On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When a person begins telling a joke, the listeners around him or her immediately prepare themselves to laugh. They lean forward, focus on every word, and joyfully wait for the punch line.
And when delivered, they laugh.
They prepared themselves to do so.
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This is the type of listener Jesus blesses in today’s Gospel – one who is prepared to respond to his Word. It’s the type of person who leans forward when the Lord speaks, who focuses on every word, and who joyfully waits for his instruction.
And when given, they act.
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How responsive am I to the Word of God?
Many of us hear it every day. Does it change us? Does it sink into us? Or is it blown away by the stress and busyness of life?
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“Some seed fell on rich soil,” Jesus says, “and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Much like a person waiting for a punchline, may we lean in, listen to the Word of God, and joyfully respond when he speaks.
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Image credits: (1) Depositphotos (2) The Optimist Daily (3) Theirworld
Can you remember a time when you were tested or discouraged? Did you persevere? Or give up?
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Today we celebrate the life of someone who never gave up.
According to tradition, Saint Apollinaris was sent by Peter himself to become the first bishop of Ravenna, a town in northern Italy.
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Apollinaris was so “successful” in preaching the Gospel that the locals beat him up, threw him out of town, and warned him never to return.
Undeterred, Apollinaris came back a second time. And a third.
This time, he was tossed on a ship to Greece, beaten and bloody, sternly warned not to return.
But Apollinaris returned to Ravenna a fourth – and final – time where he was martyred for our faith.
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Over the course of his ministry, he must’ve felt discouraged from time to time; he was only human. But he never gave up.
Thank God he didn’t.
To this day, some 2,000 years later, Ravenna is a staunchly Catholic town, thanks in no small part to Apollinaris.
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Imagine how different our world might look if every Christian lived with that same determination to spread the Gospel.
Let that change begin with us.
What would it look like for me to be a little more determined to live out my faith? Would I speak more publicly about it? Drop an unhealthy habit? Or live more generously?
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May the same Spirit that inspired Apollinaris, inspire us today.
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Image credits: (1) The Importance of Determination, Strategic Leaders Academy (2) Cruise118.com (3) EWTN.
When it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about them. They exclaimed, “What have we done! Why, we have released Israel from our service!” So Pharaoh made his chariots ready and mustered his soldiers six hundred first-class chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with warriors on them all. So obstinate had the LORD made Pharaoh that he pursued the children of Israel even while they were marching away in triumph. The Egyptians, then, pursued them; Pharaoh’s whole army, his horses, chariots and charioteers, caught up with them as they lay encamped by the sea, at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
Pharaoh was already near when the children of Israel looked up and saw that the Egyptians were on the march in pursuit of them. In great fright they cried out to the LORD. And they complained to Moses, “Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert? Why did you do this to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians’? Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert.” But Moses answered the people, “Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today. These Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. The LORD himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea, split the sea in two, that the children of Israel may pass through it on dry land. But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate that they will go in after them. Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and charioteers. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I receive glory through Pharaoh and his chariots and charioteers.”
The word of the Lord.
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Imagine waiting 470 years to have a prayer answered.
That’s 171,550 days, or 4.1 million hours, or 24.7 billion seconds of waiting, trusting that God will act.
That’s how long it took – 470 years – for God to answer Israel’s prayer, delivering them out of slavery in Egypt, through the desert, and finally back home to the Promised Land.
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Our first reading this week comes from the Book of Exodus, describing part of this 470-year journey.
Today the Israelites are fleeing Pharoah and his army. Moses raises his staff and parts the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to pass safely through. The Egyptians, on the other hand, drown in the rushing waters.
But even after God delivers them, the Israelites must another endure forty years in the desert, some 14,600 days of heat, sand, and barely enough food.
Understandably, they grumble against God, saying things like, “Why did you lead us here only to let us die?”
Like some waiting on God to answer a prayer, the Israelites often suffered from a lack of trust.
Still, God delivered them.
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Like the Israelites, have you ever felt like it took God “forever” to answer you?
Perhaps we didn’t wait 470 years, but we waited long enough, until our patience – and maybe our faith – ran dry.
When it feels like God is taking his time to answer us, we must remember two things: first and foremost, God is faithful. He keeps his promises.
But, secondly, God’s timing is not our timing. As it’s written in the Psalms, “In your eyes, a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone; no more than a watch in the night.”
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To all of us who are waiting for the Lord to act, may we ask him for the patience we need to proceed in peace, knowing – in time – he will answer.
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Image credits: (1) God is Faithful – Always, Celebrate Kids (2) Moses by Jeff Brown (3) Becoming the Oil and the Wine
