How many of you have green thumbs and can grow almost everything? How many of you have brown thumbs and wish you could grow anything?
Every time I hear this parable from Saint Matthew’s gospel, I hope I am a green thumb in God’s vineyard, able to grow something no matter what the growing condition is. However, I also know that I am often a brown thumb who falls short in all growing types.
To refresh our memory, the Sower is God and the seed is His Word.
Those on the PATH hear the Word of God but don’t understand it. They are led away from the truth in their hearts by Satan and allow their flawed moral conscience to be their guide rather than God’s perfect moral teachings.
They adopt an attitude of, “I know what’s right” so it is okay to live life without God. God doesn’t understand my needs and wants. I know the world’s ways and am better able to maneuver around its pitfalls. God is too black and white for me.
It’s no big deal to “fudge” a little bit on their taxes. Everyone nowadays has to do things like that to make ends meet. Or, if they need to tell a little lie, so they won’t be blamed for something that happened at work, that’s okay because everyone else is doing it and they are not hurting anyone.
Those on ROCKY GROUND hear the Word of God with great joy but don’t have roots and give up when hard times come, such as persecution or scandal.
We are in the midst of the biggest scandal of the Catholic Church we hopefully will ever have in our life: Pedophilia. This is a terrible blight on our faith. I remember being challenged by many people during my diaconate formation as to why I was becoming a deacon in the Catholic Church at such a time of crises. Didn’t I condone such behavior by my continuing to be a clergyman like those accused?
One of the reasons I became a deacon was to prove to those people that my faith is stronger than those who commit such heinous crimes. There are many more good priests and deacons who dedicate their lives in service to God and His creation rather than taking advantage because of their office in the church.
Those among the THORNS hear the Word of God but are distracted and weakened by anxieties or comforts. Life is all about them and what they want. Everything else is secondary.
The classiest car, the most expensive jewelry, the biggest house; these and more creature comforts are the measure of a person among the thorns. They declare their value in fame, fortune and power. Pop Culture has now created a word for this – BLING.
Those among the GOOD SOIL hear the Word of God and understand it. They bear fruit and yield a hundred or sixty or thirty fold.
We have all been brown thumbs throughout our life and may visit various bad planting conditions from time to time. It is this good soil, however, we all hope for as followers of Jesus. But we must have a plan to be there as often as possible. To become a green thumb in God’s vineyard, let me suggest the following:
Adopt DAILY PRAYER to better communicate with God. Those who are clergy and religious pray the prayer of the church called The Liturgy of the Hours every morning and evening asking God for His help, thanking Him for His assistance and welcoming His forgiveness when we fall short.
Read SCRIPTURE often and with purpose to better understand who our God is. The bible is full of wonderful stories in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. Select an author or enjoyable story and read a few verses daily; contemplating on their meaning in your lives. Or join a group study. Whatever is your preference.
Attend MASS Sundays, Holy Days of Obligation and as often as possible on the weekdays to remind yourself of the gift Jesus gave us through His suffering and death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and His resurrection from death to open eternity for us all.
Receive the SACRAMENTS of Reconciliation and Communion as often as possible and the other sacraments as needed. Sanctifying grace from our Lord is a needed ingredient to fight off the sin nature each of us has.
Share the GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT each one of us has. Only by giving love to others do we receive it from God. If you have the gift of teaching, think about being active in religious education for children, confirmation classes for youth or RCIA for adults. If you are more inclined to pastoral counseling consider the various ministries we have for the sick and dying and poor and homeless on Saturday mornings.
God has given us all the tools we need to be green thumbs in His vineyard no matter what the planting conditions. All we need to do is to wash our hands, clear the weeds and begin planting those seeds one by one. One day, a beautiful plant will sprout up. When that happens, slowly turn your thumb around. You might be surprised at how God has turned your thumb green.
Reading 1: Isaiah 55: 10-11
Reading 2: Romans 8: 18-23
Gospel: Matthew 13: 1-23
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