Sower and Seeds

Some rights reserved by madison.murphy

It is human nature to tune out the familiar. This is certainly a possibility with the Parable of the Sower in today’s gospel. How many times have you left mass and a few hours later you can’t remember the priest’s homily, let alone the gospel reading?

I don’t intend to write about being distracted at mass, although that would be a good topic for a future post. Instead, I want to reflect on the meanings of today’s gospel. I believe there are two ways we can look at the parable. First, we can see ourselves as the seeds and how we respond to God’s word. Secondly, we can see ourselves as the sower who plants the seeds of Christ's goodness in the hearts of others.

We Are the Seeds

Jesus describes four types of seeds.  The first seeds fall on the pathway, which is so packed that the seed cannot penetrate the surface at all. These seeds represent those who are so closed off to hearing the word of God that they don’t let anything in. They want to do things their way. The second set of seeds fall upon shallow soil and do not take root so they whither when they sprout. A fellow debate coach shared Father Robert Vallee’s homily with me via email. Father Vallee, who is a professor of philosophy at St. John Vianney College Seminary, asserted these are the people who “get all excited about something and then, just as quickly, get bored and drop it.” Father Vallee pointed out in his homily that Christianity is not just an emotional search. Instead, it is also an intellectual one that requires we use reasoning, through faith, to permit ourselves to be properly formed and informed. The thorns choke out the third set of seeds. I think a lot of times we allow ourselves to be like these seeds. We hear the word of God and we believe, but we allow all the distractions of our life to get in the way of putting the gospel into action. Finally, the fourth set of seeds falls on good soil.  Like fertile soil, these Christians are those who are receptive to the word of God and allow it to form them and they in turn bear fruit by sharing what they have received.

We Are the Sower

The second lesson we can take from this parable is that we are also the sower. It is not enough to simply receive God’s word, we must also “bear much fruit” (John 15:8). Christ is calling us all to be his disciples and to evangelize “to all nations” (Matthew 28:19). This doesn’t mean that we all have to stand on street corners preaching or go minister to foreign lands, although some, like our daughter Tiffany, may be called to do that. Most of us are called to evangelize precisely where we are. Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta used to say “bloom where you are planted.” This is the essence of our response to the universal call to holiness: to share our faith, to share Christ with others in our ordinary every day interactions. I like what St. Josemaria Escriva said in The Way about discipleship: “Among those around you — apostolic soul — you are the stone fallen into the lake. With your word and your example you produce a first circle... and it another... and another, and another... Wider each time.
Now do you understand the greatness of your mission?”

What type of seeds are you sowing in your interactions at home and work?