Gospel Reflection For The 24th day of January in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
Mark 4:1-20
1 And again he began to teach by the sea side; and a great multitude was gathered together unto him, so that he went up into a ship, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude was upon the land by the sea side. 2 And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his doctrine: 3 Hear ye: Behold, the sower went out to sow. 4 And whilst he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate it up. 5 And other some fell upon stony ground, where it had not much earth; and it shot up immediately, because it had no depth of earth.
6 And when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And some fell upon good ground; and brought forth fruit that grew up, and increased and yielded, one thirty, another sixty, and another a hundred. 9 And he said: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 10 And when he was alone, the twelve that were with him asked him the parable.
11 And he said to them: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all things are done in parables: 12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand: lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. 13 And he saith to them: Are you ignorant of this parable? and how shall you know all parables? 14 He that soweth, soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown, and as soon as they have heard, immediately Satan cometh and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16 And these likewise are they that are sown on the stony ground: who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but are only for a time: and then when tribulation and persecution ariseth for the word they are presently scandalized. 18 And others there are who are sown among thorns: these are they that hear the word, 19 And the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts after other things entering in choke the word, and it is made fruitless. 20 And these are they who are sown upon the good ground, who hear the word, and receive it, and yield fruit, the one thirty, another sixty, and another a hundred.
This is the same parable that appears in the Gospel of Matthew. Saint Mark’s version is only slightly different. In both, our Lord explains that He spoke in parables because the religious Jews had rejected the prophets and were rejecting Him. The hardness of their hearts would lead to devastating loss for them but salvation for us. They would have the Messiah crucified, but He would rise from the dead and give life and truth to all the world who would believe.
Appropriately, this parable teaches us, though, that mere belief is not enough. Most all Protestant denominations teach that belief is all that is necessary. They base that on the heresy of Martin Luther, who changed the words of Jesus to say that “faith alone” is how a man may be saved, when our Lord emphasized faith and works. Those works, most importantly are the Holy Sacraments. The Eucharist, especially, is the greatest work in the history of the universe and the greatest that ever will come. In the Eucharist we not only become present in the sacrifice that God made for man, but we are made holy through consuming it if we receive it rightfully. The sacraments are the means through which our Lord makes us holy and pure so that we can live with Him forever in Heaven. Those who reject the Sacraments reject the Truth of our Lord and the means through which He offers salvation. Jesus stated firmly and adamantly that we must be Baptized and physically consume His body and His blood to receive eternal life. But more obvious works are also necessary, such as acts of Christian love and charity, going to Holy Mass on Sunday, adhering to and sharing all that the Church teaches.
The next time someone tells you that all that is necessary to be saved is to “accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior,” remind them that while that is the first step in faith, that is not what Jesus actually taught as evidenced in these Gospels. He states clearly that some hear His word and believe but are not saved. Their faith is lost either to the temptations of Satan or through the pleasures and distractions of this world. They received His word with joy, but they have no roots. Roots firmly established in the fertile soil that is the rock in which one finds the true teachings and power of Jesus in the Catholic Church that He founded and guaranteed have a far greater chance of survival. Make no mistake though, because our roots are deeper and more firmly established, Satan will try all the harder to pull us up. When we see all the smiling, happy people in (for instance) feel good, “Prosperity Doctrine”, “Super Churches” remember that their roots are shallow… their church is a house built on sand. Satan doesn’t have to try very hard to uproot them and they may go through life with far less suffering than we experience. Jesus promised us suffering and the true Church may be identified by just how hard it is to be a faithful Catholic. He also promised, “Those who endure until he end will be saved.” We must take up our personal crosses and follow Him through all the pain and suffering.
As Philip Melanchthon, a prominent Lutheran writer who may have been quoting Luther wrote: "The Protestant faith is the best one to live in, but the Catholic is the best to die in," and " The new religion makes the best show, the Catholic gives most security." When we consider how short this life is compared to eternity, I think any rational person would admit that it is worth the hard work necessary to be Catholic. It certainly is not always fun, but it is worth it!
A Daily Catholic Devotional Reflections on the Daily Mass readings January-June, 2024. may be purchased as a .pdf directly from me using this link https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-daily-catholic-devotional-reflections.html or in paperback on Amazon amazon.com/dp/B0CPD1DC7Q
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Gospel passages are taken from the Douay Rheims Bible.