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Gospel Reading for January 29, 2025 – Mark 4: 1-20
OPENNESS
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed 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 and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted
and be forgiven.”
Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
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The reading describes different kinds of response to the Word of God: A person who is not interested to know God and will not listen to his Word, therefore, it will have no effect on his/her life. A person who may hear the Word of God speaking to him/her at a good moment of his life, but when the moment is gone, the Word will just be a matter of the past. A person may hear the Word of God, but love for worldly pleasures will drown the Word. Then, there is that person who hears and listens to what God is saying, and acts upon it, as Mary did.
The question is: What do we need to have in order to be rich soil? Jesus’ explanation to the disciples sums up everything – OPENNESS. For the Word of God to impact our lives, we need to read well, listen well, and live it well. The Bible is not just a book. It is God himself speaking to his people.
Speak Lord, your servant is listening!
