THE SOWER AND THE SEED
LUKE 6:12-13, MARK 4:2-8
In those days Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God the Father. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve.
Jesus taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed 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 and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
REFLECTION:
Our Scripture begins with Jesus going apart in prayer….solitude is best….especially when facing a tough decision….with the Father, Jesus discusses his choice for those closest followers who will be commissioned to carry on the Good News….do I take my tough decisions to God in prayer or do go it alone…..
Jesus begins His instructions to the chosen Twelve in parables….challenging them….testing them….probing their hearts….. Jesus begins his teaching with HEAR THIS!….Do I really listen to the Word at Mass….when I am reading scripture do I really hear especially the parts that may be difficult for me
In this parable Jesus is the sower and the Word…the word on the path is taken away immediately by Satan…due to the hardness of our heart…those sown on rocky ground receive it at once with joy but they have no root; they last only for a time….have I been preparing my heart through prayer and sacraments to receive and nourish the word of God…am I prepared to say Thy will be done…or do I opt out…
Those sown among thorns are the people who hear the word, but the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,…but those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold…does the word bear fruit in my life…how…with the help of the Holy Spirit I will do what I must to enrich the soil that I may bear more fruit….God willing!
SILENT PRAYER
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