And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
- Mark 4:3-8
I love this parable. It is a beautiful and perfect description of how people express their faith or lack thereof. We all know people how fall into these different categories: people who have no interest in faith, people who say they believe but allow little things to turn them off from church, people who say they are Christians but don't show it by their actions, and true believers who live the Gospel every day. In choosing this metaphor to describe the people of God, Jesus struck literary gold.
We have all had that experience where we are on fire for God. Maybe you went on retreat and had a powerful encounter with God and you were going to set the world ablaze. But then you returned home and were discouraged by lack of opportunities and maybe became less involved for a while.
We've all had times in our life where we are running in twenty different directions because of work, family obligations, running the kids around, etc., and have maybe put church and our faith on the back burner.
We've also all had those moments when we are firing on all cylinders, attending Mass, involved in ministries, and feel like we are making a difference and winning hearts for the Lord.
No matter what situation you find yourself in right now, remember that it does not have to be that way. Unlike the seed in the parable which falls wherever it falls without out any rhyme or reason, we can choose where we land. We can choose to make Jesus a priority in our lives. We can choose to actively work for the betterment of the world. We can choose to be Christ to others. What choice will you make? But the true beauty and power of this parable comes when we realize that it does not just describe different groups of people. Rather, it describes each of us and the stages we go through in our faith lives.