Commentary on the Gospel of
At the end of the parable we have just heard Jesus tell us: “Listen then, if you have ears to hear”. It is supposed that we have listened carefully. But, where should we centre our reflection? On the sower? On the seed? On those different lands? On the explanation?
Usually, we have centred our attention on the land. And we have reflected about what our attitude towards God`s seed on us, is. I invite you to focus your attention on the sower. You and me, every one following Jesus Christ can be a sower. In our world we need sowers who spread the good news of the Gospel.
The first thing we hear in this parable is that the sower went out to sow the seed. Let`s see what he does. He sowed confidently, huge quantities of seed and everywhere; even where it looks difficult to grow. Galilean farmers were used to sow in that way. They used to sow everywhere, even in the borders of the path or on rocky ground, in hope that the seed will give fruit. People around Jesus easily understood that he was the sower; they could see him telling the Gospel, wherever he was. He never gave up.
Nowadays, our world is suffering a huge religious crisis. We also speculate, trying to find the reasons for this crisis. We argue; thinking that it is because the gospel is not attractive in our postmodern times. We argue; thinking that the Gospel has not enough power. We must leave all those speculations aside and learn from Jesus how to sow without losing hope.
The Gospel has not lost any power. The problem could be that we are poor ground. Are we receiving the Gospel in our own lives? Is the Gospel changing our behaviour? The main problem could be that we are sowing with weak faith because we are poor ground. Pope Francis has expressed this very well: “We know well that with Jesus, life becomes richer and that with him it is easier to find meaning in everything. This is why we evangelize. A true missionary, who never ceases to be a disciple, knows that Jesus walks with him, speaks to him, breathes with him, works with him. He senses Jesus alive with him in the midst of the missionary enterprise. Unless we see him present at the heart of our missionary commitment, our enthusiasm soon wanes and we are no longer sure of what it is that we are handing on; we lack vigour and passion. A person who is not convinced, enthusiastic, certain and in love, will convince nobody” (Evangelii Gaudium 266).
Let us pray to God to send us the Holy Spirit and transform us into good ground, enforce our weak faith and help us to announce the Gospel with our life, in whatever we do or we say.
