The Sower and the Seeds

07-12-2020Weekly ReflectionFr. Arul Doss

I thank all for your warm welcome with your words and especially with your smiles. I am very happy to come in contact with all through this my first bulletin writing.

In the fifteenth week to Ordinary Sunday, Jesus gives us the parable of a sower, sowing seeds and an explanation, which comes from Saint Matthew. There are people who don’t understand the word of the kingdom and the evil comes and steals away what was sown in the heart. The second group are those who hear the word and receive it immediately with joy but when difficulties come, these peopleimmediately fall away.

Hopefully we are not like that either. There are people who hear the word but then anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. We might be like that but we can hope not. We want to be like the last person mentioned: a person who hears the wordand understands it and who bears fruit!

Jesus is not telling us a parable to condemn us but to invite us to change our ways of living so that we can be more consistently in that last group: hearing and responding to the word and bearing fruit in our lives.

We heard in the first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, that God’s word will accomplish the end for which it was sent. This sounds as if it is automatic. Rather than automatic, this word of God will continue to work on us for our whole life, seeking to draw us to the Lord. What lacks is our cooperation. We
should not be surprised by that. Instead, we must do our part to cooperate with the word: begin the spiritual combat which means to fight all within us that is against the word. Our Christian life is a life of combat against ourselves and against all the cultural values which are not in accord with the word of God.

Let us give thanks to the Lord for His teachings to us this day. Let us continue to prepare our lives so that we may receive God’s word and respond to it.