Kuwait City, 11-13 July 2014
Homily of the Apostolic Nuncio
His Grace Archbishop Petar Rajič
Is 55:10-11; Rom 8:18-23; Mt 13:1-23
The readings from Sacred Scripture today compare our hearts to the soil of the earth. Our hearts are like clumps of soil, ready to give life to the seed of the word of the Lord. Jesus indicates that God is the one who is continually sowing the seed of his word of life all around us. His is the generous hand that plants the seed we need for our lives that provides for new life and hope for the future.
God’s word is not just a spoken word. It is a creating, life-giving word that is meant to be applied to our daily lives. It is similar to a life-bearing seed planted in our hearts that we encounter in every experience of our lives, whether good or bad. God’s word has been revealed to us most perfectly in Jesus Christ, in all that he said, taught and did. Jesus’ entire life example along with his death and resurrection, reveal to us that he indeed is the true incarnation of the word of God in our midst and that he is the Word of God. Jesus is at the same time the sower of the word of God and he became the seed that was destined to die in order to sprout up and live again so that we could have new life in him.
Even though the soil of our hearts may be like that of a barren path, or full of rock and thorns, there also exists a bit of good soil in each of us. This is the fertile land that God is counting on in order to produce the healthy and wholesome fruit of good works, justice and peace through us.
The strength of our lives is found in the seed, which is the word of the Lord that shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Is 55:11). Our calling is to accept the word of God the same way good soil accepts new seed. The seed is God’s word of salvation. Our hearts have to be cultivated like soil through constant prayer and penance, in order to be free of all rocks and thorns and become fertile land prepared to receive the word of God. Our vocation then, is to become gardeners and sowers of the same word: planting it, disseminating it and sharing its fruits generously with others. The hidden force in the seed is not ours but found within the word of God, which is capable of changing us for the better and producing good fruit through us in order to fulfill the purpose for which it was sent.
