Tending the Soil

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 38; PM Psalm 119:25-48; Isa. 44:24-45:7; Eph. 5:1-14; Mark 4:1-20

Today’s Gospel features one of the parables from Mark’s Gospel—the story of the sower. Jesus tells of a sower who scatters seeds across different terrains. Some seeds fall on the path, only to be eaten by birds. Others land on rocky ground, where they cannot take root. Some fall among thorns, which choke their growth. But finally, some seeds land in good soil, yielding a harvest of a hundredfold.

Notice what remains constant and what changes. The seed is always the same. It’s the soil that determines the growth and fruitfulness of the seed. Parables like this one use metaphors to reveal profound truths, inviting us to reflect on their meaning and how they shape our lives.

In this parable, we are the seeds. What stands out to me is that all seeds are identical—each brimming with potential to reflect the glory of God. Every single human being matters. What makes the difference is not the seed itself but the soil it’s planted in.

This challenges us to consider what influences and shapes us. Are we in soil that nourishes our growth or in soil that stifles it? One modern parallel is the way social media algorithms feed us information, shaping what we consume, believe, and ultimately who we become. We are all planted in some kind of soil. The question is: What kind of soil surrounds you? Are you becoming the person God has called you to be?

Your life is a gift from God, teeming with potential to thrive and glorify God a hundredfold. Maybe you’re already thriving and just need encouragement to keep going. But the parable of the sower offers wisdom for all of us: tend to the soil. For me, that might mean turning off the news, unplugging my phone, disengaging from social media, and stopping the consumption of content that doesn’t make me more loving, forgiving, and inclusive.

How can you tend the soil in which you are planted so that you can share God’s love more deeply? What changes can you make to nurture the incredible potential God has placed within you?

Faithfully,

John+