Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Reflection for Saturday September 17, Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time; Luke 8:4-15

Gospel: Luke 8:4-15
When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable. “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, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.

“This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”
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Reflection:
What is the essence of life if it’s not lived within the love of God? A meaningful life is always a life lived within the ambit of the love of God. If we live life outside of the ambit of God’s love life automatically becomes meaningless. Even if we have all the material wealth if we have no God life is still without meaning.

Jesus gives us a parable about the seeds that fell on four different surfaces. The first three surfaces were empty of the presence of God therefore the seeds that fell on these surfaces eventually died.

The fourth surface or soil is the perfect one because it is the good and productive soil. Don’t we also want to be connected with this productive soil? When we are connected with this good soil everyone who will know and come across our life will be enlightened as well and will be a channel of enlightenment for others.

We can only become good and productive citizens of this world if we will always be in touch with Jesus. Which is actually no other than the good soil which everyone of us should strive to be connected.   

For without connection to the giver of the real meaning of life we wouldn’t be able to grow in wisdom. And we certainly will not become productive citizens of this temporal world. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

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