“People often mistake their imagination for their heart, & so often are convinced they are converted as soon as they start thinking of becoming converted.”

 “The church must suffer for speaking the truth, for pointing out sin, for uprooting sin. No one wants to have a sore spot touched, and therefore a society with so many sores twitches when someone has the courage to touch it and say: “You have to treat that. You have to get rid of that. Believe in Christ. Be converted.”― Archbishop Oscar A. Romero, The Violence of Love

Gospel text: (LK 8:4-15)

When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another

journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable.

“A sower went out to sow his seed.

And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,

and the birds of the sky ate it up.

Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,

it withered for lack of moisture.

Some seed fell among thorns,

and the thorns grew with it and choked it.

And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,

it produced fruit a hundredfold.”

After saying this, he called out,

“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

Then his disciples asked him

what the meaning of this parable might be.

He answered,

“Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God

has been granted to you;

but to the rest, they are made known through parables

so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.

“This is the meaning of the parable.

The seed is the word of God.

Those on the path are the ones who have heard,

but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts

that they may not believe and be saved.

Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear,

receive the word with joy, but they have no root;

they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation.

As for the seed that fell among thorns,

they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along,

they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life,

and they fail to produce mature fruit.

But as for the seed that fell on rich soil,

they are the ones who, when they have heard the word,

embrace it with a generous and good heart,

and bear fruit through perseverance.”

The seed does not thrive until it falls on “good soil.”  What are some elements of that soil in the reality of the situation of the world? What nutrients are needed to begin to bring balance to the current excesses that have resulted in dire poverty for so many, lack of clean water, difficult or impossible roads to clean air, to good education, tools that fulfill even the basic rights for a happy life. How might we outfit the sower in her pursuit of “good soil”? For starters, a willingness to leave our comfort zone and embrace with generosity the reality of the lives of others. Create an intentional attitude to uncover our fears, prejudices, and barriers that currently impair our capacity for identifying ourselves as co-habitants with brothers and sisters from all parts of the world.  That starts in our own home!