Jeremiah 3:14-17 / Matthew 13:18-23
Too much of a good thing can have its negative effect.
For e.g. in Singapore, food is in such abundance that we don't quite know what it feels to be hungry anymore.
For that matter of fact, we don't know what is a food shortage. We don't understand the stories of the Japanese Occupation during WWII or the hard times of the '50s and '60s.
When we don't feel the hunger or loss, we tend to take things for granted.
As in the 1st reading, God called His people "disloyal children" because they were too safe and secure and hence they began to follow the dictates of their hearts.
Similarly, when we have too many other things in our minds, then God's Word can't sink into our hearts and bear fruits in our lives, just like the seeds that fell on rocky or thorny soil in today's gospel parable.
We must pray for a heart that will listen and understand what God is telling us.
Let us also pray that we will hunger for God's Word and be nourished by it.
God is good, and we can never have enough of God.