Luke 8:4-15 in a prayer couplet
Saturday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
©️2021 Gloria M. Chang
When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, 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.”
Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. He answered, “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.’
“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 trial. 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.
Luke 8:4-15
O Lord, protect your seed from thieves, storms, and snares.
Nurture it in the soil of listening prayers.
Traditional Chinese Translation
《向播種者祈禱》
主啊，保護你的種子免受盜賊、風暴和網羅的傷害。
在傾聽祈禱的土壤中培育它。
Dear GMC, your reflections on this parable always feed me and give me pause for contemplation. Today, I meditate on the “soil of listening prayers” that make our faith fertile and fruit bearing. Thank you for enriching my Lectio Divina that I just started to learn and practice.
I am reminded of teachers and students at the start of a new school year. A magnet on my frig says, “Teachers plant seeds.” Hopefully that is what teachers will do for our students, many who have fallen behind during the long haul of remote learning. May the seeds be planted among rich soil, ears that listen and learn.