However, this is not the perspective or the point. “You shall know them by their fruits,” the Lord says elsewhere; whether we are good or bad soil becomes apparent based on our actions and choices. Those who fell away in times of temptation did so voluntarily; those who gave place to the stifling influences of cares, riches, and pleasures chose to do so. They are recognized, in retrospect, as bad soil, but this is because of their own choices, their own priorities, their own will.
As to the point of today’s Gospel, it is in fact a word of comfort. It reminds us not to be surprised or discouraged if others fall away: if we remain patient and faithful, God’s word will abide in us.
Moreover, this very point – that the word will bear fruit if we keep it with patience – helps to frame our entire life in Christ. Our Lord never promises that our faith will give immediate results. We are called to spend our lifetime cultivating the word and striving to bring forth good fruit. In the same way that a hundredfold crop is the product of seasons of labor and preparation, likewise, holiness is the product of a lifetime’s work.
Today, however, I would like to call attention less to the yield, and more to the seed. As our Lord says, “The seed is the word of God.” If we want to reap the crop of sanctity, the seed for that crop is the word of God. “Blessed,” says the Lord, “are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” Our task, then, starts with hearing and keeping the word.
Of course we hear this word every Sunday and feast day in Church, when the clergy proclaim the Gospel. But it should also be happening on a daily basis; we should constantly be searching the Scriptures. St. Ambrose says that God still walks in Scripture as if in a garden, calling out for fallen man. If we wish to hear the voice of his calling, we must read the words of the Scripture. The Good Sower is still going forth to sow; if we wish to receive the seed of his saving words in our heart, then we must read the Scriptures.
Thus, reading our Bibles is not some abstract goal or arbitrarily formulated virtue, something on a checklist of “things to do to be a good Orthodox Christian.” Rather, reading the Scriptures is the very means by which we encounter the living word of God.
God does not change; his words endure forever. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away,” as the Lord himself says. But, as long as we remain in this mortal life, we do change. Our circumstances change; our understanding develops; problems arise and problems disappear. Thus, when we read the Scriptures, the word of God is, for us, ever new: God speaks to us according to our own individual circumstances. The Scriptures comfort us in our afflictions; they call us to repent of our sins; they convey God’s mercy and forgiveness for our failings.
The Scriptures, says St. John Chrysostom, are like a river ever flowing, and each generation will draw forth new water. Now, this does not mean truth changes over time; the revealed truths, sacred dogmas, and holy teachings of the Orthodox Faith remain forever. But as our spiritual life deepens, our understanding of these truths becomes ever more profound; the Scriptures reveal new insights. As I have said, these insights often speak to our own sins and struggles and shortcomings. They always bring us to greater knowledge of the inexhaustible mercy of God. Because God is infinite and we are finite, his mystery can never be exhausted; there is always more to learn.
Indeed, as the Scriptures say, “The heart is deep. Who shall know it?” We are mysteries to ourselves; we strive to know ourselves so that we can better know God. It is only in the light of his love, forgiveness, and self-revelation that we can start to understand some truth of who we are. All of this taught to us by his word, by the holy Scriptures. In sum, Scripture study is not the search for abstract truths, but the striving to encounter God.
Therefore, if we wish to bear good fruit, let us start by letting the Sower sow good and plentiful seed. Let us read Scripture daily in order to hear the voice of God himself. This daily reading can take various forms: many saints recommend simply reading a chapter of the Gospels, at least, each day. Many people study the daily lectionary readings. Others read widely through many books of scripture according to their own zeal. The exact method is something that we can find for ourselves, perhaps in consultation with a pastor or confessor. But to study the Scriptures daily, in one way or another, is a fundamental part of an authentic spiritual life in Christ.
May the good Sower who went forth sowing the word of salvation, Christ our true God, give us the grace to study the holy Scriptures each day, so that, through this study, we may daily encounter and receive him himself, the same Christ, the divine Word of the Father. To him belongs all glory and adoration, together with his Father and his Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the endless ages. Amen.