July 13, 2014: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

What conditions in your life contribute to being a good person? (This photo was taken on the ground of Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, In.)

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some 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.
But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.” (Matthew 13:1-9)

Reflection:

My grandmother once gave me a huge, beautiful plant for my classroom, and my second graders took turns watering our plant. Being a first year teacher, it didn’t even enter my mind that our beloved plant would be without water and in a cold environment during the two week Christmas vacation.

So after Christmas vacation, there was much sadness among my students when we returned to school and noticed our wilted and dying plant. Immediately my students watered the plant, and we watched and talked to it all day. By the end of the day, our plant was once again perky and alive. There was much excitement among the students, and our beloved plant’s revival was treated as a miracle.

In the gospel reading today, when Jesus tells his disciples the parable about the sower and seed, he is reminding us of the various conditions we need to be good persons, just as our beloved classroom plant needed special conditions to continue to live.

Action:

Think about the various conditions in your life that contribute to your growing to be a good person, and choose one action you would like to work on this week. Some of these conditions include the friends you hang out with and how they influence you, your relationship with your family and how you treat them, your time at school and how you pay attention in class and do your homework, and the special prayer time you give God. Can you think of other conditions that contribute to being a good person?