RBWords

     Many of us will recall the place in the house - usually a doorjamb - where our growth rates in height were recorded!  We may recall our frustration that we weren't "growing" fast enough, and the twinges of envy when a sibling, especially a younger one, was growing "faster" than we were.  But each of us is unique in that way.  We can't make ourselves "grow" faster, although I know we can make ourselves heavier - obesity being a major health problem in the USA!

 

     The parable of the sower of the seed and the picture of the seed falling into different soils and responding (or not) to the conditions of the environment may help to explain why some people respond to the preaching of the kingdom, but it also explains how the kingdom develops as well.  The Letter of James 5:7 mentions this long and patient process, which all of us who garden know well.  No matter how often we look at the ground, we can't make the seed sprout faster! 

 

     To those who want God to do it all and do it right away, the parable of the sower and the seed will be frustrating.  But this is how Jesus tells us things are going to be.  What is important is that we sow that seed and take care of what sprouts!  The results, like our height, are a mystery, but a saving reality as well.  AMEN