but when the sun rose and burned it, it withered, because it had no roots. Other seed fell among thorn bushes;
and the thorns grew and choked it; so it didn’t produce any grain. But some seed fell on good soil, grew and increased and yielded grain;
some seed produced thirty times as much, some sixty, and some one hundred times as much.” And Jesus added, “Listen then, if you have ears.”
When the crowd went away, some who were around him with the Twelve asked about the parables.
He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But for those outside, everything comes in parables, so, that,
the more they see, they don’t perceive; the more they hear, they don’t understand; otherwise they would be converted and pardoned.”
Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How, then, will you understand any of the parables?
What the sower is sowing is the word. Those along the path, where the seed fell, are people who hear the word, but as soon as they hear it,
Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
Other people receive the word like rocky ground. As soon as they hear the word, they accept it with joy. But they have no roots,
so it lasts only a little while. No sooner does trouble or persecution come because of the word, than they fall.
Others receive the seed, as seed among thorns. After they hear the word, they are caught up in the worries of this life, false hopes of
riches and other desires. All these come in and choke the word, so that finally it produces nothing.
And there are others who receive the word as good soil. They hear the word, take it to heart and produce: some thirty, some sixty,
and some one hundred times as much.”
REFLECTION:
An experienced farmer knows very well that a fertile soil yields much harvest. Only foolish people sow seeds on rocky ground or among thorns.
This gives us an important lesson in life: for our life to be meaningful and fruitful, it has to be rooted on a fertile soil,
which is the Word of God, Jesus Christ himself. Flowers bloom in the morning but withers away in the evening. Nothing lasts in this world.
If we hold on to perishable things, we perish with it. If we hold on to things that endure until eternity, we will have eternal life.
Earthly goods perish but the love of the Lord endures forever.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020