7/26/2023 (Wednesday) Today’s gospel reading: Matthew 13:1-9

1 On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
3 And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.
5 Some 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.
8 But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
9 Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

7/26/2023 (Wednesday) Today’s gospel reflection: Matthew 13:1-9

Upon reading the gospel above and even after reading the explanation of Jesus about this parable in Matthew 13:18-23, we must be very careful not equate the kind of soil to any particular person or group. Most especially, we must be very careful not to arrogate unto ourselves as the good soil no matter how positive our self-image might be. Let us remember how many times Jesus chastised the chosen twelve for their lack of understanding and faith. Even Peter, “the rock”, denied Jesus three times. What we can do is to have our ears open at all times, everready to listen to the Word of God and to meditate on it day and night (Joshua 1:8). “Whoever has ears ought to hear”, Jesus says in Matthew 13:9.

Even as we continue to serve in the vineyard of the Lord in whatever capacity, let us never lose focus on our individual growth. There are four kinds of soil mentioned in the parable and we can be in any of these types of soil. Yet we must consider that the soil’s structure can be changed. If we are the hardened soil, we can plow it day by day. If we are the rocky soil, we can start removing the rocks one by one. If there are too many weeds in our environment, we can choose not to be choked by them and instead find a way to grow in spite of them. We can fertilize our soil to make it fertile. Oh yes, this is not easy to do, that is, to change the kind of soil that we are now. Yet, Jesus assures us that with God, nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37, Matthew 19:26).

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