“For
like a poisonous breath over the fields, like a mass of locusts over Egypt, so
the swarm of excuses is a general plaque, a ruinous infection among men, that
eats off the sprouts of the Eternal.” ― Søren Kierkegaard: (1813 – 1855:
Danish philosopher, theologian, and poet)
Gospel
Text: (MK 4:1-20)
On another occasion, Jesus began to
teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea
and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea
on land.
And he 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.”
He added, “Whoever has ears to hear
ought to hear.”
And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them,
“The mystery of the Kingdom of God has
been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes
in parables, so that
they may look and see but not
perceive,
and hear and listen but not
understand,
in order that they may not be
converted and be forgiven.”
Jesus said to them, “Do you not
understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of
the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where
the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at
once
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky
ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at
once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only
for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution
comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another
sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of
riches,
and the craving for other things
intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
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.”
God wants to be with us and asks our
permission for it. God asks that we open our heart to His love. God does not
impose himself onto us. God loves us first, promises to stay with us, but asks
only that we may receive Him. Doesn’t it sound wonderful? It sounds like an
easy, natural thing to do. It should be! Who would consciously not be open to
love unconditional? Sadly, we sometimes are not…..
Part of us starts thinking: What will
this mean for my comfortable life? What if I fail? Well, I don’t really want to
deal with it, I’m too busy right now.” And that’s exactly what Jesus talks
about in the parables: God’s invitation, God’s word falls on a rocky surface,
it sounds like a great plan, but… our hearts are hardened by all our
preoccupations. These are certainly legitimate, but God’s message is: “Let me
in! Let me dwell within your heart! Just trust me!”
The only thing God asks of us is to
let Him in our hearts, in our lives, in our relationships, in our thoughts, in
our activities… God asks that we build a dwelling for him, that we are fertile
soil for God’s gifts of love and grace. If we fail, well… God’s covenant does
not state that we are faithful, but that God is! And we are always welcome back
home with a few simple words, “Forgive me Father for I have sinned.”
Let’s pray today that we accept the
grace to trust God’s unconditional love for us. The grace to put the rocks and
thorns present in our hearts and minds, in our activities and relationships, in
God’s hands to be transformed into rich soil so we can bear fruit for our own
personal growth, for our families, for our communities.
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