The Gospel reading from today’s Mass was from Matthew 13:1-23. Jesus tells a parable about the farmer that sows seeds. I must confess something. I never really understood this piece of scripture. Rather, I had it backwards. I thought the seeds represented PEOPLE. Some people land in good soil and grow abundantly and produce great harvests. Some people are so shallow that they cannot grow. Needless to say…..I had it all wrong.
The seeds represent God’s LOVE. O-tay Buckwheat! I get it now. Before I kept thinking how unjust it was. If I am a good seed that has the misfortune to land in craggy soil…..I can’t MOVE. I am stuck with my lot. No free will and no power. But that is not what Jesus is saying.
God is the farmer. He has a sack full of seed. He has so much seed that he is generous in how he spreads it. He tosses it everywhere. He does not judge. He puts seed even in the most barren soil. He puts seeds in place they are very unlikely to survive, yet he sows his seeds anyways.
God loves everyone abundantly. he loves without regard. He loves the people with good souls and solid faith. They are the rich loam, the fertile ground that takes his love and flourishes. But God loves even the empty souls, the dried up souls, the hearts choked with thorns of bitterness and anger. He loves boundlessly and with reckless abandon. He loves like a madman. His love is hope and promise. He has faith in US to take his love and make something out of it.