WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2010 - THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
2 SAMUEL 7:4-17
The Lord spoke to Nathan and said, “Go,
tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Should you build me a house to dwell
in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day on which I led the Israelites out
of Egypt to the present, but I have been going about in a tent under cloth. In
all my wanderings everywhere among the Israelites, did I ever utter a word to
any one of the judges whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask, Why have
you not built me a house of cedar?’
“Now then, speak thus to my servant David, ‘The Lord of hosts has this to
say, It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be
commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I
have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the
great ones of the earth. I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant
them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither
shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, since the time I
first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your
enemies. The Lord also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your
heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is
he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm
forever. I will be a father to him and he shall be a son to me. And if he does
wrong, I will correct him with the rod of men and with human chastisements; but
I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from your predecessor
Saul, whom I removed from my presence. Your house and your kingdom shall endure
forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.'"
Nathan reported all
these words and this entire vision to David.
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MARK 4:1-20
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd
gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the
whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in
parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A
sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the
birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little
soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun
rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among
thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some
seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded
thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to
hear.”
And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about
the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been
granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that they
may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in
order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”
Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you
understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on
the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and
takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground
who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no
roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes
because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are
another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the
lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and
it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word
and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."
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Today's parable is one of my favorites. I like to garden so I can relate to the
story with my own experience. It is significant to me that the farmer scatters
the seed where he must know it will not grow. It seems wasteful to scatter seed
along the path, on rocky ground or among thorns. Why not just scatter the seed
on the good soil? Remembering that the sower is God brings meaning to this
apparent wasteful behavior. God sows the seed of his Word generously, even
where it most likely will not take root. Are we to understand this to mean that
God sows his Word in everyone's heart, or simply that most who have the seed
planted in them will not see it bear fruit? Either way we see the generous love
of God for all.
What I relate to most, however, is the differing types of soil. While the seed
cannot produce fruit on the footpath, in rocky soil, or among thorns, none of
these soils types are lost causes. The footpath can be tilled and composted and
other natural materials added to make it rich enough to produce fruit. Part of
my garden at home used to be lawn. I took the sod off and each year tilled in
compost from the previous year's leaves and table scraps. The soil is now rich
and instead of hardpan, I now have soil that has to be retained by a brick edge
I added so the soil would not spill into my driveway. The rocky ground can be
worked by removing the largest rocks and again adding compost and mulch. The
thorns can simply be pulled up.
The point is, we can make our soil what ever we want it to be. We can make
ourselves more receptive to God's Word planted in our hearts. We soften our
hearts through the discipline of prayer. We add the "compost" of the sacraments
to nourish the soil. But even good soil needs constant care. Weeds will grow up
to try to choke of the Word. Therefore, we need to constantly weed out of our
lives those "thorns", "anxieties over life's demands, and the desire for wealth,
and cravings of other sorts" that seem to continually invade our spiritual life.
God plants the seed of faith in our hearts. He even adds rain and nutrients
through his sacraments and his ever lasting grace. The condition of the soil is
up to us. We can allow the soil of our hearts to deteriorate to the point that
the seed cannot take root, or we can become diligent in tilling and composting
the soil so that the seed produces thirty-sixty-and a hundredfold.
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Heavenly Father, we thank you for the seed of faith planted in our
hearts. Help us to be vigilant in caring for the seed and nourishing the soil
of our hearts that the seed may bear fruit for your Kingdom