As With God, To Sow Is To Wait

𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐄𝐱𝐨 𝟏𝟔:𝟏-𝟓, 𝟗-𝟏𝟓

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟕𝟖:𝟏𝟖-𝟏𝟗, 𝟐𝟑-𝟐𝟖 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟏𝟑:𝟏-𝟗

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏!” (𝒗.9) 

         Many churchgoers, those who have been attending catechetical instruction and those who have been in the charismatic renewal movement for some time are definitely familiar with this Gospel passage that tells of the four types of soil on which the farmer sowed. There was the pathway, the stony ground, the soil filled with thorns and thistles and, finally the good soil.

         Over the years of listening to this passage, many of us have become familiar with the parable in the same way that the Jews at the time this parable was said were all too familiar with the conditions that farmers were faced with in those days. It was also probable that as Jesus spoke on a boat on the seashore, he caught sight of a farmer sowing in the not-too-distant field and Jesus may have used the farmer as an example when he preached this parable to the people.

         In doing so, Jesus drew a parallelism between the actual conditions under which Jewish farmers operated at the time and how the Word that was made flesh was being received. By this time, Jesus has already been preaching in the synagogues. The sick, lame, demon-possessed were healed and even the dead were raised back to life, but these were not enough to transform the people steeped in their religious laws.

         But these problems Jesus faced did not only exist in those days because even with the Holy Spirit who is now operating in the world that we live in these same problems remain. Many of us hear the Word of God preached at Mass, on Radio and TV, in publications that we read but the Good News doesn’t sink in, and it is clouded with the influences of the world.

         Some of us who grew up in an environment in which the Word of God was never introduced have rejected the Good News as soon as it is spoken. Others are so enamored by the glitter of the material world around them – an endless search for fame and fortune, the mad dash towards ephemeral things, e.g. body sculpture, botox, implants, facial rejuvenation, anti-aging formulas, stem cell treatment, the insatiable appetite to accumulate wealth, personal aggrandizement, self-deification and now, AI – and these worldly desires choke the Word of God in our lives and the Good News doesn’t take root and instead of us becoming the Good News that God planned, we become a bad news to others and this is the reason why we are having a difficult time evangelizing others.

         Worse still for those who have acquired a misdirected concept of what the renewal movement is all about oftentimes drawing people to themselves rather than to Christ. This has become the reason why some movements, ministries and apostolates have stopped growing because of the presence of people who know everything, and these are the most dangerous people who can destroy a church or community.

         Even in the time of Jesus, there were those who go to listen to Jesus to look for opportunity to charge him with treason but there are those who listen to Jesus because they want to learn.

         This is true even today as preachers try to discredit one another as we have seen in the case of two popular TV evangelists in the US. I remember giving a Reflection in one of the BLD Districts and while there were those who will say they have been blessed and were appreciative of the message behind the reflection, there were also others who sat through the reflection with a smirk on their faces and this scenario has become the bane of Christian communities that have stopped growing both in terms of spirituality and numerical numbers.

         But everyone goes through life’s stages, and I recall the time when I was like the hard soil, the parched land and the soil with thorns and thistles. I basked in the knowledge that my talent was all mine. I was the star reporter of the largest TV network in the Philippines, and I was fortunate to have covered many of the most interesting news events at that time. What other reporters could not cover, I could. But I stopped growing as I did not allow new strategies and technologies to seep in as I coasted along with what I knew which I thought was enough.

         I was the best in the field but when I committed an infraction of a company policy the network president called me to his office and told me that I am being suspended for a month without pay. The president knew what was running in my mind then – that I would hand in my resignation and move to another network never mind if this was the biggest network then.

         As I stood up and as I turned around, the president stood, placed his hand on my shoulders and lectured me on the finer points of humility, accountability for my actions and integrity. His words sank and when I opened the door to leave, I said: “𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.” This was my first lesson in humility. There are many situations in my life when the Lord humbled me, and I am grateful that he did because these were the learning curves that turned me into a good and rich soil.

         In this Gospel reading, we see Jesus sending out into the world the spiritual farmers to sow the seed which is the Word of God. In our world today especially in the Church to which we all belong, there are what we may call spiritual farmers – those who teach, preach and lead others to the Lord as is the case during the shepherding sessions in the Life in the Spirit Seminars. Class Shepherds, Circle Shepherds, Ministry Coordinators and the Servant Leaders of charismatic communities and parish organizations all fall under the category of spiritual farmers.

         And as in the parable, we plant the Word of God but the plants that grow differ from one another but like a good farmer we all should not get discouraged if the results are not what we expect because belief and faith cannot be forced. Rather it is a miracle that is dependent on how the Holy Spirit will move in the life of the person or soil in which the seed is being planted.

         When we sow the Word of God, we must not become impatient as to expect immediate results. The environment that we live in was not created overnight. Even the universe was completed in seven days. It takes at least 108 days for a palay to grow to maturity, and it may take some time before the seed that is the Word of God germinates in the heart of a man.

         We live in a fast-paced environment, and we expect quick results. I once worked for a company that is so techie that when I was given a project to work on they expected instant results that you won’t even have time to catch your breath.

         But when we sow and plant the Good News, we all must be patient and pray that the seed will take root and grow to maturity – knowing Christ Our Lord who will save us from eternal damnation. Knowing is to hear what the Lord is saying and doing what he is telling us to do. The key to a successful evangelization is to hear and be doers of the Word because we cannot possibly tell others the Good News if we ourselves have not heard and listened to it. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 23, 2025)