Rich Soil

 When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town to 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." "This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are 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 one's the 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 the thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are chocked 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." 

Consideration: Jesus gives this treasured parable to us for inner reflection. Hearing the word of God, with all the richness contained in it, do we allow it to penetrate our hearts to the point of bursting with love for him. Do we take the treasure and bury it for another time more convenient for us; wasting away its value? Or, when hearing it, become so inflamed with the content that we are infused with to share it with everyone we come in contact with. We are the light of the world that has been overcome by darkness. We need to go out and sow seeds of faith, hope, trust, and love. We must nurture, condition, and cultivate the seeds we sow. This is an act of love; time invested will bring forth a harvest of souls for the Lord. Amen.