Isaiah 55:10-11 / Romans 8:18-23 / Matthew 13:1-23
The word “destiny” is a powerful word and it is also a thought-provoking word.
But what is the meaning of destiny? There are many shades of meaning but not one that can really express it in its essence.
Destiny can be said to be events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future.
Destiny can also be understood as a future scenario determined by decisions an individual will make.
There are certainly more shades of the meaning to Destiny and so it can be quite difficult to define destiny given that there are many other factors involved.
But what is the Christian understanding of destiny?
We would have heard before that Jesus said this of Himself: The Son of Man is destined to suffer, die and rise again.
So the Christian understanding of destiny is connected to God’s will.
Jesus came to show us how to do the will of God. And in doing the will of God, Jesus understood His destiny as having to suffer, die and to rise from the dead.
In the 1st reading we get a glimpse of the will of God and how it directs the destiny of nature:
Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’
So the rain and the snow fulfilled their destiny by watering the earth. In turn the earth gave growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for eating.
But in the gospel, we hear of a parable in which some of the seeds that were sown were not able to fulfill their destiny of bearing a harvest.
But it is a parable that shows us that quite often we are the obstacles of our own destiny.
The Word of God leads us to know and do the will of God. And the Word of God are like seeds that are sown in our hearts.
When our hearts are hardened by pleasures and desires, or by resentment and disappointment, God’s Word cannot take root.
When our hearts are distracted or disturbed by worries and anxieties, God’s Word cannot take root.
When our hearts are poisoned by sin and unfaithfulness, God’s word cannot take root.
But like the sower, God continues to sow His Word on our hearts.
May we listen, may we see, so that we will be forgiven and healed, and then we will be able to do God’s Will and fulfill our destiny in our lives.