Where The Seeds Fall
I often speak to groups of people either giving information or a message. It is a very powerful position to be in. Probably the most powerful position is the role of teacher, especially to children. Children are in our lives for such a short amount of time and we rarely see them again. But what they learn from their time with us leaves an impression. Teachers help to shape a part of a child’s growth. For me it is their spiritual growth. When we take on this role, we are given a bag full of seeds. It is up to us to plant them in their young, impressionable lives. Which seeds will grow and which ones will be left for the birds?
In the Gospel for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Matthew 13: 1-9) Jesus tells the parable of the man who went out to sow some seeds. Jesus is the seed and we hold his words in our hands. Where will we spread them and where will they grow? Jesus speaks of the rocky ground where no seed can grow and of the soil that was not deep enough for the seeds to grow roots. He then speaks of the rich soil that produced much fruit. We can use this image in the kingdom of God in so many ways. I see children as the rich soil always ready to receive the seeds of life. As teachers, we are role models for their young hearts. It is in our hands to give them the best seeds we have and it is up to parents and other adults to nourish them.
At the end of this past school year I met up with some former students. I asked them how the past year went and they complained that they did not learn the things they wanted and felt their voices were not heard. This saddened me. It was as if their fertile ground had not been watered and birds had eaten some of the seeds. Jesus gives us his words and actions in the form of seeds. All of us, not just teachers, have the duty as children of God and care givers of this planet to go out and sow these seeds. We need to nourish them in the hearts of children. They are our future and we need them to produce the fruit of God’s kingdom. “Whoever has ears ought to hear.”