GOSPEL POWER - JANUARY 27, 2021 - WEDNESDAY

SAINT ANGELA MERICI, VIRGIN

Gospel: Mk 4:1-20 

 Again Jesus began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.  He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:  “Listen! 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 did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away.  Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.  Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”  And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

REFLECTION

The mysterious farmer of the parable seems to have an unlimited supply of seed, so that he can scatter it liberally, without choosing where it would fall. From the human point of view, his mode of farming is careless, wasteful and simply overlooks the return on investment. Jesus identifies the seed as the word, though he does not explicitly name the sower. What word is spoken to us again and again, to the point of redundancy, in whatever season of our life? It must be God’s invitation to enter into an intimate relationship with him. For this is what the Kingdom is all about — God’s loving paternity. The invitation is addressed to all, both to the receptive and the unreceptive. God offers us unlimited chances to respond. For as long as we live, we will experience the seed falling upon the ground of our heart, and the sower waiting patiently until the seed takes root, matures and yields a good harvest.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, transform the rocky and thorn-infested soil of our heart into fertile ground that welcomes the word. Amen.