Reading through last Sunday’s gospel, this line jumped out at me.
“The seed that fell on good soil produced a hundredfold…”
What struck me most was the qualifier “that”: “the seed THAT fell on good soil.”
What? Jesus, you go around sowing on soil that’s thorny, rocky, or a beaten path too? Why? That doesn’t’ seem practical; it doesn’t seem like is the best investment of your time and energy.
Every square inch of my heart is His. Every single person is worth His entire passion, death, and resurrection. That’s why Jesus Christ sows His love and mercy so freely.
He comes to heal and to save. There’s nothing too messy or difficult for Him. There’s nothing beyond His gentle reach.
And the most comforting news of all: God never gets frustrated with His garden — the human heart.
Why? Frustration implies obstacles or unfulfilled desires.
Nothing is impossible for God, much less the beaten path of my limitations and self-centered tendencies, the thorny brush of my fears and worries, or the rocky soil of my impatience, vanity, and laziness. As undesired as these might be, these are not obstacles for Him. They’re opportunities for Him to be God in my life.
It will take more time to convert the beaten, rocky, and thorny soil into “good soil”: more of His compassion, gentleness, and grace. It will take more time before the Eucharistic Lord, the sacramental grace of confession, and a greater abundance of the waters of his merciful heart. But that’s not a bad thing.
Though a “work in progress”, I am, nevertheless, His masterpiece. Through the rocky, thorny, and beaten soil of my heart, imagine how much more I will be able to receive from God, and the joy I give Him in letting Him be my Savior.
This is how the Kingdom of His Heart transforms mine: through the gentle persistence of His sowing the abundant overflow of His love.
Rachel – I am an old friend of your mother’s. Stumbled onto this through Facebook, which I am not on that often. Your comments and insights are a blessing to one who remembers when you were born. May God continue His work in your life.
Miriam Parent