The parable of the sower is told twice, in an original form and in a later, church interpretation. The explanation tends to dominate our reading, but it might be worthwhile allowing the original parable to “speak.” It tells of small, even careless, beginnings—the sower scatters all over the place. As we see in nature, tiny seeds have an astonishing, miraculous effect. Go back over your own experience and recall something which began modestly but which in the end grew surprisingly. The reign of God is like that—the modest beginnings of Jesus’ own preaching had tremendous effect.

Prayer

God of every harvest, it can be hard today to be confident about the Good News and yet we know that it is you who give the growth (1 Cor 3:7).

K O’Mahony OSA