Matthew 13: 18-23
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Tilling the Soil
I grew up on a Midwestern farm, so Jesus’s frequent references to agrarian culture strike a chord with me. The parable of the sower in today’s Gospel reminds me of my brother pointing at a field of stunted soybeans and saying, “That guy’s not a very good farmer.”
Reading Matthew’s account might suggest our spiritual growth is dependent on the soil where we land, a bit like the zinnia seeds I flung randomly about my yard. But alas, we must consider our own role in partnership with the Divine Sower.
We avoid the rocky terrain and clear the thorns. We struggle to endure through trouble and persecution. We prepare soil where our roots may grow deep. We avoid the lure of riches and worldly anxieties that rob our healthy growth. Are we tilling our soil daily with prayer, generosity, good works, and silence, so that it will grow rich and bear much fruit?
—Effie Caldarola has a master’s degree in pastoral studies from Seattle University. She was a longtime columnist for Catholic News Service and now writes for OSV.
Prayer
Jesus, as summer’s bounty fills our gardens and farmers’ markets, may we feel in nature’s abundance our own call to till the soil of our lives well. May we daily sow and tend our seeds with care so that our yield will be a hundredfold.
—Effie Caldarola