(Audio)
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
The word of God has power. The gospel is itself "the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" see Romans 1:16). It is "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword" (see Hebrews 4:12). The implanted word has the power to save our souls (see James 1:21). Yet it does not have this effect in all who hear.
Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
It matters not just that we hear, but how we hear. The way we receive the word matters, "not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers" (see First Thessalonians 2:13).
The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruit harvest.
How do we provide good soil for the word? Is it a matter of chance, where some happen to have one sort of soil and some another? Is it a matter of effort, where only the juggernauts of virtuous effort, by continual prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are able to arduously create conditions favorable for growth?
It is not luck nor effort that makes us fit for salvation. God himself is the gardener. He himself is more than willing to do the work of transforming and preparing us for what he desires to give.
Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows,
breaking up its clods,
Softening it with showers,
blessing its yield.
The LORD himself has already begun this transformation in us at our baptism and confirmation.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (see Ezekiel 36:26).
Everything begins with God's offer of grace and new life.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
But this does not mean that the results are arbitrary, or that there are some who are simply predestined to fail. It is not just that we receive, but how we receive. We are called to cooperate with the grace we are given. We are called to be active in receiving grace. To this end we should be vigilant not to reject the offer (see Hebrews 12:25) and continue this vigilance as our growth continues.
We need to treasure the seed as a pearl of great price (see Matthew 13:45-46). Like the pearl, the word demands that our passions be reordered, that we yield to the grace to choose the one thing necessary above all the many other options of the world. If we only superficially acknowledge the word it can be stolen from us. But if we really let the gardener work in us he can plant it deeply enough that tribulation and persecution won't cause us to fall away. The seed will be so deep that it will survive and eventually crowd out the thorns of the cares of the world.
This perspective on the seed that is the word of God should make us more patient with ourselves and our process. It reveals that God is the one who does the work, and that he does so over time. Gardens take time and care to grow. The gardener takes loving care with the work and the process. So let us remain open even as the hard parts of hearts are broken open and the bitter roots are pulled away. Let us call out from our hearts for the gardener to continue his work. Let us indeed love his work in us.
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
If we welcome and love the work of the gardener we ourselves, broken though we are, will bear fruit, even in spite of all of our apparent limitations.
The fields are garmented with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain.
They shout and sing for joy.
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