29.01.25 Rahasia Tanah Subur: Merenungkan Perumpamaan Penabur di Era Modern

Wednesday 3rd week in ordinary time "Mk 4:1-20" Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven." And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them. And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." The sower was scattering seed everywhere. He wasn't analysing the quality of the soil or avoiding particular patches of land: he was sowing all over the place. Because he knew that some seed may not work but some other will yield a hundredfold. The sower knew that the seed is a small thing in comparison with the harvest. It is the same with our apostolate: a nice word, a reference to God in our conversation, giving good example, an act of kindness are also little things but they can have great consequences in souls. We should try never to miss an opportunity to help people. Whenever we meet people, even if it is for a short instant, we should try to leave in them a divine seed that God could use to bring them to Him. On one occasion St Josemaría was inspecting the building works in a new house when an Italian builder yelled a blasphemy. The same builder explained years later, "Suddenly I saw that priest looking at me. Silent. I can't describe his sorrowful glance. All I can say is that I wanted to cry there and then. I imagine that those were the same features that St Peter saw in Jesus' face when he denied Our Lord. That glance changed my life as words could never do." On another occasion St Josemaría went to buy new trousers with two other priests in Italy. As the other two were trying on the clothes he struck up a conversation with the shop assistant. When it was his turn to try on the trousers the shop assistant turned round and said to the others, "Il vostro compagno non perde il tempo, eh!" [Your friend wastes no time, eh!] Let us ask Our Lady, with the words of St Josemaría, to help us become "burning embers that will set alight each heart they come into contac