A Homily for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

+ Not all that comes to us is from God. Often, we are beset with obstacles, difficulties and burdens wherein we must repeat the words of the farmer who sowed good seed “An enemy has done this.” But in order to do so we must recognise what these acts of the enemy are.

Within the monastic tradition the ancient enemy of man has appeared in many guises in order to end the seeking of God. In the life of our Holy Father St Benedict, for example, he appears as a little blackbird annoying the saint, a doctor, a dragon, a small boy. Several of these or other phenomena where only perceptibly diabolic to the holy abbot who then showed his brethren the source of the attack. St Anthony, likewise, is usually depicted with pigs under the appearance of which the devil attacked him and left him half-dead. In the writings of the desert fathers, however, it is also common for the devil to appear under the guise, and claiming the name, of an angel of light.

Dramatic appearances of the devil such as these are, however, not his usual manner of operation. Rather, as Our Lord teaches, a seed is sown alongside the good seed which will not be perceptibly different at first. Recognising therefore what is of God and what is not can be difficult before the fruits of the plant, or the lack thereof, become evident.

God has, nonetheless, given us objective criteria in which to assess what is of God through the Church in her tradition. In the first instance all that is good is born of the truth and seeks only that the truth is known. The ancient enemy of man is the father of lies and all falsehood comes from him. So it is with the sowing of weeds: it is an act of deception to undermine the good work that has been accomplished in the sowing of seed.

Amongst the most dangerous of deceptions are those that undermine knowledge of who we are. We are created good by God, a goodness undermined and damaged by sin and restored by Christ. In spite of the restoration, we are still weak creatures needing the protection of God. We must recognise that the devil is more powerful than us and is seeking our destruction. He cannot however destroy us so long as we hold fast to Christ.

One of the first aspects of holding to Christ is “to keep constant guard over the actions of our life” (RB ch. 4) ever being alert to the know the rationale behind our acts. Through vigilance we can know that our thoughts and acts derive from that good zeal which leads to God rather than either the evil zeal of bitterness (RB ch. 72) or even laziness and fear. Even in keeping such a guard, however, we cannot allow a spiritual paranoia or scruples to develop – rather the very guard set must drive us to work ever more fervently under the direction of divine grace.

Before divine grace no obstacle placed before us by the enemy can triumph, insofar as we cooperate with grace to overcome that obstacle. Yet grace does not necessarily offer us the easy path. It is a narrow and difficult passage which leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:14). It is not enough to presume that all ills that come to somebody will eventually somehow lead unto the good. Rather we must fight to overcome them (cf. 1 Cor 9:26), we must be in control of our desires so that we are able to work for the glory of God.

Yet it is also true that the more good we are doing and are capable of, the more the enemy will attack. This can be a reason to run away from the battle. That is precisely what the ancient enemy of man is seeking.

Another of his favourite tactics against those who are progressing towards God is that of pride. The great sin that one is sufficient in himself. Here again the need for vigilance is all the more poignant – to keep guard over the awareness that without God we are nothing - in the full literal sense of the word that we would not even exist, let alone have any of the gifts He has given us. Yet by the grace of God, we should say with the Apostle, “I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain” (1 Cor 15:10)—His grace which impels us to work ever more diligently unto the glory of God.

Either thinking the good in us is from ourselves, or the denial of those same gifts from God, fearing that they are a form of pride, are diabolic ruses from which try to bring about our destruction. We must ever keep guard against these tendencies in whatsoever form the enemy proposes them. Yet even this vigilance must never become an end in itself: it is no more than a tool to lead us to God. God has sown good seed in creating each one of us. We, under His grace, must do all we can to cultivate this seed and protect it from an enemy actively sowing weeds alongside it. +