By Shiju Joseph csc –
Readings: Ex 20:1-17; Mt 13: 18-23
For the Israelites, the Ten Commandments or Decalogue was a sign of God’s care and concern for them. So they received them from the mighty God with a lot of jubilation.
However, eventually as they began to recognize the implications of these words of God many began to stumble. The salvation history of Israel is sprinkled with examples of their going back and forth in accepting God and his word. Jesus reminds us of the several ways in which the word of God can be treated by us.
We could close ourselves to the word of God and refuse to understand it; we could give up on the word of God when it becomes too painful to follow it; we could allow the pleasures and privileges in our life to outgrow our attachment to the word of God; we could stick to the word and bear fruits according to our capacity. God speaks to me every day. I can choose whether I want to listen, to understand, and to bear fruits.