Sowing Seed—Attentively

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflecting on the Word

By Dr. Karla J. Bellinger

Farming has changed. Imagine, just for a moment, how Jesus  might have told this parable differently today: 

A sower went out to sow. The seed was the Word of God,  precious and life-giving, too good to be scattered about without  careful preparation. Therefore, the Sower paid careful attention  to the soil: where it was rocky, he dug out the rocks; where  it was too acidic or too alkaline, he adjusted the pH. Late in  the autumn, he added three inches of manure and planted a  cover crop, which he then turned under in early March. When  planting season came, he set the seeds one by one in rows  spaced six inches apart. Where the seeds dropped on the rocky  path, he placed them back into the rich loam. He sent the sun  to shine. He watered the seeds carefully. He asked the Holy  Spirit to breathe on them each day. And before the weeds got  too big, he hoed the soil, being careful not to damage the roots  of the Word of God plants. With such personal care, the seeds  grew tall and bore fruit, a hundred-fold to the glory of God. 

What do you think? In Jesus’ original version, the message is that  our receptivity to the Word of God is what matters. In the modern  version, as God’s hands, we share in sowing the Word of God. Do  we “scatter the Word of God” without attending to the soil? As  much devotion needs to go into what is being received as to what  we are saying. Sometimes we have to be willing to sacrifice our own  assumptions to nurture the growth of others. More nourishment, a  little less acidic, a bit of weeding . . . the care with which we plant  the Word of God: it matters. 

Consider/Discuss 

  • We cannot make seeds grow; that is God’s job. But we can attend to the  conditions within which growth is most likely to occur. What have you  yourself seen? What “soil conditions” have most helped your faith to grow? 
  • The reign of God is worth our best efforts. Yet throughout Christian  history, because of this parable, “they’re not good soil” has excused  ministry that has not borne fruit. (To be fair, some soil is so acidic that  nothing will grow.) Rather than pointing a finger at others’ unreceptivity,  how can we ourselves become more adept at preparing soil?

Living and Praying with the Word 

Lord, you give us rain from heaven to water the earth. Your  showers keep the earth soft. You want your word to bear fruit; you  want it to achieve what you sent it for. We, in turn, want to serve you  and your Word. Teach us what we need to know so that the words  that we say will be living and effective. Holy Spirit, come to the aid  of our weakness so that we bear fruit that will last.

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