Thursday Readings Cleansing of the Leper

Philippians 4:4-10
Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you. I rejoice greatly in the Lord that now at last you revived your concern for me. You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity. Praise be to God always.
Luke 8:4-15
When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, he spoke in a parable. “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’ “This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance. This is the Truth. Peace be with you.

Prepare your soil with the harvest in mind. Rocky soil may be good for parking cars and a trail is good for walking. Thorny bushes are good for erosion, but one prepares good soil for the harvest. We should have our goal in mind: the harvest, persevering, producing good fruit. We may not all be in charge of land where we determine what land will go to each end, but we are responsible for ourselves, and who we hope to be. IF we hope to persevere in faith or if we hope to be fertile, life giving soil we should develop ourselves for that purpose. Till the soil through examination of conscience, water the soil through prayer, fertilize the soil with scripture reading. Whoever has ears ought to hear and whoever wants the harvest ought to prepare their field. Set your purpose on the kingdom of God by preparing your field and caring for your field, by caring for your faith life that you may grow in faith and persevere in faith and be ready at harvest time.