Readings: Saturday, September 19, 2020

First Reading

 

First Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49

Brothers and sisters: 
Someone may say, "How are the dead raised?  
With what kind of body will they come back?" 
  
You fool! 
What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. 
And what you sow is not the body that is to be 
          but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind. 
  
So also is the resurrection of the dead. 
It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. 
It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. 
It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. 
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. 
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. 
  
So, too, it is written, 
          "The first man, Adam, became a living being," 
          the last Adam a life-giving spirit. 
But the spiritual was not first; 
          rather the natural and then the spiritual. 
The first man was from the earth, earthly; 
          the second man, from heaven. 
As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, 
          and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. 
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, 
          we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

Responsorial Psalm

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps  56:10c-12, 13-14

R./ I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

Now I know that God is with me. 
          In God, in whose promise I glory, 
          in God I trust without fear; 
          what can flesh do against me? 
R./ I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

I am bound, O God, by vows to you; 
          your thank offerings I will fulfill. 
For you have rescued me from death, 
          my feet, too, from stumbling; 
          that I may walk before God in the light of the living. 
R./ I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

Holy Gospel

 

Gospel Reading: Lk 8:4-15

As a great crowd gathered and people came to him from every town, Jesus began teaching them through stories, or parables, "The sower went out to sow the seed. And as he sowed, some of the grain fell along the way, was trodden on and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and no sooner had it come up than it withered, because it had no water. Some fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with the seed and choked it. But some fell on good soil and grew, producing fruit-a hundred times as much." And Jesus cried out, "Listen then, if you have ears to hear!"

The disciples asked him, "What does this story mean?" And Jesus answered, "You have been granted to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to others it is given in the form of stories, or parables, so that seeing they may not perceive and hearing they may not understand."

Now, this is the point of the parable:

The seed is the word of God. Those along the wayside are people who hear it, but immediately the devil comes and takes the word from their minds, for he doesn't want them to believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are people who receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe for a while and give way in time of trial. Among the thorns are people who hear the word but as they go their way, are choked by worries, riches, and the pleasures of life; they bring no fruit to maturity. The good soil, instead, are people who receive the word and keep it in a gentle and generous mind, and persevering patiently, they bear fruit.