24th Week in Ord. Time, Saturday – 18th September 2021 — Gospel: Lk 8,4-15
Hard and Unresponsive Heart
It is ironic that there are people who would scoff at the idea of a personal devil, and that the devil is the one who snatches away the seed of the gospel from them. Jesus is quite clear in presenting through this parable that the devil is real, and he is the enemy of our souls. The birds represent the devil here. Jesus isn’t using a figure of speech when He mentions the devil. There is a real spiritual battle raging for the souls of men and women. Satan delights in distracting our hearts away from the words of the Gospel. He knows our weaknesses and uses them against us. The seed that fell along the footpaths cannot get rooted because the dirt is continually trampled underfoot and the pavement becomes hard to grow anything. Similarly, Satan hardens people’s hearts by the traffic of worldly philosophies. In their hardness of heart, they feel no need for God; their hearts are closed to receive the truth of the gospel. In this manner, the devil uses our weaknesses and torments our soul in a specific and personal way. The threat is real; the battle is constant. This type of soil of the road represents a hard and unresponsive heart.
