Parable of the Sower and the Seed; Our Story Too 

All of us has had to deal with failure in some fashion, those areas where the best we’ve given to others comes up lacking, falling short of our hopes, our dreams, and our great expectations. 

Failure has always been viewed to be something very bad and shameful. Yet so many people have had their fair share of failures. Albert Einstein could not speak fluently until the age of 9, was expelled from school, and refused admittance to a polytechnic school. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in Physics in 1921. Abraham Lincoln failed in business, had a nervous breakdown, and lost his first presidential run for president. Michael Jordan missed more than 9,000 shots, lost 300 games, and missed the game winning shot 26 times. Jesus too, knew well the pain of failure. He was born in Nazareth and his own hometown folk rejected Him. His own Hebrew countrymen rejected His message. His handpicked twelve apostles – one of them sold him out for thirty pieces of silver and the others fled when he was crucified. Peter wasn’t too swift to take his message to heart, and Thomas doubted Him. 

While this may sound discouraging, the point is that so many people, including Jesus did not let apparent failure stop them. Our Gospel story is one of hope, not despair. 

You  and I, like all good farmers who must face floods and disasters of sorts, a  sick child or spouse, a broken relationship, grief of some loss, financial  hardships, etc. We are called to engage ourselves in the enterprise  of faith and hope, planting the best of what we have, and then letting God’s  sun, wind, and gentle rains do the rest. The best years of our lives, and the  best that we have given to others in them, or are giving right now, or will  give in the future, we will not be fruitless.