I want to start off by commending you for coming to Mass this morning. It’s a miserable day, hot, humid, muggy, rainy, a good day to just stay home and read a good book, watch television or troll the internet for a sale; not a good day to go anywhere – but you’re here; good for you. So, why did you come here this morning? It’s because you’re the seed that’s fallen on rich soil. You have heard God’s word and understood that it is important to you. You recognize the need for God and long for the strength that comes from receiving our Lord’s sacred Body and Blood in Holy Communion. Oh, you may have started off as the seed sown on the path or on rocky soil or amid thorns and have allowed the devil or some tribulation in your life or worldly anxiety or the lure of riches cause you to turn away from God. But, at some point in your life, you have allowed God in, you have let his saving Word, Jesus, to speak to you and so you came this morning even though it would have been much easier to just stay home and do something else – or nothing at all. And God has blessed you as you join the rest of this faithful community around the altar of the Lord to hear his life-giving Word and receive his son’s nourishing Body and Blood.
Without God in our lives, the struggles that we all face – temptations from the devil, tragedies in our lives like the loss of a loved one, serious illness, family discord, job loss – can become insurmountable. We wonder where God is or if there even is a God. And, if there is, does he care for me at all; after all, who am I? But, when we allow God into our lives, when we gaze on the crucifix and realize that Jesus – the Word made Flesh – has suffered just as we have and even worse than any of us ever will – all to show God’s love for us – then our struggles begin to make sense. They have allowed us to strip away what isn’t important in our lives and become filled with the life-giving power that our God gives us, only if we listen to him and follow his ways. In some mysterious way, we have let God’s Word and his Way feed us and lead us. That’s why we’re here today.
Of course, when we become the seed sown on rich soil, when we allow God into our lives, there is a catch – there always is with God. We are now called to bear fruit and yield a harvest of a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. And we do. We spend time before God in prayer, knowing that he is our only true consolation. And, we reach out in love to those we meet in our daily lives, forgiving those who have hurt us, caring for those in need, speaking God’s Word to strengthen those who are still on rocky soil or among the thorns.
We have come together as God’s family here, encouraged by being among others who recognize that we need to enrich our souls with God’s life-giving Word and the strength given us through the sacraments and the community of faith – the Church. That’s why we gather as a community of believers so we can encourage each other in our faith life. And, every time we gather as a faithful community, we hear God’s word proclaimed. And, we receive the sacraments – signs of God’s loving presence in our world. That’s why we treasure the sacraments so much. They give us the strength of the Holy Spirit of God and nourish us with the very Body and Blood of his Son.
When the Word takes root in our lives and our faith grows, we can offer ourselves back to the One who first gave all to us. We do so in acts of love for him and for each other just as Jesus did for us.
We were all created to be rich soil for the Word of God. And, Isaiah’s prophecy that we heard in today’s first reading is true; let’s listen to it once more: “Thus says the Lord: ‘My Word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.’” Let us be careful to enrich the soil of our souls – listening to God’s word, receiving the sacraments and remaining close to the community of faith – the Body of Christ – so that we can continue to bear fruit abundantly.