Isaiah draws our attention to how the rain and snow can soften the soil and thus make it malleable for crops to grow and draw nutrients from it. He then draws a similarity with the word of God that makes the human heart malleable to accept the precepts of God.

St Paul reminds us in the second reading that creation is awaiting redemption. Creation became in need of redemption due to the fall of humanity in Adam and Eve. Creation has been redeemed in Christ, but the fullness of redemption will only take place at the end of time, during the second coming of Christ. Though as Christians we have been grafted into Christ through our baptism, we are still awaiting our final glorification in Christ.

The Gospel presents us with the parable of the sower. This parable is taken from an agricultural background. A farmer, after preparing a field for planting crop, scatters the grain all over the field. Though the field has been ploughed, there may still be some weeds, roots or stems that survived the tilling, or some stones or rocks that are mixed with the soil. As the grains are being scattered, some may fall beyond the cultivated area. It is within this context that the parable envisaged some seeds becoming food for the birds. Some may fall on rocks and hence be scorched by the sun since their roots will have no depth, others may germinate but may be choked by weeds or thorns, and a respectable number will germinate on good soil and bear fruits.

Jesus compared the above scenarios to different kinds of people who heard the Word of God but received it differently. The proclaimer of this Word of God is Jesus himself. There may be times that we are full of fervour or enthusiasm about our faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and times that we are very lukewarm and uninterested about our faith. There are times that we are faith-filled and times that we are doubtful. There are times we live in accordance with the demands of faith, and there are times we betray the faith by what we do or say or did not do or did not say. The fact that the seeds that fell on good soil yielded differing percentages of fruits (100%, 60% and 30%) is a reminder to us that though all the baptised are Christians, we still need to nurture our faith. It is not enough to baptise a child, but we should bring the child up in the faith.

Similarly, as adults, we need to grow our faith by meditating on the books of the bible which are like letters from home. It is also essential that we read some church documents like the Catechism of the Catholic Church and other spiritual books. Let us also make time to participate in other meditations and spiritual activities. Just participating in mass on Sunday and doing nothing else throughout the week may not be enough. Conversion of heart and manners is also essential for us to yield a bumper harvest.