Weekly Message October 9, 2026

Beloved brothers and sisters,

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells the parable of the sower, describing a farmer who scatters seeds that fall on different kinds of ground. Some fall along the path and are trampled. Some fall on rocky ground and wither because they have no roots. Others fall among thorns and are choked by the cares and distractions of life. But some fall on good soil, where they take root, grow, and produce an abundant harvest.

Jesus explains that the seed is the Word of God, and the different kinds of soil represent the ways we receive it. But I think this Gospel invites us to ask ourselves a very personal question: What kind of soil are we choosing to be?

Because the truth is that our faith, much like our community, does not simply become what it is meant to be on its own. It requires intention, attention, and care. We can hear the Gospel every Sunday, but hearing it is not the same as allowing it to change us. We can belong to a church, but belonging is not the same as participating in its life. We can say that we believe in Christ, but the real question is whether our faith takes root in the way we treat others, the choices we make, and the people we are becoming.

There are always distractions. There are always competing priorities, busy schedules, disappointments, and reasons to put our spiritual lives aside for another day. Sometimes we allow the cares of the world to overwhelm us. Sometimes we become comfortable with simply showing up when it is convenient, rather than making Christ and His Church a meaningful part of our everyday lives.

But we have a choice.

We can choose to be people who encourage or people who criticize. We can choose to welcome others or make them feel like outsiders. We can choose to participate in the life of our Church or remain on the sidelines. We can choose to nurture our faith through prayer, worship, service, and fellowship, or allow it to wither through neglect.

And these choices matter, because they shape not only our own spiritual lives, but also the kind of community we build together.

At Saints Constantine and Helen, we often speak about the community we want to be. We want to be a community of love, kindness, openness, inclusion, and grace. We want people to find more than a beautiful historic Cathedral. We want them to find a spiritual home, a place where they are welcomed, where their children grow in faith, where friendships deepen, and where they encounter Christ through the people around them.

But that community will only become a reality if each of us chooses to help make it so. We cannot wait for someone else to create the parish we hope to have. We have to become the people who make that parish possible.

The good news of this Gospel is that we are not powerless. We are not destined to remain rocky ground or a field overgrown with thorns. With God’s grace, we can change. We can become more patient, more generous, more forgiving, more welcoming, and more committed to the life of faith. We can make room for the Word of God to take root in us and bear fruit in the world.

As we continue this new ministry year, I encourage you to ask yourself: What kind of Christian do I want to be? What kind of parishioner do I want to be? What kind of community do I want my children to inherit?

Then make the choices that bring those answers to life. Come to church. Participate in our ministries. Support one another. Welcome the person you do not know. Make time for prayer. Invest in your spiritual growth. And remember that even the smallest act of love can become a seed that bears fruit in someone else’s life.

The seed has been planted. The question is what we will allow it to become within us.

May we choose to be good soil, receiving the Word of God with open hearts and allowing it to transform us, so that together we may bear abundant fruit for Christ and build the kind of community that reflects His love to the world.

With love in Christ,