Matthew 13:1-23
“The Undiscriminating Sower”. Difficult to imagine a person throwing seed without being concerned about where the seed falls. The Sower is Jesus Christ. The seed is the Word of God.
Anybody who can read can read the Bible. Some folks are willing to come to our homes and read the Bible to us, even when we say that we are not interested. The Word is available on audio disks. We can watch a movie, listen to the radio, or come to church and the Word is available. Obviously, the parable about the Sower was not only meant for the people listing to Jesus, but for all time. Jesus continues to sow without prejudice. Must be a reason. We are challenged to unfold the levels of meaning. The seed sown on the path, on rocky ground and among thorns all met with opposition and did not survive. The obstacles presented are familiar to us. The evil one comes and steals away what was sown. Remember, the devil is usually in disguise. Temptation is present in many forms. The forms are now popular, socially accepted, even glorified. That’s why discernment is vital, especially when teaching children how to distinguish between right and wrong. Temptation is not a sin, and yet we stand to lose the little we might have when we place ourselves in harm’s way. Countless Catholics who were on the fence regarding their religion fell off during the Pandemic and have not returned, perhaps never will. “…. from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Seeds on the path do not do well.
Rocky ground lives up to its name. Rocks are hard. Rocks get in the way of sunshine. They do not allow deep roots to develop. Rocks are like pride, grudges, resentments. Once our mind is made up about someone, we are not willing to bend. That’s why wars are fought. Entire nations loaded with social sin can be unbending. Thorns are just as bad. They get in the way of growth. Initial growth happens—like in many relationships. Beginnings are about honeymoons, parties, good times. But then we encounter difficulties. Nobody likes problems. Yet, problems are part of everyone’s life. We cannot avoid problems. Yet, we keep trying. We all want the recipe to live to be past 100 years old, but without problems. Folks who are not rooted in the true meaning of the Gospel will fall away because of tribulation, persecution or anxiety. The first five years in any life choice give evidence to the length of the roots. Weak roots do not last. Strong roots last forever.
We would all like to be rich soil that yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Consider that we fluctuate between the path, the rocky ground, the thorns and the rich soil. Depending on situations in our life we go up and down in our relationship with Christ. However, He does not change. The Sower keeps sowing even when He sees the rocks in our heart. Although there might be thorns of resentment, the Sower continues to have faith in us. He never looses hope that perhaps some fruit will come. After all, we are just the dirt. The seed is what gives fruit. Sometimes miracles happen. We’ve seen how a little plant will sprout in a most unexpected place—just a crack---where we did not put any effort—up comes a little green plant. For example, we catch ourselves answering questions about the Faith; being kind to someone we do not like; spending extra time in prayer just because we want to listen to God. The Sower keeps sowing without looking at our receptivity. He looks at our possibilities and smiles. If Jesus can change water into wine, He can also change hard, rocky, thorny ground into rich soil. Our vocation is to be open; to watch for the seed; to allow the miracle to happen. We are grateful to the Sower who keeps loving us, offering us His Word with the hope that we will respond.
The seed is available every day. The Lord will help us to give much fruit. a
“The Undiscriminating Sower”. Difficult to imagine a person throwing seed without being concerned about where the seed falls. The Sower is Jesus Christ. The seed is the Word of God.
Anybody who can read can read the Bible. Some folks are willing to come to our homes and read the Bible to us, even when we say that we are not interested. The Word is available on audio disks. We can watch a movie, listen to the radio, or come to church and the Word is available. Obviously, the parable about the Sower was not only meant for the people listing to Jesus, but for all time. Jesus continues to sow without prejudice. Must be a reason. We are challenged to unfold the levels of meaning. The seed sown on the path, on rocky ground and among thorns all met with opposition and did not survive. The obstacles presented are familiar to us. The evil one comes and steals away what was sown. Remember, the devil is usually in disguise. Temptation is present in many forms. The forms are now popular, socially accepted, even glorified. That’s why discernment is vital, especially when teaching children how to distinguish between right and wrong. Temptation is not a sin, and yet we stand to lose the little we might have when we place ourselves in harm’s way. Countless Catholics who were on the fence regarding their religion fell off during the Pandemic and have not returned, perhaps never will. “…. from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Seeds on the path do not do well.
Rocky ground lives up to its name. Rocks are hard. Rocks get in the way of sunshine. They do not allow deep roots to develop. Rocks are like pride, grudges, resentments. Once our mind is made up about someone, we are not willing to bend. That’s why wars are fought. Entire nations loaded with social sin can be unbending. Thorns are just as bad. They get in the way of growth. Initial growth happens—like in many relationships. Beginnings are about honeymoons, parties, good times. But then we encounter difficulties. Nobody likes problems. Yet, problems are part of everyone’s life. We cannot avoid problems. Yet, we keep trying. We all want the recipe to live to be past 100 years old, but without problems. Folks who are not rooted in the true meaning of the Gospel will fall away because of tribulation, persecution or anxiety. The first five years in any life choice give evidence to the length of the roots. Weak roots do not last. Strong roots last forever.
We would all like to be rich soil that yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Consider that we fluctuate between the path, the rocky ground, the thorns and the rich soil. Depending on situations in our life we go up and down in our relationship with Christ. However, He does not change. The Sower keeps sowing even when He sees the rocks in our heart. Although there might be thorns of resentment, the Sower continues to have faith in us. He never looses hope that perhaps some fruit will come. After all, we are just the dirt. The seed is what gives fruit. Sometimes miracles happen. We’ve seen how a little plant will sprout in a most unexpected place—just a crack---where we did not put any effort—up comes a little green plant. For example, we catch ourselves answering questions about the Faith; being kind to someone we do not like; spending extra time in prayer just because we want to listen to God. The Sower keeps sowing without looking at our receptivity. He looks at our possibilities and smiles. If Jesus can change water into wine, He can also change hard, rocky, thorny ground into rich soil. Our vocation is to be open; to watch for the seed; to allow the miracle to happen. We are grateful to the Sower who keeps loving us, offering us His Word with the hope that we will respond.
The seed is available every day. The Lord will help us to give much fruit. a
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