Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

105 Your word is a lantern to my feet:
and a light to my path.
106  I have vowed and sworn an oath:
to keep your righteous judgements.
107  I have been afflicted beyond measure:
Lord, give me life according to your word.
108  Accept, O Lord, the freewill offerings of my mouth:
and teach me your judgements.
109  I take my life in my hands continually:
yet I do not forget your law.
110  The wicked have laid a snare for me:
but I have not strayed from your precepts.
111  Your commands are my inheritance for ever:
they are the joy of my heart.
112  I have set my heart to fulfil your statutes:
always, even to the end.

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law – indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

For the word of the Lord,
thanks be to God.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!

Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’

For the Gospel of the Lord,
praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

A REFLECTION ON THE SOWER AND HIS SEED 

Last Sunday we thought about the possibility that God can choose whether or not one becomes a believer. This is, in many ways, a difficult idea for us to accept.  Today we think about the fact that people either hear and discern God’s word to them or they do not.

We live in an era when so many of our children have abandoned or not accepted the Christian Faith about which we may have encouraged them. Parents who have lost their children from the Faith often blame themselves for the loss. All kinds of thoughts race through their minds such as a failure to have taught or encouraged enough, or that they sent them to the wrong school, or possibly that the Church herself let them down. Nevertheless it is true that even the most vibrant Christian families have lost children from the Christian Faith. No matter how fertile the soil children and younger adults can be lost.

If we refer to people who have left the Church as “lost” we may well be wrong.  Our children can still grow to be fine adults who contribute well to their society. Surely God is still at work within our children or partners.  Most of us have neighbours, too, who are not churchgoers but who shine as good people. It is said that no matter how small a space someone makes for God in life, God makes the most of it.

When Jesus criticises a group of people for behaviour or attitude he is not necessarily going after that particular group.  He is rather addressing each one of us and referring to the tendency we all share of failing to do the good we wish to do. This is a universal tendency. It includes Pharisees, communists, right wing extremists and ordinary people. No matter how exemplary our upbringing of our children may have been, or is, the fact remains that there are so many destructive factors in our society which can undermine our influence.

The desire for security based on shopping, consumption and human status, together with individual problems such as complacency or lack of confidence are dilemmas most of know only too well. Drug addiction is another tragic problem. One aspect of our abiding hope about life is that God is full of surprises and ready to be surprised by us!

It is a great blessing to hear the word of God and then do it in faith. Is this achievement due to our virtue or thanks to the grace of God and his mercy? We cannot know this. It is one of the mysteries of life. However, we as churchgoers are called to try to make the Christian Faith as attractive and understandable as we can. It is wise to remember that we are, quite possibly, the only tangible signs of Christianity which people may see or hear. Our aim is to grow closer to Jesus so that we become more like him in daily life. We hope to live as Good News ourselves.

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things and I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come spiritually into my heart. I embrace you as if you were already there, and unite myself wholly to you. Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.