Homily on Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Ordinary Time
Mark 4:1-20 – The Parable of the Sower – January 30, 2019
No audio recording
- We just heard the parable of the sower, one that is very familiar to most, if not all, of us.
- Like the rabbis of his time, Jesus taught in parables
- The parables he used were images and characters taken from everyday life to create a miniature play or drama to illustrate his message.
- This was Jesus’ most common way of teaching.
- His stories appealed to the young and old, poor and rich, and to the learned and unlearned as well.
- While this story telling technique was an effective way of communicating spiritual truth to those who were open to receive it, the meaning of Jesus’ parables were often not understood by many of his hearers.
- Such was the case with today’s parable of the sower. The Lord gives us eyes to see and ears to hear the message of his kingdom only if we listen to him with faith and humility, and a willingness to be taught.
- The proud cannot see nor hear the truth of God’s kingdom because they trust in their own opinions and perception of what is true or real.
- So many intelligent people such as modern day atheists, close their minds to the truth about God and his word. They consider themselves to be too smart to believe in anything that is not observable or measurable. As a result, they are unable to receive his message, his truth, which requires the gift of faith to accept and understand.
- Our job is to sow the seed of God’s word. It is not to determine if the seed we sow will grow. Like Jesus in today’s gospel, our job is to cast the seed widely, to sow it with abandon and without concern for the cost, regardless of what we may think about the soil that’s receiving it, leaving its growth to God.
- We must never filter out those people we think will not be receptive to God’s Word. Our efforts are never wasted, even if it seems so to us.
- God can change hearts, softening even the hardest ground and transforming it into a rich, fertile soil that will nurture the seed we have sown.
- So let us pray that our hearts and minds will always be the rich soil that receives the seed of his word and produces much fruit for the kingdom of God. Let us never be hesitant to generously sow the seed of that fruit, trusting God to make it grow. God bless you.