Daily Mass Gospel Reflection

Friends, our Gospel for today is the parable of the sower and the seed. It has to do with the growth and development of the kingdom of God. We hear that Jesus began to teach by the sea and that a very large crowd gathered around him. This is Jesus speaking to the whole world.

He then presents the parable of the sower: A sower goes out to sow, and as he sows, some of the seed falls on the path, where the birds eat it up; some falls on rocky ground, where it is scorched in the sun; some falls among thorns, where its life is choked off; and some falls on rich soil, where it bears fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

Keep in mind that Jesus himself, in person, is the seed sown. Jesus is the Logos that wants to take root in us. This seed is sown far and wide, through all sorts of means, but in you, let the seed be sown deep, where it can’t be stolen, scorched, or choked.

+++On another occasion, Jesus
began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the
sea on land.
And he taught them at length in
parables,
and in the course of his instruction
he said to them,
“Hear this! 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 had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the
was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was
scorched and it withered for lack of
roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the
thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and
produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded
thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
He added, “Whoever has ears to hear
ought to hear.”

And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them,
“The mystery of the Kingdom of God
has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything
comes in parables, so that
they may look and see
but not perceive,
and hear and
listen but not understand,
in order
that they may not be converted
and be forgiven.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not
understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of
the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where
the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at
once
and takes away the word sown in
them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky
ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it
at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last
only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution
comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another
sort.
They are the people who hear the
word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of
riches,
and the craving for other things
intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the
ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and
a hundredfold.”+++

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