Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Sts. Timothy & Titus, bishops 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Tutus 1:1-5 (or 2 Timothy 1:1-8)

From Paul, servant of God,

Apostle of Christ Jesus, at the service of God’s chosen peo­ple, so that they may believe and reach the knowledge of truth and godliness.

 The eternal life we are waiting for was promised from the very beginning by God who never lies,   and as the appointed time had come, he made it known through the message entrusted to me by a command of God, our Savior.

 Greetings to you, Titus, my true son in the faith we share. May grace and peace be with you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  I left you in Crete because I wanted you to put right what was defective and appoint elders in every town, following my instructions.

 

Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10

Proclaim God’s marvelous deed to all the nations.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊    

Mark 4:1-20

 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake, but such a large crowd gathered about him that he got into a boat and sat in it on the lake while the crowd stood on the shore.   He taught them many things through stories or parables. In his teaching he said,

 “Listen! The sower went out to sow.  As he sowed, some of the seed fell along a path and the birds came and ate it up.   Some of the seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil; it sprang up im­mediately because it had no depth;   but when the sun rose and burned it, it withered because it had no roots.   

Other seed fell among thornbushes and the thorns grew and choked it, so it didn’t produce any grain.   But some seed fell on good soil, grew and in­creased and yielded grain; some produced thirty times as much, others sixty and others one hun­dred times as much.”  And Jesus added, “Listen then, if you have ears.”

 When the crowd went away, some who were around him with the Twelve asked about the parables.  He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But for those outside, everything comes in parables,  so that the more they see, they don’t perceive; the more they hear, they don’t understand; otherwise they would be converted and pardoned.”

Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any of the parables? What the sower is sowing is the word.   Those along the path where the seed fell are people who hear the word, but as soon as they do, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

 Other people receive the word like rocky ground. As soon as they hear the word, they accept it with joy,   but they have no roots so it lasts only a little while. No sooner does trouble or persecution come be­cause of the word, than they fall.

 Others receive the seed as among thorns. After they hear the word,   they are caught up in the worries of this life, false hopes of riches and other desires. All these come in and choke the word so that finally it produces nothing.

 And there are others who receive the word as good soil. They hear the word, take it to heart and produce: some thirty, some sixty and some one hun­dred times as much.”

 

Recklessness of the Sower

Unlike a careful and responsible sower who would ensure that the seeds fell only on the good and well-prepared soil, the parable’s sower recklessly sows the seeds everywhere: not only within the fertile, ploughed soil, but also among thorns, on the path, and on the rocky ground; in other words, he sows them in every conceivable space.

However, there is a method in the seeming madness of the sower; for, we know that this sower is God Himself. What appears foolish in human perspective has greater wisdom in the Divine plan. God does not withhold his word-the seed-from any type of human hearts, be they fertile, full of thorns, hard, or rocky.

The Good News is not withheld from anyone, nor is it preached based on the recipient’s worth. It is up to the human hearts to respond to the seeds of the word, so as to produce thirty or sixty or hundred fold. Let those who have ears, let them hear.