Gospel
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 soil 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.”
Those of us who have lived for a few decades and study human behaviors, learn that human nature is constant throughout history. We can predict what most people will do given different situations.
And we know that if you want to see who a person really is, who they are at the core, watch them in adversity.
There, their maturity, discipline, nature, go-to modes of coping…are displayed. Those of us who have served in the armed forces understand this as we are tested at different points and forced to recognize who we are by our involuntary reactions.
So far I have been talking about natural human experience. But we are more than physical, emotional and mental beings. We are first spiritual beings.
St Thomas Acquinas taught that For human beings, perfection is found in discipleship to Christ.
Meaning we grow toward being who God meant for us to be when we follow Christ.
But Jesus teaches today there are many different reactions, even among those who hear the Word.
We hear this Gospel and ask ourselves who are we.
Or we say we of course are those who produce good fruit.
But it’s important for us to recognize there were more examples of how followers who heard his Word went astray than the ones who were productive.
So let’s ask ourselves today how are we doing?
Are we really living a life of fruitfulness. And what does that mean.
It should mean we bring the Word and light to others and share what Jesus has done for his. We live out a life following his teachings and structures around prayer and worship.
Is our life shaped by the world and work, and worship and prayer are just fitted in where possible?
Or have we built our days so we begin and end with prayer. We pray for and with our families. The Rosary is for the family and is a good indicator how we are doing. Are we praying with family?
As we meditate on where we belong in the parable let us ask what fruit we have produced. It should be beyond our expectations.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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