Daily Retreat 07/13/08

Is 55:10-11/Ps 64(65)/Rom 8:18-23/Mt 13:1-23 Blessed Eyes that See and Ears that Hear Having just read (or listened to) the Scripture readings for this Sunday, we all have seen or heard the word of God at least four times - that's four instances, four experiences of the word of God - just within a few minutes today!  There's something good, very good, about that, as Jesus remarks, "Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." Indeed, our eyes and our ears are blessed for having encountered and received the word of God! But note well that the Gospel also goes on to raise the issue of whether or not that word of God has penetrated beyond our external senses yet, and come to our internal senses!  That is to say, has the word of God taken root in our hearts and born fruit in our lives as it is meant to do, or has there been a poor yield or even a crop failure, meaning we have little or no fruits to show? Well, first we must consider in our lives the first possibility mentioned in the Gospel: the seed is sown on the path, but the birds come and eat it up.  That is, the word of God is sown, but there's no understanding it, for the Evil one comes and steals away the seed before it even starts to sprout.  At first glance, all of us practicing Christians, just by the very fact that we are practicing Christians, might assume that this scenario doesn't apply to us, since our faith proves that we still have the word among us, in some sense at least.   But, on the other hand, consider this question: My reflection thus far has focused on the parable of the sower from the Gospel, but what was the first reading about?  And the responsorial psalm?  And that second reading?  Remember, all of us were recently blessed with four instances of the word of God, and each of those was like a seed that could and should take root in our lives.  But too often, at best,  we merely tune in for the Gospel or most familiar reading, and we basically ignore the other readings, not even trying to understand them, because we're content to allow the Devil to steal away those other seeds God sows and shows to us.  But Isaiah reminds us (in the first reading!) that when the word goes forth from the mouth of God, His word should not return to Him void, but should achieve the end for which it was sent.  The word of God should be received and cultivated every time it comes to us, so that each seed sown leads to God's fruit grown!  So don't be content to let sinister birds steal seed intended for you! The second possibility mentioned in the parable deals with those times the seed falls on rocky ground, so it sprouts quickly, but then is soon dried up for lack of roots.  I think all of us can see a side of ourselves here:  those times we were fired up with our faith, and expressed a joyous commitment to living it fully, but then came the call to sacrifice some of our precious free time on the weekend, or to lend a helping hand or make a substantial contribution toward sowing the seed and spreading the word, and suddenly, it seemed it just wasn't worth that much to us after all.  Or perhaps an old friend or even your spouse started teasing or complaining about the fervor of your faith, and the easiest thing was just to back off, and let the fervor fizzle.  Or maybe you were miffed, or offended, or scorched and scandalized by a priest or some other who failed visibly and miserably in bringing forth good fruit, and that inexcusable failure became the excuse for falling away.  But Paul reminds us (in the second reading!) that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us!  Living our faith involves sacrifice and suffering, a real and substantial giving of ourselves, and putting up with persecution, and persevering in spite of offenses and scandals, but in the end, we have the word of God to assure us it's all worth it!  So don't be content to let your faith wither because of rocky grounds! The third possibility concerns those times when the seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.  Again, there's at least a bit of all of us here: those many times we made a firm resolution that from now on, we were going to make more time for God in our lives, we were going to go to confession and uproot sin in our lives, we were going to read the Bible every day, we were going to do so many good things to grow in our faith, and the potential was certainly all there, but as Jesus saw and said so clearly, "The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word, and it bears no fruit."  So don't be content to let worldly weeds for you choke God's marvelous seeds for you! You see,  no seed of God's word need be eaten by birds, or fall to rocky grounds, or be choked by worldly weeds.  Because, as the psalm reminds us, "The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest!"  Blessed indeed are the eyes that see and the ears that hear the Word of God, but more blessed still is the mind that takes what is seen and heard, and cultivates that Word, so that It may take root in the heart, and bring forth a hundredfold yield!