20th September 2014 Daily Reading & Meditation Reading : 1 Cor 15:35-37, 42-49; Psalm 100 . 1-5 He who has ears to hear, let him hear Gospel : Luke 8:4-15 4 And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold. As he said this, he called out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 1st Reading. 1 Cor 15:35-37, 42-49. [The Resurrection Body] 35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”[a]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we[b] bear the image of the heavenly man. Reflection : Luke 8:4-15 We saw yesterday that Jesus was going around preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, accompanied by his twelve chosen disciples and a number of women who supported the work. Jesus, we are told, is surrounded by people who have come from every nearby city. There is an intimation of universality, ‘catholicism’, about the message he is going to give. We are given an example of some of the teaching that he was giving them. It takes the form of a parable, the well-known parable of the sower. As in Matthew’s version, the parable is told in two stages. The first is the parable itself. The emphasis is on the sower sowing. He scatters the seed all over – as Jesus is now doing with the people. Some of it falls on the path, some on rocks, some among brambles and some on good soil. It describes a typical situation in Palestine at the time. The field was largely a public place, at least while it was fallow. So there were paths meandering across it where people took short cuts. The land was not very fertile so there were pieces of rock jutting out of the soil. In the fallow season, it was not looked after and wild plants like brambles grew up. Also, unlike other farming cultures, the sowing took place before the ploughing. The central message is that, even though some of the seed that the sower plants will wither and die, there is some which will find fertile soil and flourish. So it is with the Word of God and the Word of Jesus. It is a message of confidence and hope for the future of the Kingdom. In the Gospel, it is Jesus’ disciples who are the fertile soil. As he finished the parable Jesus called out to all, inviting them to hear. He did not mean that they just physically hear. They are meant to listen carefully, to assimilate fully and to implement effectively all that he says. He is the Sower, the seed is the Word, those spoken to are the soil. Clear and all as it is, the disciples ask for an explanation of the parable. Jesus tells them that the inner secrets of the Kingdom are for them. Why this privilege? Because they are disciples, because they are followers, because they are ready to listen. The rest hear in parables and only in parables: seeing, they do not see; hearing, they do not understand. They do not really want to see or hear because, as the Gospel says elsewhere, if they were to see and understand, they would have to turn their lives around and they are not ready for that. The disciples are those who have done just that; they have left their boats, their nets and their families, their security and gone with Jesus. That is what seeing and hearing means. Then follows the explanation which really carries the original parable further than its simple message. Whereas in the parable the emphasis was on the sower, here the emphasis is very much on the soil which receives the seed. Each example is made to represent a particular way in which the message is received or not. The seed that falls on the path is like those who hear the word but it is snatched away from them before they have even a chance to respond. The overwhelming pagan world around them was just too strong an attraction. The seed that falls on the rock where there may be some moisture in the crevices is like those who hear the word with great enthusiasm and joy. But they are not able to put down any long-lasting roots and, at the first hint of opposition or temptation, they fall away. They represent the many Christians who must have given up under the pressures of persecution. The seed that falls among the brambles represents those who do hear and accept the word. But, gradually the pressure of the secular world and its values is too much. They try to live in both worlds at once but are gradually choked up with concerns about money and material and social wants and the pursuit of pleasure. Eventually, the word dies in them. Many Christians today could identify with this group. The seed that falls on good soil represents those who hear the word in all openness and accept it fully. The word takes root deep within them and overflows in all kinds of good works. It is quite clear to which group we are called to belong. To which one, in fact, should I honestly identify myself? How good are you at listening, especially for the word of God? God is always ready to speak to each of us and to give us understanding of his word. Jesus parable of the sower is aimed at the hearers of his word. There are different ways of accepting Gods word and they produce different kinds of fruit accordingly. You may have a prejudiced hearer hence has a shut mind. As such you are unteachable and blind to the things of God. Then there you may be the shallow hearer who fail to think things out or think them through; as such you will lack spiritual depth. You may initially respond with an emotional fervor; but when it wears off, your mind wanders to something else. Does Gods word for you go in one ear and out the other? You may be the type of hearer who has many interests and cares, and so lacks the ability to hear and understand what is truly important. As such you are for ever too busy to pray and to listen and reflect on Gods word because you allow other things to occupy your mind and heart. Whose voice or message gets the most attention from you - the voice of the world with its many distractions or the voice of God who wishes to speak his word of love and truth with you each and every day? A receptive heart and mind that listens attentively - Jesus compares the third type of hearer with the good soil that is ready to receive the seed of his word so it can take root and grow, and produce good fruit. A receptive heart and open mind are always ready to hear what God wants to teach us through his word. The ears of their heart and the eyes of their mind search out the meaning of Gods word. If you are such a person the word will grow and produce good fruit in your lives. You hear with a listening ear and teachable spirit (Isaiah 50:4-5) that want to learn and understand the intention of Gods word for you. You will strive to tune out the noise and distractions of the world around you so you can give your attention to Gods word and find nourishment in it. You listen in order to understand. So Gods word has the power to change and transform each one of us if we receive it with trust (a believing heart) and allow it to take root in our inner being (the depths of our heart, mind, and soul). Gods word is our daily food to nourish and strengthen us on our journey of faith to his everlasting kingdom. Do you hunger for Gods word? Lord Jesus, faith in your word is the way to wisdom, and to ponder your divine plan is to grow in the truth. Open my eyes to your deeds, and my ears to the sound of your call, that I may understand your will for my life and live according to it. Psalm 100 . 1-5 1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! 5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 00:39:26 +0000
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