Homily by Fr. Ihor Holovko on the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
October 12, 2024
Faith in God originates both as a gift and from experience. It illuminates our minds, the path of our journey, and is a source of warmth that gives us hope and growth in love.
“Man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16).
In the Gospel reading, we hear the well-known parable of the sower. It is about the seed that falls and sprouts in different natural conditions, symbolizing the Word of God that is perceived differently in our souls.
“There are many other things that Jesus did. But I think that if I were to write about all of them and about each one in particular, the world itself would not contain the books written! Amen!” (John 21:25).
Let us add to this parable another allegory, which is also a work of God’s hands. In Australia, there are some seeds that are born in very hard and strong shells that open only after being heated to 100–150 degrees Celsius. For example, Banksia is a plant that flowers beautifully and is very hardy to hot climates. The hard shell of this plant species opens only when a fire passes nearby.
Our faith in God also warms the cold heart like fire and opens our heart and mind to the knowledge of the world and its Creator. “The warmth of faith is full of the Holy Spirit. Amen,” we pray during the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Faith in God has a double origin: it is a gift and is acquired through experience. It illuminates our minds, the path of our journey, and is a source of warmth that gives us hope and growth in love.
In the first reading of the Liturgy, in the letter to the Galatians 2:16, St. Paul clarifies for us: “Man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” We see many examples in history when even stronger generations emerged through “hot” trials, and even more powerful ideas were born.
Today, we remember the Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 787. We see how, through the fire of the trials of heresy, which fought against the veneration of icons, when they were destroyed and burned, a clear teaching of the Church about icons was established. “…that we know God through the Son of God, the Word, and the Image of the Father. Each of the ways of cognizing God is equally important and worthwhile. In prayer before the icons, the main organ of communication with God is not the mouth, which utters the words, but the eyes, which look at the image to contemplate the image of the person” (Catechism of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, p. 703).
Let us pray to God for ourselves, for our neighbours, and for “the least of these.” May the Lord open our minds to the knowledge of God’s Word, dispel the hardness of our hearts with the warmth of the Holy Spirit, and awaken our feelings to even greater and more fervent prayer for the Ukrainian people, for the Church in Ukraine, and for the whole world. Amen!