Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
1 Cor 15:35-37, 42-49; Lk 8:4-15
“As for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”
These words, coming at the end of our Gospel today, give us some understanding of another part of this Gospel passage where Jesus is answering the question of his disciples as to the meaning of the parable and, what is more, what is the meaning of his way of teaching by parables. He tells them, with includes a text from the prophet, Isaiah:
“’Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’”
The point is, the soil which actually produces is rich because it is receptive: it wants to produce, undergoes the necessary dying to produce, and takes the time it takes to produce. This meaning is also heard in the expression that our Lord sometimes uses: ‘Let the one who wants to hear, hear!’
The Kingdom of God is not received by indifference, carelessness, or lack of perseverance. It is far too precious for that! So when Jesus, reflecting the Prophets, says, “so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand,” he’s referring to a lack of will to “get it!” He’s referring to a failure of a generous heart to desire true life. It’s really a tragic indifference to the desire in the human being for the full meaning of his or her existence.
In this light, Jesus is the great Prophet, the Truth, who has come into the world to give people the meaning of creation and the meaning of their lives. His preaching puts each of us who hear it, into the question, ‘Do I care about learning its meaning?’ ‘Do I care about learning the meaning of my existence?’
Reflection by Fr. Xavier Nacke, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources