Stages of Receiving

Today’s Gospel Text: And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." As he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience. Luke 8:4-15

Reflection: Perhaps, one of the best and greatest parable, not just meant for the disciples but for the whole world. Every individual must listen to this parable and understand the dynamics of the kingdom.

The fact that this parable was addressed to a great gathering of crowd is an indication of the importance of this parable. It was as if Jesus was waiting for an appropriate moment to communicate this important parable of life to the people.

What is so important about this parable which each one in this world needs to know?

The enemy at work at various stages of our Christian walk!

Whether we like it or not, the enemy is constantly at work. He is not going to bombard us or use the sword against us or kill us or put us to the slaughter. Though he may make use of people to do it but it is not the primary way in which he works.

The parable teaches us that we are already in a state of deception and the seed of God’s word which is the truth is being kept away from us by the enemy. 

He will use every trick in the book in order to prevent us from knowing the truth about ourselves and the saving grace offered by God through the great sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

The parable gives us an insight of some of the tricks used by the enemy, at various stages in our Christian walk. What happens to those who have not heard is anybody’s guess.

In the first place the enemy instigates us to mock at the word and trod the seed of God’s word under our feet and then he comes and takes it away like the bird of the air.

In the second instance, he comes a little later by enticing the receiver of the word with the temptation of life. In the third instance, when the crosses of life strikes and the enemy entices us with the green pastures on the other side, we get carried away through envy and the cares of life. 

Finally, there are those who are honest towards God and believe in carrying his goodness. These are the good soil who receive God’s word and persevere with the fruit of all patience and do not give up.

Prayer: Lord, be my help in the various stages of my life with you. So that at each stage I may not give up and more so do it in all sincerity, honesty and perseverance to produce the fruit of your kingdom.  

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