The one who hears the words and understands it will bear much fruit.

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our gospel for today we hear of the explanation of Jesus given for the parable of the Sower. This beautiful description helps us to live out our lives in a way that keeps us God-centered. At first, he talks about the person who, upon first hearing the word without understanding it. The Evil One will take away what is sown in his heart. What is it that is sown in his heart? It is the words of Jesus Christ, to love God and to love neighbor.  When we come to church and listen to the word of God through Scripture, we are called to attempt our best to discern what God is teaching us. The reading of scriptures often in our lives will help us to understand what God is attempting to plant into our hearts and lives. The study of scripture is vital in who we are as Christians.

Jesus goes on to talk about the seed that falls on rocky ground. At first, that person is joyful about the word of God, but lacks depth. Problems in life will take that person away from the love and service of God. This person makes other things more important than God and fails to understand that with God present in his life, he can overcome any problem and find peace in the presence of God in his life. In whatever trials we face in our life, we are to trust that God is present to us and will be able to give us that peace that can only come from Him.

Another obstacle that Jesus talks about is similar to the tribulations and persecutions that was previously spoken of: worldly anxiety and the lure of riches. We all have issues and problems that we face, and at times they seem to be insurmountable. Further, the lure of riches is a very tempting thing for us in this world. Making riches and wealth out to be more important than God removes him as the center of who we are. We are making “riches” to be an idol that replaces God in our lives.  As a result, our relationship with God cannot grow.

Finally, the Lord talks about the ‘rich soil”. We are called to attempt to be like the one who hears the word of God and attempts to live out our lives as children of God. It is then that we can yield that good harvest the Lord is talking about. The Good Harvest that Jesus is talking about is living a Christ and God Centered life, knowing that in whatever problems we may be facing, Jesus is always present to us to help us in all our needs. We just need to trust in His help during our times of need. Trusting is not always easy, but by doing so, we will feel Jesus working in our lives.

We may at various times of our lives be at different points of acceptance of God’s Word to us. When we fail to live up to being the “good soil” that Jesus talks about, we need to seek Him out and ask him to help us during our times of struggle. There will be times when our soil may be rocky. We just need to ask Jesus to clear out the “rocks” in our soil and give a soil that his clear and good that will help us in our growth towards getting closer to God in our relationship with Him and with others.