The WORD today reminds me that I should work and prepare my life so I would be ready to bear fruit for God.
My wife took subjects on agriculture before we got married, back when we was still based in the province. One interesting fact she shared was that there are different kinds of soil. Not all will be conducive for plants and fruits. I thought any soil can be used to grow trees and flowers. Hindi pala. It depends on the kind of soil if the seeds will bear fruit. In the gospel today, Jesus uses this in the context of spiritual growth and maturity.
The sower went out to sow. He put out the same seeds to the different soil. It was the same sower, and the same kind of seed. What was different was the kind and state of the soil that received the seeds. It had a huge impact on what happened to the seeds.
The readiness and receptiveness of the soil determines what will happen to the seeds.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
We all have the same bible. We all have the same God. We all experience the great, unconditional and forgiving love of God through Jesus. However, we receive it differently. Some chose to prioritize worldly riches over spiritual ones, some allow stress and problems overwhelm us and take the focus away from God, some allow the devil to take away what God gave us. But the good ones keep everything in their hearts and lives and allow God’s seeds of love to bear fruit in their lives.
However, I believe there is a little difference with us. The kind of soil was permanent. Nothing could be dome to change it. But not with us. We may be kind of rocky or shallow right now, but we don't need to be there forever. We can change our kind of soil. We can improve. We can make the decision to be better, to exert more effort, to be more ready and receptive. However, it works both ways. Even if we may produce good fruit now, we should not be complacent. We should make the continuous effort and decision to be fruitful.
Another important thing is we should be like the seeds who died to bear fruit. In the first reading, we are reminded that what was sown will not bear fruit until it dies. We too should be ready to receive God and die of ourselves to bear good fruit. We need to die if ourselves, our wants, our dreams, and allow God to live in us. To have his way in us.
During this time of pandemic, there are a lot of ways to bear fruit. A lot are suffering. A lot need help – not just financially, but prayers and support as well. This is a time to bear good fruit for God, so spread his love to people.
How do I receive God and his word in my life? How do I prepare myself to receive him? Do I give him due importance or do I prioritize other things over him? How can improve my life as I receive Him?
May we be challenged and inspired by the fact that God gave us all his love, his word, his blessings and protection. May we prepare our hearts to receive him and allow him to bear fruit through us. May we constantly do our best to be productive and always bear good fruit for God, especially during this time of pandemic.
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to love and serve you. Thank you for all the blessings you have been continuously giving me. Thank you for the reminder and the challenge. Lord, sorry for the times I just go with the flow. Sorry for not taking steps to improve my faith and relationship with you that affect the fruits I produce. Likewise, Sorry for the times I get overconfident and lose the effort to improve my relationship with you. Help me prepare my heart to receive you all the time. Help me die of myself and allow you to live in me. Help me to always be a good soil, that your word in my life may take effect. May I be able to absorb it, give it its due importance, and allow you to bear fruit through me. Amen.
Blessed Weekend!
In Christ,
-g-
September 19, 2020
Saturday of Week 24; St. Januarius
FIRST READING
Brothers and sisters:
Someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?”
You fool!
What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.
So, too, it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.
Someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?”
You fool!
What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.
So, too, it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (14) I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.
Now I know that God is with me. In God, in whose promise I glory, in God I trust without fear; what can flesh do against me?
R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.
I am bound, O God, by vows to you; your thank offerings I will fulfill. For you have rescued me from death, my feet, too, from stumbling; that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.
Now I know that God is with me. In God, in whose promise I glory, in God I trust without fear; what can flesh do against me?
R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.
I am bound, O God, by vows to you; your thank offerings I will fulfill. For you have rescued me from death, my feet, too, from stumbling; that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.
ALLELUIA
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
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.”
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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