The original form of the Parable of the Sower as given by Jesus, places the emphasis on the seed which falls on all kinds of soil. In today's passage, however, the emphasis is more on the different kinds of soil in which the seed falls. We are that soil. In the first example, where the seed falls on stony ground, it does not even get started. It is snatched away before the recipient even knows it is there; his heart and mind are elsewhere. The seed falling on rock resembles a person who hears God's Word with joy and enthusiasm but only superficially. Once he faces the slightest opposition or possible danger, he falls away. In the time of the Gospel, this must have been the case with new converts faced with persecution. In the third example, the seed falls among wild bushes and all grow up together, with the result that the seed gets smothered and cannot develop. Maybe this is where most of us find ourselves. We would like to live a good Christian life but we are surrounded by all kinds of attractions which pull us in different directions, "the worries of this world and the lure of riches." In the end we produce little or nothing. Then, finally, there are those who receive the seed of the Word with undivided hearts and make it totally their own. They produce fruit in abundance. Can I be among them?