01.29.14 Sabbath/Kerygma WHERE IS THE GOOD HARVEST? Mark 4:1-20 By Fr Rudy Horst, SVD More than 2,000 years have passed since God became man in Jesus Christ. After Jesus told His disciples to proclaim the Good News to all nations, nothing could stop them from spreading the teachings of their Master. They were quite successful; Christianity spread relatively fast throughout the ancient world. But today, barely one third of the world’s population knows Christ and follows His teachings. In addition, Christianity is shrinking in many Western countries that were once fervently Christian. Among those who are baptized and call themselves Christians, a large percentage lives as if they have not received baptism at all. In Christian countries, criminality, graft and corruption flourish. And so we ask: What went wrong? The answer is simple: Nothing went wrong. Jesus foresaw this already when He told the parable about the sower and the seed. The farmer sows according to the custom of the country; the seed is good, but much of the seed is wasted. We could expect that the farmer is disappointed because of poor harvest. But to our surprise, the harvest is plenty in spite of so much seed that was lost. Jesus answers our question on what went wrong with God’s Word. The apparent poor harvest after more than 2,000 years should not discourage us. The seed, the Word of God, is good and nothing can hinder a great harvest in the end. We don’t know how long the world will last, but God knows. When He assures us of an overwhelming harvest, we should not feel anxious but try more than ever to contribute to that great harvest. We hear the Word of God at least every Sunday during Mass. We read the Bible and so also “hear” God’s Word. But how long does it remain in our memory? “Satan has come and carried away the Word.” There are so many temptations which “choke the Word.” Realizing these dangers to the seed of the Word of God, we can become more careful and try more than ever to listen well, accept and do what God tells us. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD Mark 4:1-20 1 On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. 2 And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, 3 “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. 7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. 8 And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9 He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” 10 And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. 11 He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, 12 so that ‘they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.’” 13 Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. 17 But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, 19 but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. 20 But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Which of the obstacles in the parable do you discover in your life? How can you remove them so that God’s Word could bring more fruit in your life? Lord, send the Holy Spirit to give me the strength to resist all the daily obstacles to a good harvest in my life.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 10:13:56 +0000
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