First Reading - 1 Corinthians 15:35-37,42-49
Gospel - Luke 8:4-15
The first reading is a continuation of the theme of the resurrection. This passage reveals the nature of resurrection that we will all possess after our earthly life. Paul explains that the resurrection is not material or physical but is spiritual. He further cites the example of Jesus that the resurrected body of Jesus was spiritual (It does not mean mere spirit but for Paul spiritual body is not purely material but is a body dominated by the spirit).Hence, Paul embodies the resurrected body of Jesus as our destiny after the end of this life. It is important to mark that to share in the life of Christ we also should imitate Jesus in his action. The gospel exposes the kind of life Jesus chose and we are invited to choose in order to share the life of Christ in his resurrection.
Today’s Gospel passage gives us the parable of the sower, the seeds sown, and the yield depending upon the type of soil. It is the first parable of Jesus in the New Testament about the Kingdom of Heaven. It is also a parable interpreted by Jesus Himself. This parable was intended as a warning to the hearers to be attentive, and to the apostles to be hopeful, about Jesus’ preaching in the face of growing opposition to Jesus and Jesus’ ideas. The sower is God—through Jesus, the Church, the parents, and the teachers. The seed sown is the high-yielding word of God which is also “a sharp sword” (Is. 49: 2), “two-edged sword” (Heb 4: 12), and “fire and hammer” (Jer 23:29).
The hardened soil on the footpath represents people with minds closed because of laziness, pride, prejudice, or fear. The soil on flat rock pieces represents emotional types of people who go after novelties without sticking to anything and are unwilling to surrender their wills to God. “I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19). The soil filled with weeds represents people addicted to evil habits and evil tendencies, those whose hearts are filled with hatred and jealousy or the greed that makes them interested only in acquiring money by any means and in enjoying life in any way possible. The good and fertile soil represents well-intentioned people with open minds and clean hearts, earnest in hearing the word and zealous in putting it into practice. Zacchaeus, the sinful woman and the thief on Jesus’ right side, St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Francis Xavier, among others, fall into this category of the good soil.
Let us become the good soil and produce hundred-fold harvests by earnestly hearing, faithfully assimilating and daily cultivating the word of God we have received, so that the Holy Spirit may produce His fruits in our lives.
We should also remind ourselves that the parable of the sower is also a depiction of how Jesus chose to live his life; according to the will of the Father and remained faithful till the end. Jesus himself represents the good soil who, by remaining obedient to the Father, taught us how to remain obedient to Him and bear much fruits. If we are able to get steeped in the category of the good soil, certainly we will also share life with Christ in the end. The resurrection to Jesus was the confirmation of his faithfulness so also will be for us.
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