September 19
Parable of The Sower
Today's Gospel: Luke
8:4-15
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“"And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.”
Reflection:
There are four
soils and one seed. And a question only you can answer: how deep is your love
for Jesus? On the path, the rocks, the thorns, Jesus lays them out one by one,
and most don’t end well. Do not be the one who hears the Word and lets the
devil snatch you away. Hearts that catch fire fast sometimes burn out faster. There
are also hearts that choke slowly by money because it has become your main
focus in life, and some are drawn to the comforts of life, and others to the noise
of the world. Only the good soil bears good fruit, a hundredfold. Which one are
you? Jesus isn't hiding the answer; He's handing it to you plainly, so you have
no excuses left.
That's the mercy
in this parable; Jesus doesn't just
describe the soils; He explains them, one by one, clearly and plainly, so nobody
walks away confused about where they stand. The seed is the Word of God, and it
lands on every kind of heart, but the harvest depends on the ground. That means
the ground is yours to work, and if your love is shallow, dig deeper. If your
roots are thin, sink them further, and if the world is choking your faith, cut
back the thorns. Jesus isn't scolding you here; He's giving you a map out of
the wrong soil and into the good one.
And that map
starts with Scripture itself. The Bible isn't just a book; it's a living
conversation with God, meant to be opened every day, all marked up, and
returned to daily. Underline it, write in dates, and even write your own
story in the margins next to meaningful verses. Fr. Mullally taught that
decades ago, and it's still true: this book is meant to travel with you, not
sit still. Carry it everywhere. Read it daily if you can. Embrace it and love
it! Let it work on the soil of your heart every single day. The more you do,
the more God will speak to your heart.
So, here's the question worth sitting with tonight: when the Word landed
in your heart today, did it take root, or did something get to it first? And if
you're honest with yourself right now, which soil have you been living in this
week?
Rosary Man Jim
🌹
Freely given. Freely shared.
