Even while on earth, Jesus’ apostolic mission appeared to bear much fruit, evident in the large crowd that followed Him: “Such large crowds gathered around Him (Jesus) that He got into a boat and sat down.” But Jesus does not seem impressed by the size of the crowd. He goes on to tell them a parable about the sower who sows seed in different soils with different results.
This parable shows that Jesus is more interested in quality disciples than in the quantity of them. He wants disciples who demonstrate their quality through faithful commitment to Him and His words. Thus, His final challenge to His audience is, “Whoever has ears ought to hear.” The quality of the disciples depends on their commitment to Him and His words.
Authentic disciples of Jesus must have these five qualities in their commitment to the word of God:
1. Committed to receiving God’s words with faith
The authentic disciple receives and believes God’s words, even if the word is difficult to understand, challenging, or demanding. True disciples believe even if they do not feel good about what they believe. They believe even if most people do not share their beliefs. The disciple believes because God, who reveals unchanging truths, cannot deceive or be deceived. God’s word has an unchangeable purpose that will be fulfilled in the end: “My word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it” (Is. 55:11).
The disciple must believe the word first and then seek to understand it better. When there is a delay in believing and understanding in the word of God, the disciple gives the devil a chance to come and take it away: “The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and takes away what was sown in his heart” (Mt. 13:19). Receiving God’s word must be followed by actively seeking to understand the word, against the lies and deceits of the devil.
2. Committed to resisting the devil
It is not enough to believe in the word of God. True disciples are also committed to resisting the devil and his many lies aimed at undermining the word, creating doubt and confusion. He succeeded in the Garden of Eden when he lied to our First Parents about disobeying the word of God, promising, “You will surely not die. No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad” (Gen. 3:4-5).
He continues to lie to us today about God’s goodness and trustworthiness. He tempts us to seek happiness outside God’s words. He always highlights whatever temporary good we get from sin and hides from us the terrible consequences of our sinful choices.
He is lying to us in many ways about the truth of God’s words. He tells us that moral truth is relative, not absolute—that truth and judgements all depend on our culture, individual taste, context, feelings, and experiences. The more that we listen to him and believe his lies, the more that we begin to doubt or question the word of God.
We begin to lose our inner freedom when we buy into the lie that moral truths are relative and subjective. We begin to grow suspicious of God’s words to us because we don’t trust Him as our beloved Father. This is why Jesus warned us about the devil and his scheme to deprive us of the truth of God’s word. He is the thief who comes to “steal, kill, and destroy” (Jn. 10:10).
3. Committed to enduring hardships
Jesus warns us that we will be despised and persecuted by others when we are committed to Him and to His words, saying, “You will be hated by others because of my name” (Mt. 10:22). True disciples are ready to endure tribulation and persecution because of the word. For he who is not, then “When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away” (Mt. 13:21).
Why do we face these trials when we are committed to Jesus and His words? These persecutions show that we belong to Him, the Eternal Word, and that we have His words within us. Jesus assures us of the world’s animosity when we make this commitment, praying to the Father, “I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world” (Jn. 17:14). Jesus shares His words and His experience of persecution with those who belong to Him.
4. Committed to practicing detachment
True disciples of Jesus practice detachment from the riches and pleasures of the world: “The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word, and it bears no fruit.” We cannot expect the word of God to grow and mature within us while indulging in every possible pleasure and giving in to worldly anxieties.
This detachment is very difficult in our materialistic and consumeristic age, when people tend to measure the value of their lives by their possessions and pleasures. In a spirit of detachment, we seek only those pleasures and things in a way that nurtures the word of God that we have received. We do not seek these things as worldly people do who have no care for the life of God within them. On the contrary, what we seek and how we seek them are governed by the reality of the word of life within us.
5. Committed to persevering
True disciples are committed to faithfully acting on the word of God, even if there are no visible results for their efforts. They are the good soil that “embrace[s] the word with a generous and good heart, and bear[s] fruit through perseverance” (Lk. 8:15).
These true disciples are not discouraged by their failures, struggles, or sins. They are always ready to begin again after each failure, and do so with greater trust in God, because they know that the One who gives the seed also gives the necessary graces for growth. They are the ones who will be saved, as Jesus assures us, “whoever endures to the end will be saved” (Mt. 10:22).
Listen to the words of St. Paul, a man who heard the word of God from the risen Christ, allowed the word to transform his heart, and gave his life for the proclamation of this word to the world: “Brothers and sisters, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us” (Rom. 8:15). This true disciple of Jesus does not give in to fears or regrets because of His unshakable commitment to Jesus and His unchanging words. He connects with the purpose and power of God’s words, and He finds hope and courage in the trials of life.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, are we Jesus’ quality disciples, or are we just one of His casual followers who are in His company but are not fully committed to Him and His words? Are we among those who sit in the pew on Sunday and then live as if we never heard the word of God on Monday? Are we among those who claim to be spiritual but have no religious obligation to God and His words? We must pause and sincerely answer these questions.
If we find that we are not among Jesus’ quality disciples today, there is no need to despair. We can begin striving now for better commitment to Jesus and His words.
Firstly, we can begin today because Jesus continually sows His seed in our hearts. He sows in all the conditions and experiences of our lives, just as He sows in every type of soil. He continues to sow the seed of His word today and to give us the grace to embrace it and bear fruit. So, there is no reason for us to give up. We can, and should, begin again today.
Secondly, Jesus has also given us His own Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to be our mother too and to help us commit to Him and His word. Mama Mary is that perfect soil that received the word of God with faith and bore the greatest fruit: Jesus Christ Himself. She is the one whom Jesus praised and blessed because she always “hears the word of God and acts on it” (Lk. 11:28). She is the one who demons dread the most because of her humility and purity. She is the one who endured and persevered to the end in acting on God’s words, even if it led her to stand at the foot of the cross of Jesus on Calvary.
With Jesus still sowing His seed in us and giving us all the graces we need, and with Mary’s help, we can be Jesus’ quality disciples today and find courage and hope in this commitment.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Image from Wikimedia Commons
