Where do we draw strength for our daily life? Before we embark on a journey, we ensure that our car has the required fuel and oil to drive. So it is with the management of our day. During the day, we have set times when we nourish our bodies, exercise and rest, so as to remain healthy and fit for our daily tasks. What about our spiritual and emotional lives, where do we draw strength for the day?
The parable of the sower shows how important the word of God is as a great source of strength for us, and how it helps to make our day fruitful. In the gospel of John, we read that Jesus chose the disciples for the sole purpose of bearing fruits (John15:16). Today’s Gospel compares our life and mission as Christians to that of a soil. Just as a soil cannot produce fruit without the seed, so we cannot be fruitful without our openness to God’s word at all times, especially in trial moments. We see this in the life of Jesus. At the very beginning of his public ministry, he had to encounter the devil, who tried to dissuade him from his mission, by highlighting some of his material needs (Lk4: 1-13). But because Jesus is the Eternal Word of God (Jn 1:1), he could easily discover and outwit the tactics of the devil through the strength from the Word.
The same goes for us. Life is full of challenges. It is easy to love and serve God when things are going well with us than when we are struggling. The challenges we face in life can be seen as the devil’s tactics to dissuade us from our mission. Instead of focusing on our problems, difficult moments should provide the occasion for drawing strength from the Word of God.
During this Pandemic, many people have lost family members and loved ones, and many businesses have closed. What is our attitude in the face of these challenges? Are we going to give up on God, thinking that he has abandoned us? Some of the challenges can take the form of guilt-feeling or despondency arising from past mistakes or failure. The plan of the devil is always to make us give up on God by making us doubt his goodness and mercy. We need to stand up to Satan, strong in faith (Eph 6: 10-12; 1Pet 5:8).
Our faith is founded on and renewed through the daily reading of the Word of God. This Word in our first reading tells us that nothing is irredeemable because of the sacrifice of Jesus (Heb. 10:17). The Word tells us that though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we shall fear no evil for God is always with us (Ps 23: 1-4, 1s 49:15). The Word of God refreshes the awareness of the presence of God in our lives. If we allow Jesus to sow his word into our lives by starting our day with the word, we shall live our lives daily in his presence. And because the Word of God is alive and active, God will speak to us and to our situations. When we live in the awareness of his presence, we have joy even amidst our troubles (Ps 16:11), because in his presence, we become more aware of his goodness towards us, and of our dependence upon him.
May God help us to realize that we, as branches of Jesus the vine, can only bear fruit if we remain in him (John 15:5), and may He help us to realize how important our fruit is for our world.
