Qua bài đọc Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu muốn dạy chúng ta hãy nên tự xét mình, để xem coi chúng ta là loại "đất" nào khi chúng ta đón nhận lời Chúa. Một số hạt giống đã rơi vào luống đất phì nhiêu đã được cày bừa và chuẩn bị trước. Số hạt giống này sẽ được nẩy mầm, bén rễ, lớn lên, phát triển và có được năng xuất cao trong mùa thu hoạch. Nước Trời là những gì như thế. Nước Trời là hạt giống mang lại sự sống mà tất cả mọi người chúng ta mong muốn và được đón nhận. Hạt giống thiêng liêng trong một số người chúng ta đã bị dẫm đạp đến chết nghẹt bởi những người khác, bởi vì sự vô tâm hay cố tình. Tuy nhiên vẫn có nhiều người trong chúng ta có một trái tim biết rộng mở và dễ tiếp nhận. Nên Hạt giống thiêng liêng của họ sẽ được đâm chồi , nẩy lộc và phát triển với sản lượng thật phong phú.
My Wednesday 3rd in Ordinary Time - Gospel text (Mc 4,1-20):
In today’s Gospel message, helps us to examine what kind of "soil" we are. Some of the seeds will fall into rich trenches in the ploughed fields, take root, grow and produce a hundred times its own weight in harvest?.
That's what the Kingdom of heaven is like. It's a life-giving seed that everyone desires and receives it. The sacred seed in some people is crushed to death by others. But many people have an open and receptive heart. Their sacred seed will grow and produce abundant fruit.
How can we make our hearts more fertile to accepting God's word in our lives? It's all a matter of proper disposition. Once we recognize the distractions of material things, of the illusion of power, of our own selfish pride, hopefully we become more teachable.
When we prepare ourselves in humility, we become open to whatever God has in store for us. We are fertile because we accept God's love to be brought forth in us and through us that love will grow in others.
Take time, in prayer, to remember our sacred seed. Where do we feel there has been stony ground, rocks, or thorniness in your life? Where are the rich fruitful trenches? Does the word of God have a fighting chance to take root in our life? Pray to our loving God who sows his seed so generously.
“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.” Mark 4:20
This description from the Parable of the Sower seems to describe a growing number of people in our world today. The first grouping of people mentioned in this parable have little to no faith and are represented by the seed sown on the path which is quickly consumed by satan. The second group of people have a little initial faith and are represented by seed sown on rocky ground. The passage above represents the third grouping of people who are like seeds sown in good soil but are also among thorns. The fourth are those who are like rich soil and the Word of God grows deeply in their lives. Let’s consider the third grouping of people in more detail.
There are three evils that choke off the Word of God in our lives: “worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things.” In our day and age, there are many who encounter various types of anxieties, are consumed with a desire for material wealth and find themselves craving many other things. In all three cases, these interior temptations have the effect of overwhelming the pure Truth of the Word of God in their lives.
Anxiety is a common problem today. And though this is a psychological struggle much of the time, it also can have spiritual roots. Anxiety is the struggle of worrying excessively, nervousness about many aspects of life and an uneasiness about the future. In this case, when the Person of Jesus and the Truth of the Gospel message does not consume and direct our lives, we are left on our own to “figure it out.” And this loneliness will almost always lead us into a loss of hope, fear and lack of deep peace.
Most people who struggle with anxiety will constantly look for a cure. And one place they often look is the deceptive consolation of material wealth or the “craving for other things.” Imagine if you won a tremendous amount of money. Would this resolve your worries in life? Though you may be tempted to think it would, deep down we all know that this is a lie. Material wealth is never a reliable source of satisfaction in life. The same is true with almost everything else we “crave” in life. One thing and one thing alone can satisfy. And that one thing is God.
Reflect, today, upon those things in your life that seem to occupy your mental energy. What do you worry about, hope for, deeply desire? What do you falsely believe will relieve your interior struggles? What do you crave? Take time today to remind yourself of the irrefutable truth that God, His holy will and all that He has revealed as True is the only source of satisfaction. Seek to let that Truth sink in deeply in your heart so that the Truths of God will grow and bear the abundant good fruit you so deeply desire.
