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Tag: Sower

  • JESUS SOWS IN ORDER FOR US TO GROW WITH HIM

    JESUS SOWS IN ORDER FOR US TO GROW WITH HIM

    January 27, 2021 – Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012721.cfm)

    Have you ever wondered why this parable is called the “Parable of the Sower” when in fact Jesus was mostly telling us about the soil and the seeds. It should rather be called as the Parable of the Soil or Parable of the Seeds, isn’t it? But then, it is really not. This is certainly a Parable of the Sower.

    The parable tells us about the Sower, a farmer who planted the seeds on the ground. So, let us discover a bit deeper now the identity of this Sower and his attitude towards the soil and the seeds.

    The Sower of the seeds in the parable is Jesus himself. Jesus comes to the field in order to plant the seed of the Gospel. This the good news that God has come to bring us salvation and to make us joyful forever. Yes, the good news itself is God’s offer of friendship and his gift of salvation.

    However, have you been keen enough to listen to this parable to notice how the Sower sowed the seeds? As the parable tells us, the Sower scattered the seeds all over the place. It was not just in a particular place because there were also seeds that fell on the path, on rocky grounds, and among thorns. This means that the sower was not conscious enough to just scatter the seeds in a particular good soil, prepared well for that purpose of planting. What the Sower did was to scatter the seeds all around and all over the place. This means that the sower sowed generously the seeds without discriminating the type of soil to which the seeds landed.

    Well, this might not be really the case of those sowers during the time of Jesus. They might be more conscious in scattering mostly to the good soil. However, for the purpose of the message of this parable, such attitude of the sower in this story revealed something about the God-Sower in the world.

    Yes, the actions and the attitude of the Sower with the seeds sown and with the soil, really reveals something about that Sower. Jesus tells us that the reason why he came to live among us and to die for us is not just for those who were already righteous and saints. Jesus came in order to let everyone of us, sinners and saints, good people and bad people alike, young and old, rich and poor to feel and know his love and to enjoy God’s gift of friendship.

    This reveals to us God’s generosity to each of us. God knows that we are not deserving of his love, that we are not worthy to be saved by this gracious God. Jesus knows that very well. However, this does not matter to God whether we are deserving or not. What really matters is God’s movement of love for each of us, that we will all be reconciled to God.

    This is what we have heard in today’s first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. This Letter tells us of the priesthood of Jesus and the sacrifice he had made on the cross by giving himself for our sake. The priests of the Temple of God in Jerusalem would always offer animal sacrifices pleasing to God as an atonement of the sins of the people. However, through the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, that became “one sacrifice for sins.” The life of Jesus became the very seed sown to us so that we will grow in friendship with God, reconciled and forgiven.

    Thus, Jesus chooses to sow and plant his love in each of us because God is giving us chances. God gives us the opportunity to change and to choose Him. God gives us the chance to choose life rather than death, to choose to be happy rather than to be angry and sad, to choose to be fruitful rather than to be fruitless, to choose hope rather than fear, to choose freedom from sin rather than imprisonment from it, to choose love rather than hatred. For this reason, Jesus sows in order for us to grow with him.

    This attitude of God gives us the confidence now that even God has hopes for us. God sees hope in each of us. God sees potentials in us. God is so hopeful for you and me that we will not remain drowning by our own fears, failures and sins. This is the good news for us today because Jesus is abundantly sowing his love and mercy for us.

    May I invite you now that as we offer our prayers to Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, who allowed the presence of God to grow in her heart, like her, let us observe few moments of silence in reflecting and relishing the generosity of Jesus, the God-Sower of hope and of many chances. Hinaut pa.

  • LISTEN TO HIM

    LISTEN TO HIM

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    July 12, 2020 – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (

    Homily

    As we struggle with the day to day challenges CoVID 19 virus has posted us, perhaps we also wonder what would be the best guidance and advice God is giving us at this time. Life amidst CoVID 19 virus has been constricted and stressful. We find ourselves mostly reactive to the reality that we think about whether our actions are in sync with God’s will and plan. So, what would be the best  way for us to be always online with God?

    Our Scripture and Christian faith tradition have a very simple instruction: LISTEN TO HIM.

    We remember many instances in Jesus life that the challenge of us listening to Him has been clearly given importance. At the beginning of His public ministry to proclaim the good news of salvation, Jesus said: “Today these words come true as you listen.” Also during the Lord’s transfiguration, the disciples heard God instructing them: “This is my beloved Son, whom my favor rests. Listen to Him”. And in our gospel today, in telling and explaining to us the parable of the sower, Jesus challenges us “Whoever has ears ought to hear”.

    Our listening is indeed crucial to our faith-life. By listening to Jesus – God’s word for us, as our first reading suggest, we are part of and in line with God’s work of salvation and can benefit from the fruits of His labor. Paul reminds us that being connected with Christ assures us that “the suffering now are nothing compared with the glory to be revealed.” Jesus in our gospel made known to us how blessed and privilege we are for our faith makes us see and hear what “many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Same way as any loving relationship, good listening and communication are very important to our faith relationship with God.

    Simple as it maybe, but we do have some problems with listening. Experience teaches us that in life it is not always easy to listen. We may have heard what has been said but we may have not listened to it. Or, it could happen that the other have not yet fully said what he wants to say or we may not yet have fully listen to him, we are already thinking of what and how are we going to respond to the other. It could also happen that while we are listening to the other, there are a lot of noisy things and concerns that we are also listening to and hearing with. It is very true that we do have limited listening span and selective hearing. Meaning, we listen only in our limited ways, and listen to what we want to hear from what was being said. That is why selective and limited listening or not enough listening would resort to conflict, tensions and misunderstandings. We heard what has been said but do we listen to it? We may have heard it but are we listening to what has been said?

    For instance, our gospel today is not anymore new to us. We are already familiar and have known about the Parable of the Sower. Surely many times we have already heard this parable. In fact, of all the parables that Jesus have already told us, the parable of the sower is among the few parables which he gave an explanation. True we may already heard this parable before and may have already understood its meaning. But did we listen to it? Are we listening to it? If we don’t see and hear it calling us to listen, then we are not listening and don’t get it.

    Long before it was written and read, God’s words are primarily spoken and proclaimed to us and are meant to be heard and listen by us. The mission of Jesus is to speak, preach and proclaim the God’s Word, the Good News of Salvation. Meaning, our rightful response to God’s Word being preached to us is first to listen to it. Only through our listening that we could understand, and in effect benefit and enjoy the fruits of God’s salvation. Like David, if we want to taste and see God’s glory and salvation, we should learn how to listen intently to God’s Message and Plans through Jesus, His word. For those who listen well, they bear much fruits.

    Jesus has thus already done and doing His part in Proclaiming God’s words. Ours now is to do our part in listening and obeying God’s Word. Let anyone of us then who have ears: Listen, and heed what we hear.

    Amidst our now noisy worrisome and depressing pandemic world, may we be more sensitive to listen God’s message & plans, thus be guided and inspired to rightly respond to its challenges for our trying times. Amen.

    (By: Fr. Aphelie Mario Masangcay CSsR, a Filipino Redemptorist  Missionary stationed in Gwangju South Korea, though now still stranded in Cebu until further notice for available flights.)