That same day Jesus went out of
the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds
gathered around him that he got into a boat and
sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen!
A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed,
some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came
and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground,
where they did not have much soil, and they sprang
up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But
when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they
had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among
thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other
seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some
a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears
listen!" Then the disciples came and asked him, "Why do
you speak to them in parables?" He answered, "To you
it has been given to know the secrets of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been
given. For to those who have, more will be given,
and they will have an abundance; but from those who
have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
The reason I speak to them in parables is that
´seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not
listen, nor do they understand.´ With them indeed is fulfilled
the prophecy of Isaiah that says: ´You will indeed listen,
but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never
perceive. For this people´s heart has grown dull, and their
ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their
eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart
and turn-- and I would heal them.´ But blessed are
your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they
hear. Truly I tell 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. When
anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not
understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what
is sown in the heart; this is what was sown
on the path. As for what was sown on rocky
ground, this is the one who hears the word and
immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has
no root, but endures only for a while, and when
trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that
person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among
thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but
the cares of the world and the lure of wealth
choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for
what was sown on good soil, this is the one
who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears
fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another
sixty, and in another thirty."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you; I know that you are always watching over me and guiding me. I trust and hope in you, because I know you will never lead me astray, if only I listen to you and obey you. I love you for being so good and patient with me, and I desire to live each day more faithful to you.
Petition:
Open my ears, Lord Jesus, so I can listen to
and accept your Word into my heart and so bear
abundant fruit for you.
1. Listen!
Twice in this Gospel passage, Jesus exhorts the crowds to
“Listen!” The fact is, today as then, it is hard
for us to stop what we are doing, put aside
our prejudices, worries and preoccupations, and really listen to God.
But, how else can we hope to know God’s will
for us? During his earthly life, Jesus often – as
in this passage – spoke in parables. He wants us
to make the effort to understand his message and apply
it to our lives. That is the first and essential
step to make it possible for him to enter our
lives through the Word and transform us so we can
bear fruit.
2. Blessed Are We:
Jesus tells his disciples that they are blessed because they
see what they see and hear what they hear. We
could feel that we are less blessed, because we don’t
see and hear Jesus directly. However, in a way we
are more blessed! The disciples in Jesus’ time had to
struggle to understand his message. It was a new and
difficult teaching, and they were the first to have to
interpret, teach and apply this message. We have the benefit
of nearly two thousand years of saints and scholars who,
with their lives and writings, have explained and applied the
Gospel. We have the Holy Spirit that the disciples had
not yet received when Jesus spoke these words. We have
the presence of Jesus himself in the Eucharist. We should
be thankful for all these gifts we have received and
allow them to bear fruit in our lives.
3. A Hundredfold: If we do listen to
Jesus’ message, both in Scripture and in the many indirect
ways he manifests his will to us in our lives,
and if we appreciate what a gift this is, we
must show our gratitude with the way we live. We
have to be the good soil that bears fruit a
hundredfold. That means not only growing in our own faith
and living in consonance with it, but also multiplying the
gift by sharing it with others. We can’t be satisfied
with being good and not sinning; in order to be
good Christians, we have to spread the message in whatever
ways are available to us in our state of life.
Every day we should ask ourselves: What have I done
today to spread the seeds of the Gospel?
Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Jesus, for all
you have given me! I’m sorry for the times I
have not given you priority over other things and have
not listened to you or shared with others the gifts
you’ve given me. Help me to bear abundant fruit!
Resolution: I will spend some time with
God today to examine my life and see how I
can both listen better and share God’s gifts more with
others.
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