On the Fourth Sunday of Luke, the Church reads the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:5–15). This passage is one of the most characteristic parables of Christ, for it reveals with both simplicity and depth the mystery of divine pedagogy and the cooperation between God and humankind. On the same day, the Church commemorates the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787 A.D.), an event that gives this Sunday a special theological significance, as it links the word of God that is “sown” in the hearts of the faithful with the restoration of true faith and genuine worship.
Using images from everyday life, Christ describes a sower who went out “to sow his seed.” The seed represents the word of God, and the various types of soil symbolize the hearts and spiritual dispositions of human beings.
Some seeds fell “by the wayside,” where they were trampled and eaten by the birds — that is, the word found no root because the heart remained closed to divine grace. Other seeds fell “on the rock,” where they sprouted quickly but withered just as fast, signifying those who receive the word with passing enthusiasm but lack spiritual depth. Some fell “among thorns,” where they were choked by the passions and cares of the world. Finally, the seed that fell “on good ground” produced fruit a hundredfold.
The parable emphasizes the cooperation between divine grace and human freedom. God sows everywhere; yet fruitfulness depends on the preparation of the human soil — the openness of the heart, the purity of the soul, the steadfastness of faith. The seed is always life-bearing; it is the ground that may fail to receive it. Thus, the message of the parable is a call to self-examination: what kind of ground is my own soul?
This parable was spoken at a time when Christ had already begun His public ministry, and multitudes had gathered to hear Him (see Luke 8:4). Yet not everyone was ready to receive His word. The Pharisees and legal scholars remained hard‑hearted. Seeing this diversity in human response, Christ chose to teach through parables — so that His word might be open to all, but understood only by those who possessed “ears to hear.” Hence, the Parable of the Sower is not merely a teaching, but also a judgment; it reveals who truly “has a good and noble heart.”
The Church placed the commemoration of the Seventh Ecumenical Council on the Sunday of the Sower for a profound reason. This Council, held in Nicaea of Bithynia in 787 A.D., restored the veneration of holy icons after the period of Iconoclasm. The Fathers of the Council, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, proclaimed that the honorable veneration of icons is not idolatry but a confession of the Incarnation of God — that the “seed” of the divine Word became flesh in history for the salvation of humankind.
The theological connection between the parable and the Council is striking: just as the seed of the word bears fruit only in good soil, so the truth of faith flourishes only in a living Church that preserves the sacred tradition undefiled. The Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council became the “good soil” of the ecclesial body, receiving and safeguarding the seed of truth through struggle and prayer.
Christ concludes the parable by saying that the seed which fell on good ground “bears fruit with patience.” Patience here is not passive endurance, but an active strength of the soul — the steadfastness that endures temptation, the faith that remains unshaken amid hardship, the perseverance in goodness even when the fruits are slow to appear. It is a deeply ecclesial virtue: just as the farmer awaits the time of harvest, so the faithful one remains steadfast in the word of God, trusting that divine grace will bear fruit in its proper time. This patience is joined with humility and hope; it is not stubbornness, but trust in divine providence. Therefore, its fruit is not a momentary excitement, but a deep, quiet, and enduring growth of spiritual life — the fruit of true faith.
