Newsletter – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A.

REFLECTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE – by Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart

This farmer who is sowing doesn’t seem to have much of a plan. There isn’t an organised effort to prepare all the soil so that none of the seed is wasted. It’s just thrown all over the place, with the hope that some of it will fall on good soil and grow.

Do you think that is a good strategy for a farmer whose life depends upon successfully growing things? Why or why not?

Why do you think God throws out seed to bad soil as well as to good soil?

If our job is to spread the message of God, should we have a plan that is more dependable than this farmer’s plan? Why or why not? What might such a plan look like?

Even if we are very deliberate about where we ‘sow the seeds’ of God’s message, we can’t always control how people will receive it.

Do you think it is better to aim for just the good soil, so that we mainly bring the message to people who are ready to listen to it? Why or why not?

Do you think it is better to spend some time working the soil, so that dry, rocky or thorny areas might become more fertile and ready to accept the seed? Why or why not?

Not only are we asked to bring the seed of God’s word to others, we are also asked to receive the seed of God’s word from others.

When do you feel like the good soil, fertile and waiting for God’s word to come to you and bring you new life?

When do you feel like dry, rocky or thorny soil, not ready for God’s word to grow within you?

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