20th September. Saturday, Week 24

Saint Andrew Kim and companions, martyrs.

Kim Taegon Andrea (1821–1846) was the first Korean-born Catholic priest and is the patron saint of Korea. His parents were converts and his father was subsequently martyred for the faith. Kim studied at a seminary in Macau, was ordained in Shanghai and returned to Korea to evangelize. But Christianity was brutally suppressed and Andrew Kim was one of several thousand Christians executed. In 1846 he was tortured and beheaded near Seoul.

First Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49

(What is sown and dies rises to new, incorruptible life. Our bodies will resemble the risen Jesus.)

But some one will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Gospel: Luke 8:4-15

(The parable of the sown seed is explained only to the apostles, who will share their wisdom with others.)

When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that “looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.’

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.

Our inner potential

A divine potential simmers in the depths of each of us, something that Jesus compares to a seed, buried in the ground. Looking at the seed before it is planted, one hardly suspects what a flower will develop from it. The process by which the seed “dies” or disintegrates to be reborn cannot be rushed. It needs not time and a silent waiting within the dark, warm earth.

This links with what Paul writes about that part of us which is “subject to decay.” Yes, we must die as people of earth, of body. It is not that this part is bad or useless, but only after the flower fades can the seed develope to its full potential. Our future self will be in continuity with our former self, as a new plant grows out of the seed, yet surpassing the old in unimaginable ways. Weakness is sown, and strength rises up. Paul’s resurrection faith makes him the most optimistic of religion teachers.

Matthew’s explanation of the Sower parable gives other pointers about life. As the seed, God’s word, can fall on the footpaths and there be trampled down, so life’s mystery must not be subjected to every person’s advice and be easily subjected to anyone’s opinion. If the seed is scattered on rocky ground where it cannot take root but quickly dries up, we must allow God’s inspiration to sink its roots deeply into our lives and become a part of ourselves. Neither should the seed be dispersed amid briars, as it would be if we lose ourselves in a whirlwind pursuit of pleasure, and lose our taste for prayer, reflection and the self-denial which every mature person needs. Finally, the seed that falls on good ground and yields a plentiful harvest suggests how the grace of God must be thoroughly integrated into ourselves. The harvest depends on the quality of our lives over a long period of time.