"Ears to Hear" for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council

  For Sunday, October 11, 2020

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council

Luke 8:5-15

“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

Video 

Troparion of the Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Tone 8)

Most glorious are You, O Christ our God! You have established the Holy Fathers as lights on the earth! Through them you have guided us to the true faith! O greatly Compassionate One, glory to You!

Discussion Questions:

1. Who does the sower represent? And the seed? And the soil?

2. What does the path represent?
3. How can we soften our hearts?

4. What does the rocky soil represent?

5. How can we develop strong roots of faith so that we are faithful for our whole lives?

6. What do the thorns represent?

7. How can we avoid being distracted from our faith when we are thinking about work or school?

Lesson:

In this parable, our Lord Jesus Christ is the sower, and we are the soil. Christ offers himself to everyone, but not everyone receives him. We read this passage on feasts of the Ecumenical councils, because it reminds us to pay attention to how we receive the Word of God. 

We must not be hard-hearted, like the path, but when we hear God’s word, we listen and treasure it in our hearts. We must develop patience and endurance, unlike the rocky soil, so that we continue to grow more and more like God throughout our lives. And we must not be distracted by worldly cares, which grow up like thorns around us and prevent us from bearing fruit. No, we must be like the good soil, with good hearts that hear and hold on to the word, enduring with patience and bearing the fruit of God’s presence in our hearts. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

In Home Craft:

Use a coloring page to visualize the different types of soil and how they are like our hearts. Or have children make their own artwork showing how they will tend the soil of their heart.