July 10th 2011: Sunday Gospel Reflection

Matt 13:1-23

I was away from home housesitting for a family for two weeks and the plant in my room at home went unattended and un-watered the whole time! I forgot about it, did not tend to it, and it is dying. What else should I have expected?

Jesus desperately sought time for prayer and reflection to cultivate his inner life. We all know that Jesus went to the desert for 40 days but throughout His life He regularly went away and found time to be alone with His Father and to pray. In today’s Gospel he goes to the Sea to reflect, then when people crowd around Him, He gets in a boat to get some space; this is a model that we should follow.

-How much time in a given week do I spend on prayer and meditation? 

-Do I go to Mass once a week?

-Do I spend time in the morning, midday, or evening reflecting on the day and God’s presence (or sometimes lack thereof!) in my day?

It is not always easy amid a busy life (even in the Summer!) to slow down and check-in with our inner life, this is why it can be so valuable to get into a routine of incorporating prayer into life: brushing teeth, reflection book next to bed, a prayer to say when you get in the car or public transportation, praying before meals. These moments allow us to reclaim throughout a day our identity: Beloved of God.

The parable that Jesus tells the crowds and teaches His disciples depends upon cultivating this inner life: the parable of the sower. Some of the seed falls on rocky ground, others amid thorns, but some falls on rich soil that grows into an abundant harvest. If we follow the example of Jesus to take time each day to tend the soil of our souls, our inner life, then the seed of God’s love will be able to take root in us and our lives will bear fruit.

If we do not water or tend the soil of our hearts, our inner life, how can we expect it to be healthy, bear fruit, or even stay alive?

“Whoever has ears ought to hear...but blessed are your eyes, because they see,

and your ears, because they hear.”