Sowing the Seeds of the Gospel

Reflection on Today's Readings, 14 Week in Ordinary Time Year II, Tuesday 7th July, 2020
Texts: His. 8:4-7,11-13; Ps. 115:3-10; Matt. 9:32-38
Every man will reap what he sows. God made this clear to his people in the first reading thus: "For they sow the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind". The people of Israel sowed the seeds of unfaithfulness and they reaped whirlwind of deportation and slavery; they were sent into exile.  They paid allegiance to false gods and they were deceived. False gods are those things we rely on in our lives and we have allowed, instead of God, to rule our desires, decisions and goals. These false gods are allowed into our lives when we are concern with only the moment. When our minds is preoccupied with lasting things, false gods will hardly find their ways into our lives; they cannot provide lasting things.
The right seed to sow is the seed of the gospel.Today's gospel shows Jesus Christ sowing the seeds of the gospel. The gospel brings healing, banishes evil and dispels ignorance. Jesus Christ did not allow accusation from Pharisees to deter him from spreading the gospel of the kingdom. If we spread the gospel, we will reap the kingdom of peace, joy and holiness.
The gospel reminds us that If we wait till everyone approves the gospel before we preach it, we will never do anything. The same act of Jesus Christ that won the amazement of the crowd and acclaimed as God's wonder was disregarded by the Pharisees and called the act of the prince of the demons. Sometimes, those who will be against us will be the prominent ones in our society, just like the Pharisees. Jesus Christ did not mind their accusation but continue with his good works: preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing every diseases and infirmity. His compassion for the people was unhindered by their prejudice
The spreading of the gospel requires everyone's cooperation, for the harvest is plentiful but labourers are few. Jesus Christ asks us to pray for more labourers. Praying for more labourers is also a way of spreading the gospel.

Lord Jesus, may we always find joy in spreading the gospel of the kingdom. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke