FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
16 JULY 2023
The
crowd on the shore listening to Jesus tell this parable from the boat would
have understood the dynamics of this parable.
They were Palestinian farmers who worked the fertile fields around the
Sea of Galilee. They would have identified
with the a farmer sowing his seed. But
as they listened, Jesus would have surprised them and widened their
understanding of how God works in their midst.
No
Palestinian farmer would have flung seed so freely. They know how expensive the seed is and would
carefully sow it only on rich soil.
However, God sows his word freely and generously and with great
joy. God spreads his extravagant love everywhere, knowing that some will accept it
and others will reject it. God sows with
anticipation that even those who reject the word or ignore it can have a change
of heart and become open to his gracious love. As
precious as seed may have been at that time, God’s word is even more
precious. In telling this parable, Jesus
echoes the words of the prophet Isaiah, who compares God’s word to rain that
waters the earth and makes it fertile and fruitful. Isaiah speaks to his people in exile and
tells them that God has forgiven their infidelity. Words have consequences. Like rain that falls from the heaven, God’s
word forgives and returns them to their homeland. God’s word is active. The first chapter of Genesis reminds us that
God created everything by speaking his word.
God’s word
has incredible power. But its effect
depends on the openness of those who hear it.
Palestinian farmers knew that seed fallen on paths had no chance. The ground was too hard. Seed that fell on rocky ground may have
sprouted at first, but could not endure due to the lack of good soil. The seed that fell on thorns showed signs of
growth. But in time, it was choked off
and withered. Palestinian farmers knew
that seed sown on rich soil would have a good chance of producing fruit. They would have hoped for a yield of
tenfold. But they would have been amazed
at a yield of a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
By the time
Saint Matthew wrote this Gospel, those who read it would have experienced the
reality of this parable. They would have
known those who rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the beginning. They would have been saddened when others abandoned
the Gospel and their hope for the kingdom of heaven because of
persecution. Loved embraced the Gospel
at first. But, consumed by their desires
for wealth and prosperity, they left the community of the Church and pursued
more comfortable ways of life. However,
those who opened their hearts and minds and souls to the Gospel would have
already understood its power to transform them.
Jesus
speaks this parable directly to us, who gather to hear the Word of God. Each of us has experienced these four
reactions to God’s Word in our individual lives. We may come to Mass with anger and
resentment. If our hearts remain
hardened and we hold on to that bitterness when we leave Mass, the Word has no
effect. Sometimes, difficult problems
cause us to wonder whether God is in our midst or not, and the power of the
Word withers. At other times, we are so
busy climbing the ladder of success or working to provide a lot of stuff that
we do not devote time to experience the Lord’s presence in our families. There are even other times when we become
like that rich soil and allow the word of God to take hold of us and transform
us.
Saint Paul
points out that we already have the first fruits of the Spirit. Those first fruits of the Spirit are given
through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Word of God can allow those first fruits
to grow and flourish, even as creation groans with eager expectation.
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