Is.55:10-11 | Ps.65:10-14 | Rom.8:18-23 | Mt.13:1-23

Jesus uses the idea of a farmer sowing seeds to explain the kingdom of heaven. God is the sower, and God always sows bountifully. It is up to us to provide good soil so that God’s word will grow in us and produce fruit a hundred or sixty or thirty fold. Isaiah reminds us that God’s word comes to each of us in the same manner that rain or snow fall and water the earth. So God not only sows the Word but waters it and provides all the nutrients needed. We need to be open so that the Word of God will not fall on deaf ears as it did in the time of Jesus and the time of Isaiah.

Paul tells us that all he endured, the sufferings and struggles, are nothing when compared with what will be received at the end. Paul is inviting us to enter into the daily struggle and to do it with Christ so that we can enjoy the future with Christ as well.

Spend time today reflecting on your openness to God in the scriptures, the liturgy, the events of the day, the people you encounter. Is your heart open to be able to hear this word and respond with love and joy? If not, what will you do to change?