Sexagesima – The Sower

By Fr Jean Celestin Ngoma

2 Corinthians 11:19-31       St Luke 8:4-15

 

He who has ears, let him hear.

 

I like the “behind-the-scenes” content of movies because they can help reveal the chaotic process of making a movie. They may also  somehow enhance respect and appreciation for the movie protagonists' hard work and efforts. The behind-the-scenes content may actually provide insight into the personalities of the actors and what their lives are like off-screen.

It can feel uplifting to see and contemplate images of people who tirelessly work behind the scenes at Westminster Abbey. It is amazing to have an impression of their love for what they do.  The same applies to the heroic and background actions of the “unknown soldier” and their sacrificial acts for our freedom and democracies, which may usher in admiration and thankfulness from us.

Today’s readings may somehow help us understand the identity of our Lord Jesus, the divine narrator speaking and operating in the back of our minds. An opportunity for us, the audience and followers of Christ, to deepen our appreciation for what he did for us, once and for all, on the cross.

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The Gospel underscores four types of people, four types of soil, three obstacles, three types of virtues and one way to success.

The first obstacle or danger to the word of God is careless hearing. The “wayside’s people”, being on the edge of the path where the seeds are being sown, hear the Word of God. Satan immediately comes and takes away the seed of the Word within them. Without attention, without listening, in short, without the theological virtue of faith, the word does not bear fruit.

•The second obstacle is the lack of roots or the danger of trial. The “stony ground’s people, having both hands, seize the opportunity, but they do not commit. They are people of the moment. Without a long-term perspective, in short, without the theological virtue of hope, the word cannot hold in their soul.

•The third obstacle is covetousness or danger of prosperity. Everything had started well: active listening with faith, good roots with hope, but alas, the cares of the world and the love of riches acted like thorns. In short, without the theological virtue of charity, the seduction of wealth and all other covetousness invade their hearts and silence the Word, which bore no fruit.

While the three obstacles depict our desolation, a sense of spiritual dryness and aridity, the four grounds remind us that we all long for fruitfulness. You long for fruitfulness!

One may say that our hearts contain those four types of soil: the hard, rocky, weedy and fertile ground. The quality of our hearts and virtues varies depending on the type of soil we are experiencing in our souls, but our common goal as Christians is to reach the good soil.

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Who is that chaotic Sower who failed to prepare or identify good soil before sowing? Who is that chaotic Sower who sowed anywhere and everywhere? Who is that Sower who seems not to know what he was doing? Who is that Sower who decided to lose three-quarters of His seeds and crops? At first glance, the Sower looks like an amateur or a naïve person to sow everywhere.

The Sower is not to blame because he made the choice to address everyone in his or her current situation. All we can learn from today’s gospel is that the narrator of the gospel reveals to us the identity and the “irrational love” of the Sower, who loves the work of His hands. His name is Jesus, who is able to sacrifice everything, His rank, His privileges, and resolutely decided to die for everyone. This is how we can reverse our initial judgment, which was unfavourable to the Sower. Our hero, from the creation stories until now, addresses everyone. The different soils are an expression of the human hearts and not His. Ultimately, the Sower is immensely generous.

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Today is the second Sunday of our preparation for the Lenten fast. Have we made progress spiritually or emotionally? Are we still struggling with past and present wounds?

Saint Ignatius of Loyola enlightens us about consolation and desolation, being movements of the soul that indicate whether one is moving towards God or away from Him. Consolation brings peace, love, and faith, while desolation involves darkness, turmoil, and spiritual dryness ( cf. Joe Laramie, SJ).

The entire second letter to Corinthians depicts Saint Paul's profound state of desolation and internal anxiety. In 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 Saint Paul speaks about "Thorn in the Flesh”: that which attempted to disallow the inner divine seeds to grow and flourish within him.

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How are you doing today?

It may take a couple of seconds to reflect before answering that simple question, especially when asked suddenly. The question of how we are doing today may trigger suspicion on the motive behind the greeter: is he trying to see if I am falling apart? Is it a genuine greeting?

Is the greeter trying to be paged about the chaos in my family or marital life? And all other questions related to our human desolation.

This question may trigger another redundant sub-question in our mind: “Hmm, how am I doing today?” In fact, answering that question may plunge us into the mystery of consolation and desolation, a mix of emotions.

Yes, I have to confess that I do have a mix of emotions today: gratitude for the good health (my consolation), and I feel a bit of stress over the big upcoming project that some of you know about ( my desolation) and confusion over a toxic conversation with a manager last Friday (another desolation)”.

As you may have noticed, my answer to the simple question of how I was doing today triggers more desolations than consolations. We may be  inclined to add up our desolations instead of counting our consolations.

Stress, a state of desolation, may be caused by the seeds of the evil spirit that “harass with anxiety, to afflict with sadness, to raise obstacles backed by fallacious reasoning that disturb the soul. Thus, he seeks to prevent the soul from advancing” (discernment of Spirit, Rule #315).

Join me, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, to practice and embrace consolation and desolation with faith, hope and charity during this coming week:

Here is actionable advice that can help us see if we are moving forward towards higher values (consolation) or  if we are moving away from the seeds of the Word that are being sown in our soul (desolation).

Depending on the type of ground we may find in ourselves, let us acknowledge during this week, the gifts of consolation as they are, our blessings.  After contemplating our divine gifts, then Duc in altum (“put out into the deep"), as “the soul goes forward in doing good… keep up your prayer routine (#315). Be humble during consolation time, and store up a supply of strength as a defence against that day of desolation” (#323-4).

When you experience desolation during the coming week, acknowledge it, take it and label it as a mystery, a thing you and I cannot change. Bring it to God, who deals with all things that are in the order of “mystery”. We are humans and unable to comprehend mysteries, and some wounds need professional help.

During our moments of consolation, Saint Paul’s advice during this week would be:

- Not to trust in ourselves lest we forget the main divine Sower, the inward source of our success working behind the scene.

-To be sober-minded and alert.

-Not to trust in what we do. Trust instead in the Divine power.

Not to brag! You may only brag or speak of yourself when silence would do more harm than speech ( cf. Merville Scott).

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Let us summarise:

The word is sown widely. The Sower, who appears to us to be a little naïve, but He is not. He sows His word with unlimited generosity. However, this gift is fragile. The word is under attack. To bear fruit, it must be protected by three virtues. Through faith, we will be attentive to receive the word with care. Through hope, we will be faithful over time. Through charity, we will renounce our egoistic desires in order to protect the Word that God has placed in our souls.

During consolation this week, turn to God in humble gratitude and keep going.

In desolation, be humble and entrust everything to God Himself, the “Revealer of mysteries”.

Thank you, Jesus, for nurturing the divine seeds of Your Word in our minds today while celebrating this Eucharist, the Sacrament of our divine consolation.

Amen +