Fr. Robert J Carr is the editor of this blog

It is easy for me to go into another language and not realize it. Occasionally, I have started mass here in the wrong language and not realized it until everyone looks at me saying nothing. I actually did it last week when I celebrated mass in Portuguese in Hyannis. I began in Spanish. Right away, when I don’t get the expected reaction I know something is wrong and it is always I began with the wrong language. The message is simple, if I am not communicating in a way you understand then the message is lost.

This is also a biblical message.

Understanding the word of God is the first step to knowing Christ.

I want you to look carefully at our Gospel passage and you may notice something quite interesting. The sower sows the seeds, of those seeds, three do in fact take root, however the first never do. What is Jesus trying to tell us.

Here he shows that the seed that falls on the path represents the word of God that is taken away by Satan, it never takes root. The other seed does take root but in two of those three examples in the parable the realities of the world choke it. However, the seed did in fact take root. The word of God began to grow in the person’s heart. In the final example, it sprouts roots and bears great fruit. But, in the first example, it does not even reach the stage to take root. Let us look at why.

If you look further at that passage you can see that Jesus quotes Isaiah. Notice the focus is on the fact that the people have closed themselves off to the word of God. They have hardened themselves, they have set up a ground that is hostile to the word of God. What causes this? Their own pride and lack of humility.

Let’s go back to the scene. Jesus is speaking to people of whom are groups that match each of the four examples. However, we know from the story that the Pharisees and the leaders of the Jews who rejected Jesus were those with hardened hearts. They had closed their heart to Jesus, even though there is nothing He ever taught that they could possibly contradict. That is why they use lies to convict Him because the truth could only acquit Him.

Photo credit: Kzenon via bigstockphoto.com

Everything Jesus says bounces off them like a seed on the hard path. It goes no where by their own choice. They are resistant, cynical, arrogant, Notice further whom Jesus says is part of this. Satan. His first task is to make sure people do not understand the word of God. Because once they understand then they go to the next stage and with that stage begins healing and transformation and the Devil only wants destruction. He is building them up in pride and with that pride comes a hardness of heart that renders the seed of God useless.

Remember, understanding the word of God is the first step to following Christ.

Jesus often teaches here that if we offer ourselves in humility the seed will grow, just as if you plant a seed in the ground it will grow and you really cannot stop the process. It is fairly easy. So it is our task to allow ourselves to be transformed and healed in Christ by not being resistant to His word coming into our lives. How can we become like those represented in the parable as the path that never receives the seed? By figuring that we do not need to know the word of God or assuming that we already know it. If we do not engage in some form of bible reading, even bible study, then how are we going to know the word of God. Even if it is just knowing ahead of time the Sunday readings and letting them be a part of us.

I have been a priest for over 18 years and I still learn new things by reading the bible. Indeed in preparing for this homily, it was the first time I noticed that there was a drastic difference between one of the seeds and the others. The first seed never sprouts roots. We need to be humble before the word of God and we need to know what it says and we will discover knew realities every time. Once we start to allow it to affect our lives then we become transformed by it. Why? like the biology behind the seed sprouting roots, that is the way we were made to be.

Go back to Isaiah when the people can understand the word of God, then they are healed. Healed of what, the negative affects on our lives of sin. The sinful inclinations that

can transform us negatively and lead us asking the question, why did I do that? The realities that we struggle with that lead us to experience our own humanity in a way that leads us to see our need for the healing that Christ offers.

Jesus says to allow that ground to be soft enough to absorb the seed and let it take root. Remove everything in your life that is resistant to the word of God. Everything that says we are too sophisticated in the early 21st Century to read the bible, or even everything that says, that Catholics do not need to read the bible. Yes, they do. Know how to read the bible especially the New Testament. Ask the Lord in his kindness and mercy to allow the word of God to transform you and lead you to bear fruit 30, 60 or even one hundred fold. Be transformed by the word of God. If you are resistant to it, you cannot be transformed, but if you are open to it, you cannot help but be transformed.

St. Jerome said that ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.

He too knew that understanding the word of God is the first step to knowing Christ.

God bless you,

Fr. Robert J Carr

You can follow him on twitter as @frbobcarr
Thoughts, comments on the homily? Let us know at Facebook