My merciful Lord, help me to be open fully to Your holy Word so that the seed of Your Word will be planted deeply in my heart. May I always reject the many lies and deceptions of the world so that I can be freed of the anxieties and fleeting pleasures of life. May I seek only the deep and sustaining delights that come from a life fully given over to You so that I will live in the peace and grace of Your holy will. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Three Failed Responses to God’s Word: God the Father has spread his Word throughout human history. Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, speaks about three failures to welcome the seed of the Word and bear fruit. The first failure is to be like a hardened path. Any seed that falls on the path remains outside the heart and is rejected outright. The outright indifference and rejection of God’s Word gives Satan free rein to keep the person from welcoming God’s transforming divine life. The second failure is to be like rocky ground. Unlike the hardened soil of the path, the rocky ground is welcoming soil, but it is not deep soil. This is like the person who is enthusiastic about encountering God’s Word, but whose conversion only lasts a couple weeks or months. After the initial enthusiasm passes, they quickly fall away. It is like a person who makes a New Year’s resolution, but after a month reverts to their old ways. The third failure is to be like seed sown among thorns. Unlike the hardened soil of the path, they welcome the word. Unlike the rocky soil, they have deep soil. The problem is that another type of vegetation – thorny plants – takes over. Here, Jesus identifies three things that can choke the Word and prevent it from bearing fruit: worldly cares and anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things. Which of these chokes the Word of God in my life?
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, merciful sower of all that is good, grant me the grace to receive your word with humility and obedience. You have created me in your image and invited me to be part of your Church, where “those who have ears ought to hear.” Enable your words to take root in me, and spur me to spread your Kingdom.
Pass It Down: How beautiful a grandmother’s faith is! Many of us can joyfully recall the way our grandmother had devotionals stuffed in her well-worn Bible, straining the binding or even demanding a rubber band around the whole bundle. St. Paul deeply appreciated the grandmother and mother of his precious friend, Timothy, and how they passed along their sincere faith to him. Lois and Eunice today are recalled by all of us who read the Apostle’s second letter to Timothy, and we can dream about what St. Paul would include about us if he were to write to our children or grandchildren. Have we set a courageous example that can be emulated by those who come after us? Do our words and deeds point toward Christ being at the center of our life? Would our pastor know our name as somebody who tirelessly serves our family and the Church?
Qua bài đọc Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu muốn dạy chúng ta hãy nên tự xét mình, để xem coi chúng ta là loại "đất" nào khi chúng ta đón nhận lời Chúa. Nước Trời là hạt giống mang lại sự sống mà tất cả mọi người chúng ta mong muốn được đón nhận. Hạt giống thiêng liêng trong một số người chúng ta đã bị dẫm đạp đến chết nghẹt bởi những người khác, bởi vì sự vô tâm hay cố tình. Tuy nhiên vẫn có nhiều người trong chúng ta có một trái tim biết rộng mở và dễ tiếp nhận. Nên Hạt giống thiêng liêng của họ sẽ được đâm chồi, nẩy lộc và phát triển với sản lượng thật phong phú.
Làm thế nào chúng ta có thể làm cho tâm hồn của húng ta được trở nên màu mỡ hơn, để dễ hấp thụ và phát huy Lời Chúa trong cuộc sống của chúng ta? Đó là vấn đề chúng ta phải tự sắp xếp để thích hợp, Một khi chúng ta nhận ra được những sự phiền nhiễu hay sự cám dỗ vật chất, hay ham muốn những ảo ảnh của quyền lực, của niềm tự hào, ích kỷ riêng trong mỗi người chúng ta, hy vọng chúng ta có thể nhận thức được những nết xấu đó mà cố gắng thay đổi để trở nên tốt hơn. Khi chúng ta biết chuẩn bị chính bản thân của chúng ta trong sự khiêm nhường, chúng ta sẽ cởi mở hơn và dễ chấp nhận những điều gì mà Thiên Chúa đã định sẵn hay an bài trưóc cho chúng ta. Chúng ta là thữa đất phì nhiêu, màu mỡ bởi vì chúng ta biết đón nhận tình yêu của Thiên Chúa và nhờ thế Tình Yêu của Thiên Chúa đã sinh ra và nẩy nở trong chúng ta. Và qua chúng ta, tình yêu của Thiên Chúa sẽ được sinh sôi và phát triển ở những người khác nữa.\
In today’s Gospel message, helps us to examine what kind of "soil" we are. Some of the seeds will fall into rich trenches in the ploughed fields, take root, grow and produce a hundred times its own weight in harvest?.
