By Fr. Roy Cimagala
“The seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” (Mt 13,23)
With these words of Christ, many things can come to mind. First, like Christ we should be generous in sowing the word of God that in the end is really what matters most in our life, for it brings us to our definitive eternal life.
We should be wary when we depend mainly on our sciences, arts and technologies which, while useful, can only do so much for us. And they can only truly and not deceptively useful when they are animated and guided by God’s word.
We have to be generous in sowing God’s word nowadays because the world is in dire need of it. Our increasingly powerful sciences and technologies can and should never replace God’s word. We have to be most careful of them because even if they give us a lot of advantages, they can also occasion in us a lot of strong temptations that would lead us to self-indulgence.
Another idea, of course, would be that we should try our best to be that rich soil on which the seed of God’s word would fall, so that that word becomes truly fruitful. We are meant to be fruitful and productive.
We truly need to study God’s word thoroughly, understanding it not simply as mere words but as the very person of Christ who is the very Word of God that is given to us. Studying God’s words is actually a matter of having an existential and intimate relation with Christ who is always alive and solicitous of our needs.
And from there, let us make that word bear fruit in us and in others. Yes, everyday, we should be keenly aware that we need to be fruitful and productive. That’s simply because even from the beginning of our creation in Adam and Eve, this has always been God’s will for us.
“Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it,” (Gen 1,28) God told our first parents, clearly outlining his mandate to them. It’s a mandate that continues to be repeated up to now. Christ himself said as much. In his parable of the three servants (cfr Mr 25,14-30), a master clearly told each one to trade with the amount given to them and to make the most out of it.
He was happy with the first two who gained as much as was given. But he was mad at the third one who did nothing with the amount given.
We have to realize that God has already given us everything that we need not only to survive but also to improve our lot that ultimately translates into realizing the fullness of our dignity as image and likeness of God, as children of his.
In this regard, we truly should be most enterprising, coming up with daily plans and strategies such that at the end of the day, when we make our examination of conscience, we can show God that we have gained something, and that the daily balance sheet of our spiritual life is in the black, not in the red.
We have to realize that the capitalization of this enterprise cannot be any better. God has given us everything–life, talents, intelligence, freedom, all kinds of capacities, his graces, etc.
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
