Book of Jeremiah 1,1.4-10.
The words of Jeremiah, The word of the LORD came to me thus: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you. "Ah, Lord GOD!" I said, "I know not how to speak; I am too young." But the LORD answered me, Say not, "I am too young." To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD. Then the LORD extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying, See, I place my words in your mouth! This day I set you over nations and over kingdoms, To root up and to tear down, to destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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."
R E F L E C T I O N:
You are a modern-day Jeremiah. God has given you a Word to speak: his holy Word in the form of encouragement, affirmation, faith-building, or healing. You have knowledge about the kingdom of God that will benefit others. You have experiences that can inspire others to grow closer to God. You have wisdom from the Holy Spirit that's meant to be shared.
God appointed you to be one of his prophets while you were still in your mother's womb. Though you might feel inadequate for the task (like Jeremiah did when he thought he was too young in today's first reading), God is the one who will place the words in your mouth. What he shares with you to share with others is more than adequate!
So what's stopping you from doing more? Why do you hesitate? What do you fear? For most of us, the feeling of inadequacy comes from focusing on ourselves and forgetting that God has a bigger role than we do in our ministries to others. He supplies us with everything we need for whatever work he calls us to do.
We've enjoyed helping people in the past, but some have turned away, and so we think we failed. We're afraid we can't make a big enough difference. We've decided that to care so much about people and then to see them reject the wisdom we offer is just too painful and too sad. We don't like being the farmer of the parable in today's Gospel reading, working hard in the blazing sun only to watch the crops die.
To find renewed energy, we must spend time appreciating the differences that we HAVE made. Not everyone has rejected our help. Some have been rich soil, and the seeds we've sowed have sprouted and produced new growth.
We never know when rocky soil is going to become fertile soil or when a new path will take us to a field that has already been tilled and made ready for us. Why should anyone be denied the seeds we can give, just because we've stubbed our toes on the dry or rocky soil of others?
God appreciates us and the hard work we do when sowing seeds, even if the soil produces nothing good. We should take our stubbed toes to the Lord and let him heal us so that the seeds of healing will produce a harvest of courage, and the fruits that grow will produce seeds that can help others find healing too. Yes, some will reject us and the seeds will die, but others WILL accept our seeds.
The only thing that matters is that we are called. We are not responsible for making the seeds grow; we are only the sowers.
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