FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
12 JULY 2020
In
the ancient world, teachers would speak to their people from a seated position.
Jesus takes his seat in the boat and speaks to explain the mystery of the
Kingdom of Heaven. He does not use
technical theological language. Instead,
he tells a simple parable to a crowd of Galileans familiar with farming. They know the expense of seed. They know the importance of good soil for
producing a ten-fold harvest. They
understand the dynamics of the parable Jesus is telling. But then Jesus puts a hook in this parable to
get their attention.
The hook is the method the farmer
uses to sow the seed. Farmers are
careful not to waste expensive seeds.
But this farmer sows the seed everywhere – not only on the rich soil, but
also in the hardened path, on rocky ground, and even among the thorns. Galilean farmers would understand why these
seeds would not produce any fruit. Of
course, the birds would eat the seed on the hardened path. With little soil, the seeds sown in rocky
ground would not last long. And the seeds
sown among thorns would be choked off in the blistering Palestinian sun. But Galilean farmers would be amazed that the
seeds sown in the good soil would produce such an incredible harvest: not tenfold of what had been sown, but a
hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
And that is the point of the
parable. God is not a human Galilean
farmer. God spreads his love and the
invitation to belong to his Kingdom to everyone. To echo the prophet Isaiah, God’s word is
like the rain and snow that come from the heavens. God loves everyone and speaks his word to
everyone. God’s word has incredible
power, and nothing can diminish the word that is not only spoken, but that acts
in the lives of everyone.
However, God’s word can produce
great fruit only in those who receive it.
If a person’s heart is hardened, like the well beaten path, then there
will be no understanding of God’s word.
Jesus sees that happening already in his public ministry. The Scribes and Pharisees have seen his
miracles. They have heard his teaching. But their hearts are hardened to the word
spoken by the Eternal Word of God. The
word cannot take root.
Jesus also sees what happens when
the hearts of his followers are strewn with rocks. Many of his disciples have responded with
great joy and walked with him for a way.
But they lack discipline. When
they experience some kind of persecution, when they are criticized or thrown
out of their families because of their decision to follow Jesus, they have
fallen away.
Jesus also understands the response
of those who allow the thorns of their lives to interfere with their decision
to follow him. Their priorities are not
in the right place. Even though he has
looked with love at the rich young man, he watched as the rich young man goes
away sad. His priorities were focused on
his wealth and the comfort provided by that wealth. He could not trust that following Jesus would
produce fruit that he could not imagine.
Like the disciples who remained
with Jesus, we too have chosen to stay with him. He looks at each of us with love and invites
us to make sure that our soil is open to receive his word. He invites us to hear that the Kingdom of
Heaven is in our midst. He invites us to
make sure that we are disciplined, so that the message is not choked out by
fear. He invites us to examine our
priorities to realize that wealth or status will not last. Isaiah gives hope to a people in
captivity. Saint Paul tells the Romans
that their present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory to be revealed
in them. Jesus tells us that the Kingdom
of Heaven is in our midst. He invites us
to cling to the values of the Kingdom, especially the value of the dignity of
human life made in the image of God. We
are living in tough times. But if we
make sure that our soil receives this message, we can produce incredible fruit
beyond our wildest imaginations.
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