Sleeping In Seeds

Passages: Isaiah 2:5-11; Roms 8:30-10:4; Matt. 13:24-30
Ընթերցուածքներ՝ Եսայ. Բ 5-11;  Հռոմ. Ը 30- Ժ 4; Մատ. ԺԳ 24-30

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

In today’s Gospel, Christ gives us a parable about good seeds being planted in the field. Yet, what follows the opening of the Parable, in verses 25-27 is “but while everyone was sleeping, his enemy [the master’s] came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the weeds also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’” Firstly, the weeds we read of in the Gospel of Matthew here are not just regular weeds. If we looked at the region of Palestine and the kind of weeds that existed, Matthew most likely is referring to what is known as a darnel. Why is this so important? Darnel very closely resemble wheat. As it grows unless someone is an expert, they would not be able to tell them apart. It is only at the time of harvest when the heads of wheat and darnel mature that you can tell them apart. So we read that when the grain had sprouted, meaning when the seeds had grown and began to mature and revealed their fruit or lack of fruit, the servants go to the master, the owner and say, you planted wheat, you planted healthy seeds not fruitless, not weeds, where did the bad seeds, come from?

My dears we know later on, that in verse 36-43, the disciples ask Christ to tell them what this parable means. Christ tells them that it refers to the end times; Of how the master is God, and the enemy is Satan that comes and spreads bad seeds. When the time of the harvest comes, when God’s angels are sent to reap the harvest, meaning us, then the good and bad will be divided. Yet, I want us to go back to verse 25 and especially how it ties into verse 27 – “(25) while everyone was asleep, the enemy came…(27) so the servants came and said to the master…” My dears, how often do we struggle with the reality of evil in this world? How many of us see pain, suffering and sickness? We often hear the argument that if God is good, why is there so much evil in this world? And it is this very point that St. Matthew is making in his Gospel. While everyone was asleep. Who is everyone? The shepherd, the pastors, the Church leaders, the parents, the teachers – us Christian’s. In the same way in the story of the sheep that began to wander off when their shepherd fell asleep, those of us who have been charged with staying awake, protecting, teaching, caring, loving and forgiving, we have fallen asleep. It is no wonder that so many of us get lost and wander off; it is for this reason why the enemy, Satan is able to enter into our lives, into our homes and Churches, and fill it with fruitless weeds that only cause harm.

What is more, just like the servants of the parable, what do we do when we get caught having fallen asleep? We often blame the master, we blame God. Didn’t you plant good seeds? Aren’t you all good and loving? Yes, my dears, God is good and only fills our life with fruitful seeds, planting goodness and love. But it is we Christian’s, who through our baptism’s have been given authority and a duty to remain awake, protectors and imitators Of Christ as St. Paul says, of the goodness for others. So that the enemy, Satan, will not be able to enter into our field and plant seeds of doubt, anxiety, fear, hatred, lust, hopelessness. This does not mean my dears, we are not allowed to sleep.  In Psalm 3 we read, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Our true peace of mind and of heart comes from the Lord. What Christ is reminding us however, is to not be indifferent, to not be lazy, or think that we have no part to play in the reality of good. God’s love for us is so deep that He desires for us to work with Him, to be His stewards, His shepherds, His presence of goodness, kindness, and compassion to those around us.

God is telling us that if you do see someone asleep, unaware, unprepared, through mercy and love protect them. In fact, if we saw someone asleep in Church, (during the priests’ sermons for example), what would we do? We would either laugh at them, or chastise them. In our mind we would look at them as lesser. Meaning the Devil would have entered our heart and mind and planted seeds of arrogance, hatred and judgement. We might think we’re in the right. After all we are awake! Yet, just because the seed in our heart looks like wheat does not mean it is wheat. Maybe it is the darnel weed, fruitless and masquerading as a wheat, causing us to for fall into sin. Rather my dears, one of my favorite stories of the Holy Church Fathers comes from an Egyptian monk who says about those snoozing during worship: “Whenever I see a brother who has fallen asleep during the services, I put his head in my lap and let him rest there.” For who knows what struggles they face that it is in the presence of God they have found peace and rest.

My dears, are we frustrated with the evils of this world? The fruitless lies, and sinful hatred that we are surrounded by? Then let us wake up – arise and remain vigilant, so that our true enemy, Satan, cannot enter into the field in which God has planted only good things. Let us remain diligent and actively spend time in prayer, fasting, confession and repentance not out of obligation or duty because it makes us a better person. Rather, because through those we learn about the good in our life; we learn to discern the weeds from the wheat, we understand what kind of fruit we bear through our lives and how to protect ourselves and those around us from the lies and temptations of the evil one. So that when the time of the harvest arrives, we will look to the East, and proclaim our faith in Christ. So that we will be gathered by the angels into the place of rest and rejoicing, where the saints, angels and faithful are gathered under the grace and mercy of our Lord. We will be with our master who is, was and shall ever be our source of goodness, hope and love. May the grace of the Holy Spirit keep us awake and protected now and always, Amen!