Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Mt 13: 1-23
July 16, 2023 | Sunday

Today’s Gospel

That same day, Jesus left the house and sat down by the lake – side. Many people gathered around him. So he got into a boat, and sat down, while the crowds stood on the shore; and he spoke to them in parables about many things. Jesus said, “The sower went out to sow; and, as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path; and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil, and the seeds sprouted quickly, because the soil was not deep. But as soon as the sun rose, the plants were scorched; and they withered, because they had no roots. Again, other seeds fell among thistles; and the thistles grew and choked the plants. Still, other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop: some a hundredfold, others sixty, and others thirty. If you have ears, then hear!”

Then his disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to these people. For the one who has will be given more; and he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has. That is why I speak to them in parables; because they look and do not see; they hear; but they do not listen or understand. In them, the words of the prophet Isaiah are  fulfilled: However much you hear, you do not understand; however much you see, you do not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears hardly hear and their eyes dare not see. If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their heart, they would turn back, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes, be cause they see; and your ears, because they hear. For I tell you, many prophets and righteous people have longed to see the things you see, but they did not see them; and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them.

Now listen to the parable of the sower. When a person hears the message of the kingdom, but does not take it seriously, the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed that fell along the footpath. The seed that fell on rocky ground stands for the one who hears the word, and accepts it at once with joy. But such a person has no roots, and endures only for a while. No sooner is he harassed or persecuted because of the word, than he gives up. The seed that fell among the thistles is the one who hears the word; but then, the worries of this life and the love of money choke the word; and it does not bear fruit. As for the seed that fell on good soil, it is the one who hears the word and understands it; this seed bears fruit and produces a hundred, or sixty, or thirty times more.”

Today’s Reflection:

In today’s gospel, Jesus describes how humanity accepts His words through the use of a parable. For many hearts, the word suffers the fate of the seed that gets snatched away. But when the word finds a receptive heart, the way is set for the arrival of the kingdom in the extraordinary fullness described. The parable clearly implies that for Jesus, the primary address of the kingdom is to the human heart. The
beginning of the kingdom is conditioned by the readiness of human beings to receive it. This presupposes repentance and a change of heart. The parable addresses and accounts for the mixed responses Jesus’ preaching of the kingdom receive. From this, let us reflect— What kind of heart do you possess? Does your heart accept or reject the kingdom of God?   /Vulnerasti, 2023