Daily Readings - Sat Sep 17 2022
1 Corinthians
35But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?"36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.45So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a lifegiving spirit.46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Luke
4While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:5"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.6Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."9His disciples asked him what this parable meant.10He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'11"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.12Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.13Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.14The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the mystery of transformation and the call to openness to God’s word. In the first reading from 1 Corinthians, St. Paul uses the image of a seed to explain the resurrection of the dead. Just as a seed must die and be buried in the earth before it can sprout into new life, our bodies, though weak and corruptible now, will one day rise in glory, power, and as spiritual bodies. Paul emphasizes that our earthly bodies are not the final reality; they are but a shadow of the heavenly bodies we will one day receive. This teaching reassures us that death is not the end but a transformation, a passage from the earthly to the heavenly.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the sower, which complements Paul’s teaching. The seed represents the word of God, and the different types of soil symbolize the various ways people respond to that word. Some hear the word but let it be stolen away by distractions or temptations. Others receive it with enthusiasm but lack the depth to sustain it through trials. Still, others allow the cares and riches of the world to choke its growth. Only those with good and noble hearts, who receive the word with patience and perseverance, bear fruit. Jesus’ parable reminds us that the word of God has the power to transform us, but we must create the conditions for it to take root and flourish in our lives.
Both readings call us to reflect on our own openness to God’s word and our readiness to embrace the transformation He offers. Just as the seed must die to produce new life, we must let go of our old selves—our sins, our fears, our attachments—to rise to new life in Christ. Let us ask ourselves: What kind of soil am I? Do I allow the word of God to take root in my heart, or do I let the pressures of the world suffocate it? May we strive to be the good soil, nurturing the word with faith and patience, so that we may bear fruit in abundance and live with hope in the promise of eternal life.