That's what the Kingdom of heaven is like. It's a life-giving seed that everyone desires and receives it. The sacred seed in some people is crushed to death by others. But many people have an open and receptive heart. Their sacred seed will grow and produce abundant fruit.
How can we make our hearts more fertile to accepting God's word in our lives? It's all a matter of proper disposition. Once we recognize the distractions of material things, of the illusion of power, of our own selfish pride, hopefully we become more teachable.
When we prepare ourselves in humility, we become open to whatever God has in store for us. We are fertile because we accept God's love to be brought forth in us and through us that love will grow in others.
Take time, in prayer, to remember our sacred seed. Where do we feel there has been stony ground, rocks, or thorniness in your life? Where are the rich fruitful trenches? Does the word of God have a fighting chance to take root in our life? Pray to our loving God who sows his seed so generously.
How do we listen to and hear the word of God? How often have we caught ourselves distracted or preoccupied with many other things even at Mass and prayer-time!
When asked by his disciples about the parables in his teaching, Jesus replied, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But for those outside, everything comes in parables, so that the more they see, they do not perceive; the more they hear, they do not understand; otherwise they would be converted and pardoned."
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote "that for the knowledge of any divine truth, man needs divine help. . . while human beings have the natural capacity, even this is given to man according to man's nature."
Knowledge and understating of the truth are graces from God. God's word, the seed sown by the sower, will grow only if we are completely open and allow it to take root, grow and bear fruit. In addition to learning to listen, hear and understand, the word of God must be lived in our lives.
We who have received the grace of hearing the word of God are called to allow it to grow and bear fruit. We can only bear fruit if we are rooted in Jesus, if we nourish our day with prayer and especially with the Eucharist and other helps given by Jesus through the Church.. All these graces and helps, God is ready to give to us: all we need to do is to ask.
How can we make our hearts more fertile to accepting God's word in our lives? It's all a matter of proper disposition. Once we recognize the distractions of material things, of the illusion of power, of our own selfish pride, hopefully we become more teachable.
When we prepare ourselves in humility, we become open to whatever God has in store for us. We can be sent to the most isolated places on this earth; we can find ourselves in the most challenging of circumstances; we can even encounter loneliness and despair, but we will never feel lost when we completely rely on our Lord to guide us with his teachings. We are fertile because we accept God's love to be brought forth in us and through us that love will grow in others. In that mission that we choose to partake; and on the roads he wants us to journey, that is how and where the love of God is multiplied. And the people we encounter will recognize His majesty in our little and simple ways of proceeding.
In today's parable, the different environments on which the seeds fall represent how the word of God is received and followed by those to whom it is given. The rocky ground with no roots represents those not rooted in the Gospel, causing them to be hard-hearted and close-minded when they hear the word. The thorny ground represents those who are caught up with the cares of the world, with material or earthly desires. Being too attached to material things, or perhaps being too anxious about the future, may choke out the word of God from one's consciousness.
This brings us to the seeds that fell on good soil. It is up to us to set our priorities so that Jesus's word remains the center of our lives. We do this by making room in our lives for prayer, receiving the sacraments, and doing good works. By doing so, we can assure ourselves of a bountiful spiritual harvest.
Lord, give us the grace to be ready not only to listen to your word, but to love it, keep it in our hearts, and put it into action by doing everything with great love, and for your greater glory.
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