Mortal, and show… You know it: It doesn’t work out if something goes wrong at work or in the family; no one is to blame. If something goes well, everyone signs up for it. Haven’t we also put it about the Creator? If everything is fine, we are happy and healthy; we like to take credit for it. We say or think: We take care of our health, we take care of it, and we live as a Christian should. That is why we are doing well, of course. If we get sick, we are unhappy and immediately prone to blame God for it. All of today’s readings teach us an important, fundamental truth. Fruit, the result of our life, is the result of two activities: human activity – work and God’s gift from man’s sowing and from God’s care for the harvest. Cooperation between man and God – that’s our life! For centuries there have been disputes about what is more significant, whether the first impulse comes from God, or whether there must first be a human effort to which the Creator will give success. These disputes are named after Pelagius, who came from Britain to Rome around 384. Pelagius preached the moral omnipotence of the will: even if a person does not do good, he can do it. He is not burdened with original sin, and Adam (who was created mortal and with lust) harmed us only by his example. So baptism is unnecessary, and sanctifying grace is unnecessary for supernatural life (supernatural and natural life are the same thing; man has what we call supernatural). Perhaps this was a reaction against those who believed that prayer was enough! Such a doctrinal system emptied religion of everything supernatural and made it bare moralism, denied the need for Christ’s sacrifice, and declared prayer unnecessary. This teaching did not deceive Augustine. He himself experienced the weakness of the human will and the constant need for God’s grace. Against Pelagian moralism, St. Augustine, what is proper to Christianity – grace (God’s help). Grace itself, good works, faith, and everything else exist only thanks to God’s gift and his help. It is God who works in us the good we do; everything depends on him. Until the fall of Adam, God could have left mankind to damnation, but his undeserved mercy gives salvation without merit from justice. The correctly understood doctrine of St. Augustine on grace does not reduce human freedom and will, which are a response to grace. We can only laugh at such disputes and explain with the following observation: Let’s imagine going outside the city to a fragrant meadow and forest. The very existence of nature is a gift from God, who preceded all my actions. Pelagius recognizes that everything around is from God, but he forgets that the ability to admire nature and cultivate it is also a gift from God. God always precedes man in his love. Man adds his own to what God has given. – Be in harmony with that gift of God; then it is good, and the result is goodness, joy, joy, and peace. – Because suddenly, despite and from that stupidity, a cross will arise, suffering, confusion, uncertainty, evil. As mentioned, God always precedes man in his love – like a mother who teaches a child to walk. He takes the first step for us, but man must take the second step in the direction of God’s guidance. Otherwise, he will fall and be wrecked. God then takes all the other steps; he lets the seed grow into a rich, good harvest.
God will not save us without us – we will not save ourselves without God – this is an unchangeable connection. A person can be a person only as a co-worker of God – a sower of good grain. If he refuses God’s cooperation, i.e., he begins to sow evil instead of good, becomes an animal, and cooperates only in the destruction of humanity. WARNING. The fallacy of Pelagianism is not just a theory, it is ancient history! That’s why I devoted myself to him. The communists of earlier times told us something similar, and the liberals of today tell us. According to them, a person is already good by nature, and it is enough to teach him to read a newspaper, and he will become an intelligent and positive type. But people without God – and not illiterate fools – caused two world wars in the last century, and that should be enough experimental proof for everyone that without God’s order of love, it does not lead to good. And how is it now? No better! Man’s true greatness is in cooperation with the work of God’s creation, helping to sow the seeds of goodness in the surrounding soil. The next things, germination, growth, and harvest, are already done by God.
Aren’t we also infected with the delusion of Pelagic and the liberals? Don’t we think that we are enough to live alone? How often do we remember God, and how often are we grateful to him? Do we realize that we can only build a life with him? Do we take prayer for granted? Did you understand how encouraging the glad tidings of today’s gospel are for the days of our lives? – Don’t worry that you can’t do great things; your task is always to be just that sower of God – nothing more. Sow the seeds of goodness, small, unobtrusive, that fit in, are not seen. And that is why we are typically tempted to think that everything we do is in vain, for nothing. But it isn’t. The next thing that happens in the seeds is the growth, the germination, the work of God that is invisible – but it is the beginning of the harvest that will be. And it will be rich, manifold. So, let’s be optimistic. Let’s be willing to sow tiny grains of goodness into the surrounding soil: grains of peace, trust in God, – grains of patience even with hostile neighbors, – grains of kindness and love, – grains of all the good we can do. The Farmer – the Creator – will take care of the harvest – our task is to sow. So, what is our experience? Everyone reports good results. To the bad nobody! Let’s not stop at just declaring for the good. Let’s do good.
