Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, reflection at daily mass at Mary Gate of Heaven
I was telling our secretary Tahira yesterday that I felt lucky to get this gospel to preach on because it's the only gospel where Jesus gives a "homily help." He actually explains what his parable means. Jesus gives us these great images of seeds being thrown on different types of soil, and what happens to the seed when it's thrown on each type.
He says first there is the seed that's scattered on the road, Birds quickly come and snatch it away. These are people who might hear the word, but Satan snatched it away. It's easily forgotten.
Then there is seed that's thrown on rocky soil. It may grow well at first, at the moment, but the rocky soil prevents roots, and so the plants dry up. These are people who hear the word and might get great joy from the word, but because they have no roots, they haven't laid down routines or habits, and the word falls away.
And then seed sown among thorns. The word can grow but is often choked out by the thorns. These are people who hear the word but let anxieties or desires distract from the word of God.
Any of these sound familiar? For me, I'm guilty of all of these at some point or another. Jesus is calling us to seriously examine our lives and the ways we refuse to listen to God's word in our life.
I think of our friend Monday who works at the soup kitchen. He comes into our backyard occasionally to make a path into the morass just to gather rich soil. The richest soil is challenging to access, it requires patience and persistence. But like Monday in the morass, the good soil is in all of our backyards, so to speak.
It's important to get rid of distractions, but what are we replacing them with, what is the rich soil in my life that will help me listen more to the word of God in my life. For me, the biggest takeaway from this whole gospel is that God is speaking in and through all of our lives. Today, Jesus will speak to you. It might not always be obvious, but maybe he speaks to you through a friend or neighbor. I often think he speaks through children and the poor. So let us pray that we can have ears open to not only hear the Lord's word to us today but also hearts ready to respond to do his call.
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