DAILY MEDITATION: "The sower went out to sow"

Liturgical day: Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Gospel text (Mt 13,1-23): On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear."

The disciples approached him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them.

"But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

"Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."

"The sower went out to sow"

P. Jorge LORING SJ
(Cádiz, Spain)

Today, we consider the parable of the sower. It has a special force and charm because it is our Lord Jesus' own word.

The message is quite clear: God is generous while sowing, but the very success of his sowing is also contingent —at the same time— on our free response. That the fruit depends upon the soil where the seeds fall is something that our daily experiences already tell us. For instance, amongst the pupils of the same school and the same class, some may end up with a religious calling while others may end as atheists. They heard the same messages, but the soils where the seeds fell were different.

The good soil is our heart. Partly, because of our own good nature; but, mostly, because of our own will. Some people prefer to enjoy themselves rather than trying to be better. With these persons it happens the same as in the parable: the thistles (that is, the worries of this life and the love of money) "choke [the Word]; and it does not bear fruit" (Mt 13, 22).

But, those who, instead, treasure the being, they lovingly receive God's seeds and make them bear fruit. Although, doing it means considerable mortification. Jesus Christ said it too: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (Jn 12, 24). The Lord also warned us that the road to salvation is narrow and steep (cf. Mt 7, 14): the more valuable it is, the more difficult to get. Priceless things cannot be obtained without effort.

Those enthralled by their own penchants will have a heart like a wild jungle. On the contrary, the fruit trees that are pruned on time will bear the best fruits. Saints never had an easy life, but they were models for Mankind. "Indeed, not all of us have been called to martyrdom, but certainly to attain the perfection of Christian life. But the virtue demands such a strength that (...) all the same it requires a long and painstaking work, which we should never interrupt, until we die. Accordingly, this may be considered as a slow and continuous martyrdom" (Pius XII).

Source: evangeli.net