Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In the Gospel, Jesus offers a rich and vivid picture of the distribution of his Word. As Christ scatters this seed abroad today, let us examine our hearts and souls to discover the type of soil that comprise them. Let us also ask ourselves what we’re doing with God’s Word – how and where and with whom are we sharing it? Perhaps today might be a day in which the Holy Spirit cultivates us such that we can receive God’s Word with greater joy and become more fruitful disciples.
As I was praying our scriptures in preparation to write, I saw, very vividly, an image of Christ. I’ll call him the “Cosmic Sower,” because he stood extremely large, on and yet above the earth. He was in his human form, and he had a cloth, cross-body bag slung across his shoulder. The bag was full of seed, and I saw him reach in and take a large handful. In one smooth, sweeping motion of his arm he slung and scattered the seed across the earth. As it hit the ground, I saw pavement and pathways, sidewalk cracks, arid land devoid of vegetation, fertile fields, pastures, and everything in between. Christ stood in one spot, but I understood this location to be representative of anywhere throughout the entire world and his sowing left nowhere untouched by the seed.
Jesus’ parables are always about him. As he addressed the large crowd in today’s Gospel, he did so as the Sower, casting seed through his teaching that day. In the crowd, individuals represented the various types of soil that Jesus describes. Christ sows the seed of his Word continually today. I would venture to say that in no other time in history have we had such limitless access to the Word of God. Picture in your mind all the Catholic and non-Catholic Christian churches throughout the world. Imagine yourself moving throughout all the time zones in any given day, and hear the Word being proclaimed continuously. Within a 24-hour period, I would imagine that the Word is being proclaimed somewhere at every second of each day. The proliferation of podcasts, YouTube channels, TV broadcasts, radio programs and the like become Christ’s arm as he scatters his seed. One of the greatest examples is Ascension Press’ podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz, The Bible in a Year. In this phenomenal daily podcast, Fr. Mike takes his listeners through the entire bible in 365 episodes, including commentary and teaching on the texts. This podcast became the #1 podcast in the country, landing a billboard in Times Square. Downloads have surpassed 238 million worldwide. Psalm 147:15 says, “He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.” Indeed, it does.
As I sit with this image of Christ as “Cosmic Sower,” I sense God challenging us in two primary ways. The first invitation is to examine the soil of our hearts and souls. As Christ distributes the seed of his Word today in this vast sweep of his arm, and as you feel it raining down upon you, what happens? Does it bounce off you and go skittering across the pavement? Does a little bit of seed find its way into the cracks of your soul’s sidewalk? Are the birds of distraction waiting to eat it up as soon as it lands in the soil of your heart? Or is there even a little bit of fertile ground to receive the Word and nurture it? Part B of this invitation is to call you daily to God’s Word! Are you reading scripture, listening to bible podcasts, taking advantage of any of the plethora of resources available to read and study God’s Word? I pray we all might be inspired today with a greater hunger and thirst for the Word.
The second part of the challenge, I think, concerns what we do with the implanted Word. In the first reading, we see Jeremiah receive God’s call. The Lord said, “See, I place my words in your mouth!” I believe this is true for each one of us. God’s Word needs to make its way from our hearts, souls, and minds into our mouths. As we share God’s Word with others, we become the voices of the Cosmic Sower himself. We don’t all have to be great prophets like Jeremiah. Jesus says, “some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” We can be a “thirtyfold” disciple and be fruitful and effective witnesses to the Gospel.
As a footnote, here are some of the resources that are enriching my life at the moment. Perhaps you’ll find them helpful to your discipleship, too. The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike, Bishop Robert Barron’s weekly homily, EWTN radio shows. May God bless you as you grow in God’s Word!
Elizabeth Wells