Jesus mission on this earth was to do the will of the father which is that the kingdom of God should be proclaimed to the whole world and to everyone. Jesus did this without reserve through his deed and words. Unfortunately, not everyone accepted and received his words and teachings, the good news. even up today. Why? We are accustomed to seeing the effects of Advertising. When youngsters see ways of dressing or combing their hair in films or on TV, they imitate them immediately and easily because they have passion for them. Butwhy is the Gospel so slow in entering our hearts? Jesus tells us that it depends on the soil that is in our hearts. He passes home his teaching by telling the parable of the sower. The way we open our hearts to the word of God is the way it bears fruit in our lives. If we open them wide open for the word of God to enter and rule, then we shall bear many fruits but if we close them, then, we shall bear no fruit.
The sower in this parable seemed to sow seeds randomly. He did not have a designated field he had prepared carefully for planting. He just sowed as he walked, scattering seeds everywhere; some fell on trampled paths, some on rocky ground, somewhere thorns grew, and some on good soil. What a beautiful image of God the Father, who sows his grace widely and liberally in souls. Whether we are dusty and dried out, rocky, or full of weeds, God reaches out to us, inviting us to accept the seeds of his grace and allow them to fertilize the soil of our souls so that we can bear fruit for his Kingdom. To strengthen us, he offers the sacraments. To nurture us, he offers encounters through prayer. What grows in our souls from these seeds of grace is faith as a first fruit and all others follow from this faith. Today, we are invited to reflect on how we prepare our soils, our hearts to receive the word of God, and what makes us to receive it sometimes.
Sincerely speaking, when the Word of God is being read and preached at mass every day and every Sunday, some are sleeping and they take nothing home for that day, some are absent-minded, filled with rocky soil and before they step out of the church, they have forgotten everything said at mass; some are there with worries racing through their minds; thinking about salary, thinking about what wife and children will eat or thinking about a life-partner and, before they reach home, the word is stifled out of them. Then, some listen with rapt attention; they reflect on the reading and preaching of the day. For such people, the word of God becomes a lamp unto their feet and a guide on their path and they never stumble! Which soil is your heart today?
Jesus tells us that the seeds on pathways are pecked by birds (works of the devil), others on rocky ground are scorched by the sun (times of temptations), and others which fell in the thorns are choked by thistles or thorns (anxieties and riches and pleasures of life). What are your pecking birds, your scorching sun, your choking thistles which annihilate the seed Jesus sows in you? Realizing these will enable us to appreciate the Word of God more. Jesus tells us what we need to do to blossom: we must embrace the word with a generous and good heart, persevere in faith, and stay close to the sacraments. By God’s grace, we can also help to bring about a great harvest in other souls by how we live our lives, treat others, and speak of God.
Jesus sowed a seed in us and is always sowing in us, the Word of God. As a sower expects rich harvest after sowing, so is Jesus expecting the fruits of His seed down in us. At last, there must be something you and I can show to the Lord with pride and gratitude: ‘Look, this is the seed you gave me; it has grown, developed, and here is your harvest’. Jesus, too, reflected on his mission to establish his Father’s sovereignty on earth. Jesus, too, got depressed and wondered if he was getting anywhere. It was only when he had failed utterly, alone, deserted and tortured, that his perseverance won the crown. Jesus doesn’t want the successful; He wants the failures as His followers and that is where the harvest lies.
Reflect today on how you receive the Word of God in your life. Do you put effort to understand the word of God so that evil will not take it away from you as birds peck seeds which fall on pathways? Does the Word of God have roots in you, or it will be scorched by the sun as seeds on the rock? Do you allow worldly lures and pleasures choke the seed of the word of God in you? Are you the good soil where the word of God flourishes and produces fruits? Pray for the spirit to make the word of God flourish in you.
Let us pray.
Lord, by grace, let nothing take away, scorch or choke the seed of the Word of God you planted in me. May it produce fruit in me so that whoever sees my good works may give praise to Father in heaven. Amen
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