The Gospel According to Matthew 13:1-9
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A Sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Reflection: This Gospel reading reminds me of a “Flash Mob”. In a place where many people gather, another group of individuals, with a well-planned and rehearsed purpose, begin to either sing or dance a seemingly spur of the moment production. It surprises the onlookers and immediately draws their complete attention to the act or acts being performed. Most are very well done and captures the complete attention of its spectators to the point of them stopping whatever it was that they were doing to satisfy their curiosity.
Jesus and His disciple are certainly NOT a Flash Mob…but the results are very similar. Jesus begins talking and preaching to a small crowd consisting, at the beginning, of only His disciples. As people begin passing by, they stop, either out of curiosity or other reasons. Maybe they have heard of this person known as Jesus. Maybe they want to find out for themselves “who” this man is and “what” is his purpose for being here.
Does His conversation have merit?
Does He speak with authority?
The more Jesus speaks, the more interested they become. The crowd begins to grow bigger and bigger, to the point, that Jesus makes the decision to reposition himself to a boat slightly offshore. Now he can accommodate this growing group so that they can all see and hear Him.
He speaks to them in parables so that everyone can understand the message that he wants to convey, from the highly educated to those who have no more than a burning desire in their heart. They listen intently to Him, and they begin to believe!
Action of the day: Through these Gospels, we begin to deepen our relationship with our Lord. Today let us open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to spark our curiosity so that we may move ourselves through the crowds of doubt to the closeness of the love that only Jesus can bring into our lives. Then we can share this unconditional love with everyone else that we encounter.
Audio Reflection:
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