Walking with Jesus: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Zechariah; Isaiah 55:10-11; Romans 8:18-23; Matthew 13:1-23
I was reading a story from a third grade teacher who told her class she would hold up an object and they would tell her where the object comes from. First she held up a sheet of paper and asked the class where paper comes from. The class responded, “Paper comes from fibers that are extracted from a tree and converted to pulp, which is then combined with water, flattened, dried, and cut into sheets.” Well, the curriculum certainly has changed since I was in third grade! Then she held up an eraser and asked where erasers come from. ... “Erasers are made from either natural or synthetic rubber.” I'm now thinking I need to start kindergarten all over again. Finally, the teacher held up and apple and asked were apples come from. Almost in unison the class answered: “The grocery store.”
Today’s readings are very interesting if we just go a little bit deeper into the passages. They're asking how much we know about God and if we are open to hear what God is telling us. Do I spend time each day telling God of my love and listening to Him? Do I realize that God is love and is always loving me? Do I realize that God is always leading me closer to Himself through the Holy Spirit? Do I understand that the accounts of Jesus in the Scripture show me God’s love and how I can be deeper in love with God each day? “But the seed [the one who hears the word of God … of the kingdom] sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” (Matthew 13:23)
So we question: Do I know how to listen to God? If someone told me they had some great news, or something really special happened, or they had something exciting to tell me, I would be all ears listening ... paying close attention ... not wanting to miss a word. Let us place ourselves in today’s gospel: The Jews were totally aware that they are God’s people. They know their own history from Abraham to Moses; from the prophets to the historical narratives. They know the history of their people as well as their own family genealogy. God is not an occasional visitor to them; they have traced their origin to the covenant God made with Moses when He freed them from slavery in Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land. God loves them repeatedly and sent Jesus to be a constant witness of God’s love.
But Jesus is unique: He explains God’s love, shows them that God is ever present, but does not bully them or force them to toe the line and be slaves to His system. Jesus consistently respects His listeners’ freedom, especially in His use of parables. We see this beautifully and powerfully in today’s Parable of the Sower and the Seed. Jesus is explaining God’s saving word: how we can exercise our decision to choose God’s love and ways, or choose to go our own way. The first way is to choose heaven; the latter to choose our own way and reject salvation and heaven. This response is up to each person ever created. Jesus asserts, “… the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart.” [Matthew 13:19]
Why is this so important? In The Word on Fire Bible, Bishop Robert Baron writes: “The Word of God is the central and defining dynamic of life. To know the will of God, to know the mind of God, to understand His purpose and path is all-important. Without it, you lose your way amidst all of the conflicting voices and inclinations of the world. Jesus refers to these as ‘the cares of the world and the lure of wealth.’ How much time do you spend worrying about the particular concerns of home and family, fame and work, money-making and saving? There’s nothing wrong with these preoccupations in right proportion. But if they take on a dominating significance, something is off. Does the lure of riches obscure your deeper desires?”
Jesus is telling us that our existence in the world is essential to finding God’s love in this world. God is present. His love is present. God leads us in love to find His love. Jesus does not leave us alone to fight against Satan, the world and our own selfishness. He wants us to hear Him, so He explains today’s parable. How it must pain God to let His word of life and love be cast away. Our lives of faith need to bear fruit as we move through the stages of our lives. There are only two requirements: listening to the Word of God’s love, and then acting on it and living it. And there are three obstacles: Satan, the evil one who prevents God’s word of love from being heard; the flesh, that part of each person that will abandon God’s will if it means struggle or trouble; and the world — those elements of society that are opposed to God yet so appealing to our basic instincts. How am I living? What do I need so I can be attuned to God’s call of love? Where do I need God’s help today and each day?
So I reflect on:
“We can think of the seed as the word and the sower as God, whose will can never be stopped. The seed falls on different types of ground, but the great majority certainly falls on good ground, and its fruit more than makes up for the seeds that fall on more difficult ground. This is the parable of optimism, something that is often lacking in followers of the gospel.
“Jesus was speaking to people who knew all about seeds and different types of soil — many of them grew their own food or grew corps to sell. When Jesus described the various situations that affected growth, His hearers could imagine exactly what prevented full growth and fruition. May I pay attention to what helps or hinders the growth of God’s word in my own life.”
