Rise Again

What will you do with the Word of God?

1 [a]On another occasion he began to teach by the sea.

... 3 [c]“Hear this! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. 7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. 8 And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9 He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

... 13 [e]Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. 17 But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, 19 but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. 20 But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”-Mark4:1-20

When I was young, my teacher would ask us which soil do we belong. Of course, answering logically, we all say, "The rich soil!" Nobody would say that s/he belonged to the path, or to the rocky ground, or to the thorny area. However, I realized that the four areas where the seed feel are our acceptance of the Word in our lives. As I look back on my experiences during meditation, I realized that I have been into the 4 areas at certain points in my life. I have been into the 4 areas in one day even! Like those people who received the Word and quickly forgot it, I am guilty of not listening to the priest's homily sometimes. Like those people who received the Word with joy but when trials came, fall away, I am guilty of being defensive and a little proud when confronted during difficult times before. Like those people who fall and forgot the Word in the face of pleasure, worldly concerns and lures of riches, I am guilty of giving in to these temptations before. But, just like those who bore fruit thirty, sixty and a hundredfold, I am happy to say that, yes, I bore fruit too and still bearing fruit. Jesus' constant invitation for us is to continue bearing fruit. We may fall, we may fail, but what is more important is rising again and continuing to bear fruit through acts of kindness and even little acts of love. What is more important is we listened to the Word of God and His will for us, and planted it in our hearts and in our lives.

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