Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Mt 13: 1-9
July 26, 2023 | Wednesday

Today’s Gospel

That same day, Jesus left the house and sat down by the lakeside. 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 the 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!”

Today’s Reflection:

He spoke to them in parables. It is a reality that parables are stories that have hidden meanings in them. A sin the case of Jesus’ parable, it speaks of the reality of the kingdom of God. Today’s parable addresses and accounts for the mixed response Jesus’ preaching of the kingdom is receiving. It meets head-on with the discouragement the disciples felt whenever they thought that often, their efforts seem wasted or without lasting effect. Like the sower, Jesus continues to share the word widely because of His confidence that when and where the ‘seed’ does strike home, the ‘harvest’ for the kingdom is so overwhelmingly great as to compensate for all the earlier losses. What is your heart’s response to the word you hear? How would you describe the harvest of the word you received?   /Vulnerasti, 2023