5. “Behold, the sower went forth to sow” (Mt 13:3).

The Incarnation of the Word is the greatest and truest “sowing” of the Father. At the end of time, the harvest will take place: man will then be subjected to God’s judgement. Having received much, much will be asked of him.

Man is responsible not only for himself, but also for other creatures. He is responsible in a global sense: in fact, their fate in time and beyond time is linked to him. If he obeys the Creator's plan and conforms to it, he leads the whole of creation into the kingdom of freedom, just as he dragged it with him into the kingdom of corruption because of his original disobedience. This is what St Paul meant to tell us today in the second reading.

His discourse is mysterious, but fascinating. By welcoming Christ, humanity is able to bring a flow of new life into creation. Without Christ, the cosmos itself pays the consequences of humanity's refusal to freely adhere to the plan of divine salvation. For our hope and that of all creatures, Christ has sown in the human heart a seed of new and immortal life. A seed of salvation that gives creation a new direction: the glory of the Kingdom of God.

[Pope John Paul II, homily at S. Stefano di Cadore, 11 July 1993]