First reading 1 Timothy 6:13-16
I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told
Before God the source of all life and before Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who at the due time will be revealed
by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all,
the King of kings and the Lord of lords,
who alone is immortal,
whose home is in inaccessible light,
whom no man has seen and no man is able to see:
to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm 99(100)
Come before the Lord, singing for joy.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Go within his gates, giving thanks.
Enter his courts with songs of praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.
Gospel Luke 8:4-15
The parable of the sower
With a large crowd gathering and people from every town finding their way to him, Jesus used this parable:
‘A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on the edge of the path and was trampled on; and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on rock, and when it came up it withered away, having no moisture. Some seed fell amongst thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell into rich soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.’ Saying this he cried, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’
His disciples asked him what this parable might mean, and he said, ‘The mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the rest there are only parables, so that
they may see but not perceive,
listen but not understand.
‘This, then, is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and then the devil comes and carries away the word from their hearts in case they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not reach maturity. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.’
________________________________
Speak. Your servant is listening
Do we pay attention to the Word of God? Or do we pay more attention to the messages on our handphones? Today, Jesus tells us how we fail to take the Word of God seriously and allow it to impact and transform our lives. The ways are like the seeds that fall on the path: Those who hear but do not keep the Word in their hearts; the rock: those who listen but whose faith is too shallow to allow the Word to take root and grow; and the thorns: those who listen, assimilate but the worldly pressures choke the Word. The good soil receives the seeds and allows them to take root and grow. We are called to be like the good soil. Are we?
In the gospel, we have people, like Mother Mary, Matthew, Zacchaeus, the Samaritan woman, etc. They are examples of fertile soils who listened carefully, assimilated fully and implemented effectively all that Jesus said. Today, let us listen to what Jesus has to say to us.
Reflective question:
Which soil am I at this point of my faith journey?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
