The key to the proper reading of today’s Gospel is one word: to understand. The Word of God, if it is to bear fruit in our lives, must first be well understood. Maybe here lies the answer to our various doubts and frustrations related to the fruitlessness of faith? The lack of understanding of the word of God means that the effects of preaching the Gospel cannot be seen.
This understanding of the word of God doesn’t have to rely on intellectual learning and linguistic and theological analyses. On the contrary: it is about trusting and humbly accepting what God has hidden from the learned and revealed to the simple. To understand the word of God means to first grasp its essential meaning, that is the Good News about salvation, about who and how it was accomplished; about God’s love, which is expressed through mercy, and about how to respond to this love. The word of God received in this way bears fruit.
Therefore, two factors are needed: the effort of the sower who preaches the word, and the effort of the hearer who receives the word. The word itself is a reliable factor, perfect, because it comes directly from God, it has an objective value, an absolute truth. The sowing of preaching the word of God should be abundant, even lavish. This task already belongs to bishops and priests, although to some extent also to lay people, who should bear witness to faith with their own lives. It will depend on our joint commitment, prayer, zeal and dedication whether the word of God will reach people’s hearts in a clear and convincing way or not.
But despite the zeal of the witnesses of the Gospel, this is not always the case. There is still the human factor in the listeners – that is, indifference or bad will; and obstacles from the world and Satan. Jesus loyally warns about them. Man is free and responsible for his decisions – good or bad. The quality of life, and ultimately salvation, depends on human choices and consequences. Therefore, we must be aware of the difficulties in order to be able to resist them.
First, we must understand the word of God; its promises, exhortations, instructions, understand who is its author and addressee. Without understanding, there will be no effect. Then we have to learn how to transform feelings into decisions and their persistent implementation. Momentary enthusiasm is not enough if it is not followed by concrete actions. It is known that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And finally, we have to be resistant to temptations, stresses, fears and threats. God is stronger than all of this. If we trust Him, our faith will bear fruit in this life and the next.