In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the parable about the seeds that find their way to different types of soil. I liked that our visiting priest translated the parable from a farming narrative to a fishing one. While many of the elements remain the same, the aspect that I truly appreciated was the variable nature of the river as opposed to the ground. In the original parable, the suggestion is that there are some people who will simply not accept the Word of God, but in today's retelling the suggestion is that the there are times when people will be more or less receptive.
I like the difference (which I do believe is intended in the original version) because there are times when my heart is hardened against God's teachings and times when I am more receptive to them. There are times (like the stony ground) when my faith is superficial and times (like the thorny ground) when the cares of the world strangle out my devotion to God. Our visiting priest asked us to examine the condition of our soil (or fishing spot) and to think about changing it for the better.
This applies to other aspects of my life as well. Sometimes, I am set in my ways and opinions with no room for growth or change. Other times, I make superficial changes in my life (diet and exercise come to mind) only to have them burn out after a short period of time. In other instances, I find my good intentions choked away by the various banalities that crop up in life, and I allow those to be used as excuses to keep myself from improvement. I need to work on making myself more receptive to true and deep change that betters my life and the lives of those around me.
I like the difference (which I do believe is intended in the original version) because there are times when my heart is hardened against God's teachings and times when I am more receptive to them. There are times (like the stony ground) when my faith is superficial and times (like the thorny ground) when the cares of the world strangle out my devotion to God. Our visiting priest asked us to examine the condition of our soil (or fishing spot) and to think about changing it for the better.
This applies to other aspects of my life as well. Sometimes, I am set in my ways and opinions with no room for growth or change. Other times, I make superficial changes in my life (diet and exercise come to mind) only to have them burn out after a short period of time. In other instances, I find my good intentions choked away by the various banalities that crop up in life, and I allow those to be used as excuses to keep myself from improvement. I need to work on making myself more receptive to true and deep change that betters my life and the lives of those around me.
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