First reading Hebrews 10:11-18
Jesus achieved the eternal perfection of all whom he is sanctifying
All the priests stand at their duties every day, offering over and over again the same sacrifices which are quite incapable of taking sins away. He, on the other hand, has offered one single sacrifice for sins, and then taken his place forever, at the right hand of God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made into a footstool for him. By virtue of that one single offering, he has achieved the eternal perfection of all whom he is sanctifying. The Holy Spirit assures us of this; for he says, first:
This is the covenant I will make with them
when those days arrive;
and the Lord then goes on to say:
I will put my laws into their hearts
and write them on their minds.
I will never call their sins to mind,
or their offences.
When all sins have been forgiven, there can be no more sin offerings.
Responsorial Psalm 109(110):1-4
You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the Lord will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”
You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
Gospel Mark 4:1-20
The parable of the sower
Jesus began to teach by the lakeside, but such a huge crowd gathered round him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there. The people were all along the shore, at the water’s edge. He taught them many things in parables, and in the course of his teaching he said to them, ‘Listen! Imagine a sower going out to sow. Now it happened that, as he sowed, some of the seed fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground where it found little soil and sprang up straightaway, because there was no depth of earth; and when the sun came up it was scorched and, not having any roots, it withered away. Some seed fell into thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it produced no crop. And some seeds fell into rich soil and, growing tall and strong, produced crop; and yielded thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’
When he was alone, the Twelve, together with the others who formed his company, asked what the parables meant. He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God is given to you, but to those who are outside everything comes in parables, so that they may see and see again, but not perceive; may hear and hear again, but not understand; otherwise they might be converted and be forgiven.’
He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? What the sower is sowing is the word. Those on the edge of the path where the word is sown are people who have no sooner heard it than Satan comes and carries away the word that was sown in them. Similarly, those who receive the seed on patches of rock are people who, when first they hear the word, welcome it at once with joy. But they have no root in them, they do not last; should some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, they fall away at once. Then there are others who receive the seed in thorns. These have heard the word, but the worries of this world, the lure of riches and all the other passions come in to choke the word, and so it produces nothing. And there are those who have received the seed in rich soil: they hear the word and accept it and yield a harvest, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’
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Good soil
Today’s parable illustrates the profound freedom that God grants us. He scatters the seed of His word and allows us to choose the type of soil we wish to be: whether we want to be like the hard-packed edge of the path, the inhospitable rocky ground, the overgrown thorns, or the nurturing rich soil. In the Gospel of Matthew 11:6, Jesus says: “Blessed is the one who does not lose faith in me.” By consciously choosing to be like the good soil, we actively cultivate our faith in Jesus, creating a space for His Word to flourish and take root in our hearts and lives.
Today, Jesus asks us, much like He did to His disciples, “Do you not understand this parable?” Parables are not mere stories; they are transformative narratives that beckon us to reflect and take action. We cannot afford to remain indifferent; we must make a deliberate choice: to embrace Jesus wholeheartedly or to turn our backs on Him. Each choice shapes the condition of our hearts and our relationship with Him and others.
Reflective questions:
Which soil do I identify myself right now? Why?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
