Friday, September 19, 2014

Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs

“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.” Lk 8:5-7

It never fails to move me when I read about God's generosity. No matter how often the seed God throws so lavishly on the land falls into cracks and crevices and places unable to nurture  the seed into a full life, God doesn't give up. God keeps trying to find a place in our hearts and in our communities where the seed will grow and produce a hundredfold. If only we were so generous!

The Korean martyrs. Andrew, Paul, Columba, Peter and all who we celebrate today were brutally tortured and killed in ways that defy belief, but the recent beheading of American news reporters reminds us that this kind of violence exists and continues. Grisly and overwhelming, the awful deaths of those who were beheaded, and the brutal murders of so many martyrs, force us to face the violence that people can inflict on other humans. Nevertheless, though God knows how cruel we can be to one another, God never gives up on us. God keeps sowing seeds until they find good ground, and God's goodness fills us with hope.

Today, ask God to help you find a place where the ground is ready for God's love.

Does your faith help you explain the kind of violence we witness so often in our world?

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