A person can go on a walk and hear the beautiful sound of a bird and think to themselves, that is a very nice sound, enjoy it, and keep walking on. Another person may hear the bird song, actually stop, and listen for a time and then move on. Still, another person may not only hear the sound, stop, and listen, but also look in the tree to see what type of bird is making that sound, identify it as a cardinal and then walk on.
Each person experienced the bird on different levels. Even the one who stopped to appreciate its song and take the time to identify it as a cardinal, still limited him or herself from experiencing the deeper wonder and uniqueness of this particular cardinal. God knows though. He knows this bird intimately, as he does with the entirety of his creation, including knowing each of us better than we know ourselves.
We may hear or read Jesus begin with these words of his parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed” (Luke 8:5), and then our eyes glaze over and our minds may go immediately to, “Oh, I know this parable well,” identify it like the person identifying the cardinal, and may even appreciate the parable, but then tune out because we have heard it before or many times before. We too would then miss the greater depth and wonder of what God wants to share with us.
Jesus helps his disciples to understand the parable when he tells them, “The seed is the word of God,” and then identifies how different people hear, and then act or don’t act on the word they have received. Those on the path of hard, traveled ground, the word is stolen by the devil; those representing rocky ground which has some soil “receive the word with joy” but since there is no depth in which to root, “they believe for only a time and fall away”; and the seed that fell among thorns was choked by the anxieties, riches, and pleasures of life. The final resting place was the best, the “rich soil” symbolizing “those who embrace the word with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance” (See Luke 8:4-15).
God knows each of us, knows our deepest and authentic desires, our deepest wounds, our sins, and our greatest promise. He loves us, wants the best for us, and so shares his seed, his word, with us in many ways.
Are we willing to open our hearts and minds to receiving the wonder of Jesus’ guiding and leading, or are we hardened and allow the devil to steal our Father’s word away for us? Are we willing to be patient to not only receive and savor his word, but also put it into practice? Are we willing to place his word in a place of prominence within our minds and hearts so that the many diversions, anxieties, stresses, and strains don’t choke its life? Are we willing to be persistent and daily call to mind this wonderful gift God has given to us, the gift of his living word, and allow it to take firm root, to nourish and water it, allow it to grow and flourish in our lives?
More than anything else, one of the most important practices that we can engage in each day is meditation and prayer upon the seed of God’s word. Not just saying prayerful words and moving on, not just a functional practice that we check off our list, but receiving God’s word as he wants to give it and allowing it to germinate in our hearts and minds so that we may be transformed. The enemy will seek to steal, distract, divert, and dissuade us from receiving and nourishing the gift of his word.
We need to resist these temptations, renounce them, pull them out as we would weeds and repeat the word or phrase we have received. We can meditate upon the words, “A sower went out to sow his seed” for some time and imagine what kind of soil God finds in us. Not in condemnation, but in gentle honesty. When we find areas where the soil is anything but rich, we attend to it. Tilling to soil of our soul with the hoe of a simple phrase like, “Jesus, I Trust in You” can do wonders. Turning this phrase over regularly in our minds breaks through hardened soil. Our hearts soften, our minds are more open, and there the seed of God’s word can begin to germinate and take root.
When we regularly identify and turn over those areas of hardened soil, more and more what we think, speak, and do is nourished by the eternal spring of the Holy Spirit. Even when temptation arises, trials and tribulations threaten, any thorns will remain undeveloped, they will have no bite or choking strength. We will doubt less and no longer choked by anxiety when we anchor our trust in Jesus and his love for us. We will persevere through challenging times, as well as be grateful in tranquil times when we allow God’s word to be rooted more firmly and to stretch more deeply into the depth of our souls.
Photo: Mary through her practice of pondering and trusting in God provided the rich soil needed such that through the power of the Holy Spirit conceived the Word in her womb and he took on flesh.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 