Wednesday, July 20, 2016 16th Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Jer 1: 1. 4-10 Gospel:
Matthew 13:1-9
Jesus sat by the lakeside, but such crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.
Jesus said, “The sower went out to sow and, as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where there was little soil, and the seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was not deep. But as soon the sun rose the plants were scorched and withered because they had no roots. Again other seeds fell among thistles; and the thistles grew and choked the plants. Still other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop; some produced a hundredfold, others sixty and others thirty. If you have ears, then hear!”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
The parable of the sower “rang a bell”, so to speak, with Jesus’ listeners who were mostly farmers. Jesus left them hanging about the meaning of the story by simply concluding with, “If you have ears, then hear”. But he disclosed its meaning to his disciples later. Thanks to this close-door lecture we now have a full grasp of the richness of this story.
The FOOTPATH is the heart of those who hear without understanding God’s Word (Matt. 13:18-19). Who’s to blame? It could be the person himself who makes no effort at understanding his faith. It could also be the priests how waste a lot of time delivering shallow homilies.
The ROCKY GROUND is the heart of one who receives the Word and welcomes it at once with joy. “But when some trials or some persecutions come on account of the Word, he falls away at once” (Matthew 13:20-21). The THORNY GROUND is the heart of one who hears the Word “but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the Word and so he produces nothing” (Matthew 13: 22). The GOOD SOIL is the heart of one who hears the Word and understands it; “he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty” (Matthew 13: 23).
Becoming the rich soil that the Gospel talks about seems to be a remote possibility to frail humanity. The Word of God in us is always affected by illegitimate earthly attachments. But if we make the seed of the Word grow faster and taller than the weeds of earthly desires, we can still be the soil conducive to the growth of God’s Word in us. Priority is the key. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). –(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MAPM., MMExM., REB., Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com.
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