Memorial of Saint Bridget of Sweden

Lectionary: 399


But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

After giving us three examples of people who hear the Word of God and fail to bear fruit, Jesus tells us of the one "who hears the word and understands it." 

All four heard the word but their responses and their fruitfulness were quite different. They failed for lack of understanding and interest, for having no roots to help them survive tribulation and persecution, and for being consumed with crippling anxiety despite their piety.

Those who hear the word and understand it are not simply different from the other types. Rather, they have experienced and passed through those stages. They have learned – by the grace of God – first that they must pay close attention to God’s word. Getting it comes neither automatically nor easily. They have decided that, despite a million distractions, they will attend the word. They listen closely.

They have also passed through immature enthusiasm and been exhausted by it. They have seen that their energetic efforts to get excited and stay excited about the Gospel came to nothing. Burned out by trying too hard and expecting too much, they have learned to stop, be silent, and listen. Although they were discouraged, they decided not to quit. When their hopeful expectations died, they committed themselves to the supernatural virtue of hope, which does not hope for what it sees.

Finally, they saw that they could not afford to pay attention to a million other concerns, worries, and anxieties and remain in God’s presence. They care but they don’t care about this world. Assailed by several media devices – television, radio, social media, 24-hour news – they control their consumption of this world’s worries. They choose to isolate themselves and focus their attention on the Lord. When they must pay attention to a major concern – like a family crisis – they turn to prayer, transforming their anxieties to spiritual energy.

They do their religion, meaning they hear the Word of God through the multimedia of daily prayer, engagement in congregational worship, study of the scriptures and tradition, voluntary sacrifices, and association with persons who are also committed to the Gospel.

Those who hear the word and understand it don’t expect anything to come easily because they have walked with the Lord to Jerusalem and Calvary. They do expect God’s merciful benevolence and they are often satisfied.