I wanted to start off by sharing the story of St. Longinus, who we celebrated on October 16th, because it is one that fits perfectly with the Parable of the Sower that our Lord gave us in the Gospel. I am willing to bet that each of you knows who this Saint is, maybe not by his name, but by his infamous actions at the Cross of our Savior. He was the centurion who was in charge of the soldiers who watched as an innocent Lamb was sent to the slaughter. Longinus watched the jeers of those who passed by. He saw the clouds roll in as our Lord said the words: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani...My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” After our Lord passed onto eternal life, Longinus watched as the rocks were split and the earth quaked. He looked upon all these signs and in the midst of everyone, he confessed: “Truly, this was the Son of God.”
Longinus and his soldiers were later put in charge of the tomb and were present at the Resurrection of Christ. In the gospels, we learn how the Jews wanted to bribe the Longinus and his men to lie and say that the Disciples came and stole away the body, but what you don’t hear in the Gospels is that the soldiers refused to be seduced by the Jewish Gold. They renounced their ranks as soldiers, sought out the apostles, and were baptized into the Christian Faith!
Longinus eventually went to this native land of Cappadocia and began to sway the hearts and minds of the other pagans, so much so that the Jews persuaded Pontius Pilate to send a legion of soldiers out to execute Longinus and his men. But when the soldiers arrived at the village, the former centurion himself came to meet them and took them into his home! The soldiers were fed and shared in conversation with their host, that they were there to kill a former centurion named Longinus and his companions.
The former centurion, who’s entire life changed in one instant when he stood at the foot of the cross of God Himself, wanted to be able to sit next to the feet of Christ once again in the Kingdom of Heaven. St. Longinus gave himself up to the executioners, and received his crown in the everlasting Kingdom.
Our Lord speaks in the parable of the sower about the many different ways in which the human race receives the Word of God. He begins it by saying that there are those who hear the Word of God, and are so hard hearted, that they want nothing to do with worship, faith, or true love. The devil snatches them up like birds.
Jesus then goes on to say that some hear the same word of God and receive it with tremendous joy! Then, because it has no root, they believe for a while, and then whenever they are tempted, they fall away. These are the people who would say:
“Father, the sermon you gave on Pascha was awesome (which is a joke…because the priest doesn’t give the sermon on Pascha, he reads St. John Chrysostom’s Paschal Sermon as a part of the service!) It was life changing! I’ll see you next year!”
There is a sad joke that is often made about such people in that they are called “Cheasters”, because the priest only sees them on Christmas and Easter. “Cheasters” want the ala cart serving of Grace without the repentance, without the effort, and without living the life that they were called to live.
Jesus also speaks of those seeds who fall into the thorns. These are people who receive the Word of God with joy and allow it to take root in their lives! Eventually, the world overtakes them and they are unable to bear any fruit with their spiritual lives. This is also the state that many of us will probably find ourselves in every Sunday morning! After receiving the Holy Body and Blood of God this morning, do we take THE WORD of God within us and bear fruit with it? Do we head home and sing praises to His name for this incredible gift? Do we call our friends and say to them: “You truly do not know what you are missing?” Or do the cares of the world overtake us once again, now allowing us to grow this incredible gift of Grace we had just received.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we have to follow the example of the Saints! Saints like our Patroness Mary Magdalene, like St. Paul, St. Mary of Egypt, St Anthony the Great, and like St. Longinus. All of these are examples of men and women who were shaken to the core when they came into the presence of Holiness! All of which bore the fruits of Grace by not keeping this life to themselves, but by sharing and converting so many others to this life of Christ.
May we all become good stewards of what we have been given dear ones!