A Reflection for Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Find today’s readings here.
“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.” - Mark 4:3-8
There are two ways to consider the parable in today’s Gospel reading. The first is to see the sowing of the seed, or the spreading of the word of God, as a singular event. Jesus calls you and you are either ready (the soil is rich) or you are not (the ground is rocky).
This is probably how Jesus’ followers heard his parable. The arrival of the son of God was a one-of-a-kind event, and you either got on the bus or you didn’t. Think of the rich man who wanted to follow Jesus but would not give away his possessions. He lost his chance. The soil was thorny and it choked the word.
But think of the parable from the perspective of today’s Christian. We have the chance, every day, to hear the word of God. Every day the sower is out there, spreading the word. So therefore we have a chance, every day, to respond—or not.
So how is your soil looking? Rocky? Rich? Maybe a little from column A and a little from column B?
For me, the soil is full of thorns. Jesus says, “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.”
Boy, has he got my number.
So how do we work on our soil, so that when the word is spoken, we are ready to hear it? It begins by keeping an eye on those thorns: Anxiety. A craving for things and riches.
Looks like I have some pruning to do.
