Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
103

FIRST READING

IS 55:10-11

Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

PSALM

PS 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14

Response: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest

You have visited the land and watered it;
greatly have you enriched it.
God's watercourses are filled;
you have prepared the grain.

Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows,
breaking up its clods,
Softening it with showers,
blessing its yield.

You have crowned the year with your bounty,
and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
The untilled meadows overflow with it,
and rejoicing clothes the hills.

The fields are garmented with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain.
They shout and sing for joy.

SECOND READING

ROM 8:18-23

Brothers and sisters:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing
compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
For creation awaits with eager expectation
the revelation of the children of God;
for creation was made subject to futility,
not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itself
would be set free from slavery to corruption
and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

GOSPEL

MT 13:1-9

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."

Daily Reflection

Using vivid imagery, in just two verses, the first reading describes the efficacy of ‘God’s Word’, which is the focus of this Sunday’s Liturgy. But if the Bible claims that God’s Word is effective, how is it that many who regularly hear and read this ‘Word’ (through personal Bible reading or at Mass), do not undergo any significant change?

The Gospel provides the answer through the parable of the sower, the seeds and the different types of soil on which they are scattered. While the quality of the seed may be excellent, the varying degrees of collaboration offered by the different types of soil and environment determine the yield. So while there’s no doubt that God’s Word possesses unlimited potential, it is our attentive listening, reflection, and decision to act which accordingly determine how God’s Word affects us.

Is this true of me? That the more I hear of the Word of God, the better I get to know Him, love Him and serve Him?