31st day of Lent- Matthew 13:3-9

³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ Let anyone with ears^[a] listen!” Matthew 13:3-9

Today's devotion by Bishop Bill Gafkjen is a prayer based on the above parable.  In his prayer he acknowledges within himself he is all of  the soils.  "I am a hard worn path."  "Thorns infest my best intentions."  "The seeds of life you offer bounce off me again and again. I get excited about helping those who hunger and hurt, but the passion withers when the going gets tough."  How true that is for all of us.  If it were all dependent upon our efforts, what seeds would ever take root?  But it's not about us.  It's about Jesus.  It's about Jesus, himself the seed, "who gathers up what makes (the path) hard and takes it to a cross planted in the thin soil of Calvary."  In other words, he takes our sins, all of our shortfalls, to the cross.  There he dies for all those things, and, in the wonder of grace, "this seed rises from the rocky ground of an empty tomb to offer new, abundant and lasting life for me and for all."  That's the gospel.  That's the good news that, despite our hard worn, rocky, thorn choked hearts, God loves us, forgives us, and calls us to be sowers of seeds of healing and hope.