I was reading a story from a third grade teacher who told her class she would hold up an object and they would tell her where the object comes from. First she held up a sheet of paper and asked the class where paper comes from. The class responded, “Paper comes from fibers that are extracted from a tree and converted to pulp, which is then combined with water, flattened, dried, and cut into sheets.” Well, the curriculum certainly has changed since I was in third grade! Then she held up an eraser and asked where erasers come from. ... “Erasers are made from either natural or synthetic rubber.” I'm now thinking I need to start kindergarten all over again. Finally, the teacher held up and apple and asked were apples come from. Almost in unison the class answered: “The grocery store.”
Today’s readings are very interesting if we just go a little bit deeper into the passages. They're asking how much we know about God and if we are open to hear what God is telling us. Do I spend time each day telling God of my love and listening to Him? Do I realize that God is love and is always loving me? Do I realize that God is always leading me closer to Himself through the Holy Spirit? Do I understand that the accounts of Jesus in the Scripture show me God’s love and how I can be deeper in love with God each day? “But the seed [the one who hears the word of God … of the kingdom] sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” (Matthew 13:23)
So we question: Do I know how to listen to God? If someone told me they had some great news, or something really special happened, or they had something exciting to tell me, I would be all ears listening ... paying close attention ... not wanting to miss a word. Let us place ourselves in today’s gospel: The Jews were totally aware that they are God’s people. They know their own history from Abraham to Moses; from the prophets to the historical narratives. They know the history of their people as well as their own family genealogy. God is not an occasional visitor to them; they have traced their origin to the covenant God made with Moses when He freed them from slavery in Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land. God loves them repeatedly and sent Jesus to be a constant witness of God’s love.
But Jesus is unique: He explains God’s love, shows them that God is ever present, but does not bully them or force them to toe the line and be slaves to His system. Jesus consistently respects His listeners’ freedom, especially in His use of parables. We see this beautifully and powerfully in today’s Parable of the Sower and the Seed. Jesus is explaining God’s saving word: how we can exercise our decision to choose God’s love and ways, or choose to go our own way. The first way is to choose heaven; the latter to choose our own way and reject salvation and heaven. This response is up to each person ever created. Jesus asserts, “… the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart.” [Matthew 13:19]
Why is this so important? In The Word on Fire Bible, Bishop Robert Baron writes: “The Word of God is the central and defining dynamic of life. To know the will of God, to know the mind of God, to understand His purpose and path is all-important. Without it, you lose your way amidst all of the conflicting voices and inclinations of the world. Jesus refers to these as ‘the cares of the world and the lure of wealth.’ How much time do you spend worrying about the particular concerns of home and family, fame and work, money-making and saving? There’s nothing wrong with these preoccupations in right proportion. But if they take on a dominating significance, something is off. Does the lure of riches obscure your deeper desires?”
Jesus is telling us that our existence in the world is essential to finding God’s love in this world. God is present. His love is present. God leads us in love to find His love. Jesus does not leave us alone to fight against Satan, the world and our own selfishness. He wants us to hear Him, so He explains today’s parable. How it must pain God to let His word of life and love be cast away. Our lives of faith need to bear fruit as we move through the stages of our lives. There are only two requirements: listening to the Word of God’s love, and then acting on it and living it. And there are three obstacles: Satan, the evil one who prevents God’s word of love from being heard; the flesh, that part of each person that will abandon God’s will if it means struggle or trouble; and the world — those elements of society that are opposed to God yet so appealing to our basic instincts. How am I living? What do I need so I can be attuned to God’s call of love? Where do I need God’s help today and each day?
So I reflect on:
- We cannot make seeds grow; that is God’s job. But we can attend to the conditions where growth is most likely to happen. What “soil conditions” have best helped my faith to grow?
- Rather than pointing a finger at another, which is easy to do, where can I become more proficient at preparing my “soil” for the life and love of God?
- Which of the three enemies of God’s Word — the devil, the attractions of this world, our own selfishness — especially in fearing persecution and self-sacrifice — is most present in todays’ society? In me?
“We can think of the seed as the word and the sower as God, whose will can never be stopped. The seed falls on different types of ground, but the great majority certainly falls on good ground, and its fruit more than makes up for the seeds that fall on more difficult ground. This is the parable of optimism, something that is often lacking in followers of the gospel.
“Jesus was speaking to people who knew all about seeds and different types of soil — many of them grew their own food or grew corps to sell. When Jesus described the various situations that affected growth, His hearers could imagine exactly what prevented full growth and fruition. May I pay attention to what helps or hinders the growth of God’s word in my own life.”
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