The Seed Is The Word Of God

 

 Luke 8: 4-15

The Sower and the Seed

⁴ While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: ⁵ “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

⁹ His disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;
    though hearing, they may not understand.’

¹¹ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. ¹² Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. ¹⁴ The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. ¹⁵ But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

The Sower lavishly sows his seed, knowing that it will fall on various kinds of soil, some of which will yield crops and others will not.  Everyone is given a chance, as Jesus explains, but  not al; his hearers will accept his Word and bear fruit;  God has given us free will, and some hearers use that freedom to ignore the Word that is handed to them. We wonder how they can be so foolish; God must wonder too, that's why he never stops sowing.  We read in recent news that Notre Dame's head football coach was recently received into the Catholic Church and  rejoice that his faith journey has brought him "home."  It still happens to "celebrities" as well as to the "ordinary Joe or Jane",   Let us be thankful that we have so generous and persistent a Sower.

Bro. Rene