Dear Sisters and Brothers,
The theme for this Sunday’s liturgy is introduced through Prophet Isaiah to whom the Lord spoke: “my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the purpose for which I sent it.” The prophet compares the effectiveness of God’s word to the rain and snow which water the earth and bring forth fruit. What wonderful imagery for a desert people! God’s word likened to rain on a parched land; a rain which can transform what is lifeless and hopeless!
Both the Old Testament and New Testament are full of references to the importance of God’s Word in our life. Prophet Jeremiah speaks of the suffocation that he feels if he does not mention the Lord or speak any more in his name. “But then it is as if fire is burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding back, I cannot! (Jer. 20:9) The letter to the Hebrews speaks of the word of God as living and active. It is sharper than any double-edged sword and it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit.
The two main ways to apply the word of God to our Christian lives is what it says to us as disciples called to holiness of life and what it says to us as apostles summoned to share the faith with everyone so that they may be holy. The powerful words of Jesus in the Gospel about both of these areas are contained in today’s Parable of the Sower and the Seed.
Jesus today, is inspiring us to take a soil sample of our hearts, to help determine how we receive and respond to him, to all that he teaches us, and to all that he seeks to do in our life. He is the Sower who goes out to sow. He ultimately sows himself like a “grain of wheat” (Jn 12:24): he sows his word, his grace, and tries to implant that within us and within the world. But the way we respond to those gifts varies.
At every Eucharist, God plants in us the seed of Jesus’ word, so that we might be the good soil and produce abundant fruit, like our Blessed Mother, like the Apostles, like all the saints and holy men and women! Jesus is the Word of God that becomes flesh and comes to us in the Eucharist! May we all, as true disciples, receive His Word into the fruitful soil of our hearts and bear abundant fruit!
United in prayer,
Fr. Joy Jacob, SDB