Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 18th September
Message from Fr Paul for Saturday, 18th September 2021
I can’t remember the last time I saw a hedgehog, five or six years’ ago if not more, so you can imagine my surprise and delight when, before dawn yesterday morning, Toby came across one on the lawn beneath my window. I shone my torch and there it was. After a short sniff, Toby moved on and so did I, not wanting to disturb it. Then on our return twenty minutes’ later, there it was again close to the garden sheds, walking briskly with its nose in the air. Toby took no notice, but I stopped to admire it, wondering where it lives. Each day there’s so much to thank God for: that humble little creature filled my heart with joy and thanksgiving.
Yesterday we read a short link passage, typical of Luke. We now find Jesus going through towns and villages, often unnamed, preaching and teaching. In today’s Gospel reading from Luke, (Lk 8: 4-15), we find the parable of the sower. Jesus tells this parable to a large crowd. No reason is given as to why he preached it there and then. It wasn’t the response to a question, nor was it aimed at the scribes and Pharisees. It can be read in any context, which is why it speaks to us so eloquently today. “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on the edge of the path and was trampled on; and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on rock, and when it came up it withered away, having no moisture. Some seed fell amongst thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell into rich soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.’ Saying this he cried, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’” The disciples are mystified, so they ask him. He replies, “The mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the rest there are only parables, so that
they may see but not perceive,
listen but not understand.”
We might well ask, if the mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to the disciples, then why can’t they understand a parable preached to the crowd? What did the crowd make of it? There are many imponderables in the Gospels.
Jesus, then gives a detailed explanation of the parable: “This, then, is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and then the devil comes and carries away the word from their hearts in case they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not reach maturity. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.” I can clearly see each one of those groups of people in me. At various times in the past and even now, to be honest, I can be like those on the edge of the path, those on rock, those among thorns and, occasionally, those in rich soil. Trusting in God, my prayer is always, “Lord, no matter where I am today, may your word penetrate my heart and mind, my whole being, and bear fruit to your honour and glory and for the good of those around me. Amen.”
