Sunday Reflection
15th Sunday of year A
Sow your seed in a good soil
1. ✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (13:1-23)
Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.
He said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
Then the disciples went up to him and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’ ‘Because’ he replied, ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:
You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
see and see again, but not perceive.
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse,
their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes,
for fear they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted
and be healed by me.
‘But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.
‘You, therefore, are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’
2. Today’s readings focus on the power in the word of God which is compared to the life in a seed. In the first reading, the Prophet Isaiah(55:10-11) presents the Word of God as having such a power as that of rain which cannot fall and fail to water the soil upon which it falls. Once released, it cannot go back without first of all realizing its purpose. If this is so, why is it that many people who hear the Word of God are still living in sin?
3. The gospel responds to this question. Jesus, using the parable of the sower shows that 3/4 of the Word of God that people hear are not put to use. In the parable, Jesus categorized the faithful into four groups. When the sower sows the first group of seeds falls on the part way. In spite of the life and the energy in the seeds, they will not germinate because the birds of the air will pick them as food. This group of people come to Church as a routine. The preaching in the Church does not touch them. The second group of seeds falls on the rocky soil. This will germinate but will die off fast because the soil is not deep. This concerns those who are not ready to make sacrifices to be better christians. They want to be christians and still keep their sins. They may not be great sinners but they do not want to be saints. The third category of seeds fall on thongs, germinates but got choked up. This concerns those who put pleasure and wealth before God like the rich young man who went away sorrowful when Jesus asked him to sell his wealth and give the money to the poor. The people in this group can compromise anything provided they get money or pleasure. They have nothing against God and the church but money comes first in their life. The last group of seeds falls on good soil and produced big quantity of fruits. This concerns the people who place God first in their life.
4. A close look at the gospel shows that the loss is more than the gain. 3/4 of the seed sown failed to bear fruit. That represents 75%. It is discouraging. However, the 25% that succeeded bore abundant fruit that could possibly compensate for the loss. The parable of the sower is therefore a parable in which failure and success are bound together. If the sower is Jesus and the seed is the Word of God, it goes to show how Jesus evaluates the success of his mission. 75% of his effort was wasted because people refused to accept his teaching.
5. The failure and the success of Jesus’ ministry have three implications for our christian life today.
a. Do not be discouraged by failures: some people have struggled for years to change their moral lives or that of other persons for better but without arriving at the goal. The parable should encourage such people to keep struggling. The little good that they are doing can succeed in bearing great fruit in the end.
b. Mind the soil where you sow your seed: often we speak of seed sowing in the Church when we do fund raising. We should know that not every seed that we sow would bear fruit. It is only the seeds that are sown in a good soil that can bear fruit. We cannot bribe God with money.
c. Make your heart a good soil: There are four categories of soil. Only one is good. Others are not. If one continue growing in bad behaviour even as one hears the Word of God, one should know that one is probably not a good soil. The good soil is found only with those who place God and his Word first in their priorities of life.
6. The Word of God is powerful but it is not powerful before a soul that willingly refuses to open itself to this Word. If Jesus could not force Judas to abandon his love of money, it is strongly possible that he will not force you to abandon your cherished sins if you are not willing to abandon them. Jesus is standing at the door of your soul knocking every time that you hear his Word. Learn to open the door so that he will enter.
©Vita 16/07/23
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