THE FINITE AND THE INFINITE...

Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor: Tuesday of the Seventeen Week in Ordinary Time He (Jesus) said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.” (From Matthew 13:36-43) Today we have the fourth reference to “the sowing of seeds” in these past 2 weeks. We heard the complete parable, referenced above, the “parable of the weeds and the wheat” a couple of Sundays ago. The long form of the Gospel that day also included the “parable of the mustard seed.” On the Sunday before that we heard the “parable of the sower.” Seeds, sowing, and just about every type of landscape that you could imagine. Today I would simply like to step back from all of that and share with you how today’s passage strikes me. We could go down the road of a conversation about good and evil, the devil or not, human choice and free will. What I will share, however, is this. Today’s lesson is a clear reminder that our time in this world is limited. We are finite beings on a journey from and back to the only One who is finite. What we do in the meantime is crucial. The types of seed that we plant in our words, our actions, and our failure to act when called to, ideally serve as an expression of our appreciation for life and the time that we have. While it may sound like a bit of a repeat of what we’ve heard lately, it is always a worthwhile question to ask ourselves: what kind of seed will I sow today?