Sowing and Growing - Time is Of The Essence.

When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another
journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable. 
"A sower went out to sow his seed.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,
and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,
it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,
it produced fruit a hundredfold."
After saying this, he called out,
"Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear..."
"...This is the meaning of the parable. 
The seed is the word of God.
Those on the path are the ones who have heard,
but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts
that they may not believe and be saved.
Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear,
receive the word with joy, but they have no root;
they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation.
As for the seed that fell among thorns,
they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along,
they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, 
and they fail to produce mature fruit.
But 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."

Wow, the picture I found on the internet to go with my reflection today just about says it all.  Our Lord knew his audience.  They were people who would understand stories about the land and farming.  Even the Pharisees and Scribes would have some knowledge about the proper way to grow food because there were regulations to be followed and taxes to be paid.  Two aspects of the equation are not mentioned by Jesus in the parable and that is the timing of the planting of the seed and the time of harvest.  

If a farmer plants too early it is possible that when the new life germinates and reaches for the sun it may find conditions too cold and hostile to make growth possible. In harvesting one had to be prudent as well.  You want to harvest just at the right time so your crop has had the maximum time to benefit from the sun but early enough so that the perils of the winter rains do not harm it. It is the second of these concepts I want to touch on this morning. 

Very often we see people who live only for themselves, taking more than they give and riding roughshod over the rest of God's family.  We notice that in spite of the fact that they do not have anything to do with God and His kingdom, money and prosperity seems to follow them wherever they go.  Why does God allow this flaunting of His gifts in His face by one who knows Him not?  

The answer is simple.  God is a good farmer. First, He sows the seed and He waits for it to grow and mature.  He is a God of many chances and what we see as Him turning a blind eye to the antics of an infidel is His way of being patient.  All of the time that this man is living, he is being showered with graces and he is being pursued by the Holy Spirit and all he has to do is to say, "Yes" and turn his life around and he would be welcomed back into the family of The Father. It is patience that God uses as His weapon of choice.  He will bide His time and work the ground as best as He can with the hope that the plant will respond. 

But seasons change and the harvest must come and if the plant has not produced it is discarded and burned in the fire.  So, when you are wondering why evil seems to prevail, remember that our God loves us all and wants all of us to be with Him in heaven and He will be as patient as He can be as He works with us to grow us into the plant that He knows we can be. 

Pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.