The Parable of the “Sower of the Seed always takes me back to my first pilgrimage to the Holy Land, twelve years ago. I remember thinking about this parable when I was surprised at the starkness of the landscapes in Palestine, the vast deserts of Israel, of the choking dust of Jericho.  In the Gospel Jesus tells us, “… some seed fell on the path, … some fell on rocky ground, … some seed fell among thorns, … but some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit…”

Living my entire life in the mid-Atlantic, and these last 40+ years in the “Garden State,” I pictured landscapes similar to my experiences: vast fields of tomato plants, blueberries, peach orchards, cranberry bogs, etc.

In Palestine, what I saw was vast areas of desert, of rocks laid bare by centuries of winds and heat. And in this midst, I saw signs of war and violence: on our bus we flashed past areas cordoned off by barbed wire, with yellow signs and red letters warning of mine fields. All this shifted my view from “tourist” to “pilgrim.”

That, and subsequent Holy Land visits changed how I understand scripture, especially this morning’s parable. We can presume lots of fertile soil (in South Jersey), and think that maybe 80-90% of the seed was on “good ground.”  The reality, when Jesus offered this parable, is that we are surrounded by desert spaces and thorns, vast areas which work against our faith.  In order to flourish, we need to do two things: We need to keep our minds and hearts cultivated to receive the Word of God, and we need to create within our homes and communities oasis areas where we share our faith constantly. Our lives – our words and actions – must encourage the seeds of faith we have received, and those we share with others, to grow.

And yet, in the midst of this, God’s creation finds a way to grow. The photo here is also from that same, stark Holy Land, where life flourishes among the rocks, high above the Valley of the Doves, where Jesus walked from Nazareth to Galilee.

Jesus abundantly blesses every person equally. As we heard in the first reading from Isaiah, “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 … achieving the end for which I sent it …”, we understand that Jesus’ grace flows to every person from above. Let each person, all of us Children of God and prophets of His Word through our Baptism, persevere in nurturing the world and Word around us.