MENU

Gospel Reading - Jesus explains the parable of the Sower

¹⁴“The farmer I talked about is anyone who brings God’s message to others, trying to plant good seed within their lives. ¹⁵The hard pathway, where some of the seed fell, represents the hard hearts of some of those who hear God’s message; Satan comes at once to try to make them forget it. ¹⁶The rocky soil represents the hearts of those who hear the message with joy, ¹⁷but, like young plants in such soil, their roots don’t go very deep, and though at first they get along fine, as soon as persecution begins, they wilt.

¹⁸“The thorny ground represents the hearts of people who listen to the Good News and receive it, ¹⁹but all too quickly the attractions of this world and the delights of wealth, and the search for success and lure of nice things come in and crowd out God’s message from their hearts, so that no crop is produced.

²⁰“But the good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God’s message and produce a plentiful harvest for God—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as was planted in their hearts.” ²¹Then he asked them, “When someone lights a lamp, does he put a box over it to shut out the light? Of course not! The light couldn’t be seen or used. A lamp is placed on a stand to shine and be useful.

²²“All that is now hidden will someday come to light. ²³If you have ears, listen! ²⁴And be sure to put into practice what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand what I tell you. ²⁵To him who has shall be given; from him who has not shall be taken away even what he has.