“A sower went out to sow his seed.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,
and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,
it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,
it produced fruit a hundredfold.”
After saying this, [Jesus] called out,
“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” (Lk 8:5-8)
We have heard this Gospel passage many times throughout our lives — heck, we hear it several times in a year, it seems.
We are aware of the implications, are we not?
We must “prepare our soil” for the seed that has been sown in us.
The seed, the Word of God, will not find proper soil and be able to root if we are not doing the works of God.
The corporal works of mercy [to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, to ransom the captive, and to bury the dead] and the spiritual works of mercy [to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to admonish sinners, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive offences willingly, to comfort the afflicted, and to pray for the living and the dead] are the best ways to prepare the soil of our souls to receive, nurture, and sustain the seed planted deep within our hearts.
“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” Jesus actually said that very rarely in the Gospels. When He said something like this, then, methinks He meant it!
We say we believe.
We know that God has planted the seed within each and every one of us.
It would behoove us, then, to nurture that seed so that it may produce much for the Lord.
“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
FAITH ACTION: Take a good look at the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. How many of them do you do? How many have you not made time to do yet in your life? Now might be a good time to add one more to the list of those you accomplish. Done them all already? Then teach someone else — a spouse, a child, a relative, a friend, a neighbor, a coworker — to do them as well.