Daily Gospel Reflection for September 17, 2016

Today's Gospel: Luke 8, 4-15

As many times as I have heard this Gospel, this time something new jumped out at me. Amid the good, rich soil, the rocks and thorns, I noticed something amazing this time…the generosity of the Sower!

Our Divine Sower does not skimp or cautiously sow the seed. Far from that, our Sower/God wildly and abundantly flings the seed about—who knows where it will end up? The Word of God flung far and wide may land in a thorny place in our minds. We may feel uncomfortable or irritated with certain types of people and the Sower may toss the seed of God’s Word there, giving us a chance to change our attitudes. Can that seed take root, regardless of our prejudices?

Or our Divine Sower may liberally throw seed in rocky places in our hearts. We may have long-held grudges or past hurts we cannot get over. God comforts us with the Word to help us forgive those wounds, heal and move on. Then there is our rich, fertile soil, the areas of our lives where we can easily respond to God’s Word. There are people in our lives we love easily and well. Our love grows lush and fruitful in the rich soil of our hearts.

As we journey, we must not second guess our Divine Sower who abundantly, albeit even wastefully, sows the seed of God’s Word to every corner of our minds and hearts, even the rocky, thorny corners. Who knows? The seed may take root, sprout and grow, and we will grow with it.

Ponder:

What areas of our lives do we feel we have deep, rich soil in which the Word of God can thrive? What areas are a bit more thorny or rocky? What can we do to make those areas more receptive to God’s Word? Can we do some inner landscaping?

Pray:

Generous Sower, God, please continue to toss your Word into all the areas of our hearts! Help us to see the areas that need your Word most; our areas where your Word can change us and help us grow.

Copyright 2016 Heidi Gainan

I am a mom of three grown up and very wonderful kids! I also work in the blind rehabilitation field and more recently, I am journeying as a student in a Spiritual Direction training program. I have a blog of (almost) daily reflections based on the mass readings and nudging of the Holy Spirit located here:
www.heidi-gram.blogspot.com