By Anna Milinovich

“And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be disturbed no more.” ~2 Samuel 7:10

On a Friday afternoon this past spring, the power went out at our house for a few hours. It wasn’t a serious problem, but my dad and I (who both work from home) no longer had internet and had to step away from work. 

We decided to seize the moment and finally work on starting our garden. None of us have green thumbs, and our DIY attempts to make low-cost raised beds and amateur efforts at hugelkultur (a German technique to get richer soil) were laughable. Literally. But my brothers, dad, and I all worked together to come up with solutions and then execute them.

But when it came time to actually open the seed packets and plant them, I was somehow designated the sole sower of the seeds. So I did, labeling them and hoping that I wasn’t completely ruining all our efforts of the day. After all, if I didn’t plant correctly, all of the efforts that day would be in vain.

The Lord plants the seeds

That’s where today’s readings come in. In 2 Samuel, God reminds David (through Nathan the prophet) that He is the one who accomplished everything amazing in the life of David and his nation. David was a lowly shepherd; God anointed Him as king. Israel had many enemies; the Lord gave David success in battle. And as for David’s lineage continuing, it was the Lord who would raise up his ancestors after he died. God tells David that He will plant his people Israel so that they can have a peaceful existence. Without God “planting” His people, they would come to nothing.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells the iconic parable of the Sower and the seed. He is the One who generously sows the seed, the Word of God. The parable is a beautiful illustration of our receptivity to the Word, ensuring that we have good soil so as to avoid it being taken away by Satan, withered by tribulations, or choked by the world. But no fruit can be borne at all unless the seed is first sown.

What does this mean for us?

Too often we think everything depends on us. It is certainly true that we must do our part to cultivate rich soil in our lives so that we may bear fruit. And we need to sow the Word in the lives of those around us.

However, we must never try to do any of it on our own. Just as my family’s gardening efforts would have been wasted if I hadn’t planted the seeds, so we must allow the Lord to plant seeds in our own lives.

What seed is God sowing in you today?

Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for reminding us that we can do nothing without you. May we always be receptive to your grace and cultivate our soil in order to bear rich fruit from the seeds which you sow in us.

Call to Action:

Keep your eyes open today to recognize as God plants seeds in your life, even in the smallest of ways.

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