15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A (Matt. 13:1-23)
The place where I was born and came from is a farming community. Most of the people are farmers, and that includes my family and all the families depended totally on their harvest for survival. Whenever they harvested their crops they would always set aside a certain quantity of seeds for sowing when the following Wet Season began. At the sowing time I noticed how careful they were not to waste a single seed because their future depended each time on how much they harvested. And when Dad notices that we don't take care the rice we eat from our plate, and let a grain fall on the table, he will reprimand us and give us his litany of his difficulty of planting rice before we enjoy eating it on our table.
On reading today’s gospel, what a contrast we see. The Sower of the seed in the gospel parable seems very wasteful in comparison to the poor farmers of my place who just could not afford to do the same. This Sower seems to scatter the seed in all directions without being too worried whether it would bear fruit or not. He allows some to fall on the path, some on patches of rock, others among thorns and the remainder on rich soil.
What is Jesus saying? He is telling us very clearly that God our Father is the Sower. And he is so incredibly generous with his gifts to us, especially the gift of His word to us. It is saying very obviously that God gives his gifts first of all simply because this is the kind of God we have, a sign of his great love for us. His giving of the gifts does not depend on the return he will receive or the attractiveness of the person who receives the gifts. He continues to lavish us with his gifts so that hopefully sooner or later we will realize his goodness and make a proper response. This is the most important lesson of the parable.
And this also proclaim by Prophet Isaiah in the first reading, when he compares the word of God to the rain and snow that come down from heaven. When it rains, it pours and showers everything and everyone. (Just not like the rain in upcountry--it rains here in Makawao, but it doesn't rain in Pukalani). Rain do not go back up there in heaven till they have watered the earth.
Same also with the word of God, when it is given by God, it pours to everybody, not only to us who come here and believe, but even to those who don't believe and join us. And It doesn't go back to God till the word haven't transformed the hearts of man. You see how generous and patient God is to all of us? He will give the gift, and He will wait patiently for the receiver to come back to Him and thank Him by living a transformed life.
In the gospel, we hear of the parable of the Sower and the many ways of receiving the seed, the word of God. And so it is that there are those who receive it without depth (seed on the path). There are those who receive it without fruits (the seed on rocky ground and among thorns). And finally, there are those who receive it with fruits (the seed on good soil).
The seed is the word of God. And there is nothing wrong with the seed. It is always God. God is the sower and He is always extravagant and generous. But the soil? We are the soil. What kind of soil are we? And it all depends on us, the receivers of the seed.
We Christians today live in an age when there are many obstacles to the hearing of God’s word. For many people, the occasion to hear the word and be moved by it occurs mainly on Sunday, at Mass where, oddly enough, there is considerable noise and disturbance: children crying, poor sound systems, people coming in late during the proclamation of the gospel. The homily itself, obviously, should be a time of intense attention, but as we all know so well, some preachers are able to captivate their “audiences,” others will put them to sleep.
STORY: An embarrassed woman approach her pastor after the mass, and said 'I hope you didn't take it personally, Father when my husband walked out during your sermon.'
'I did find it rather disconcerting,' the vicar replied.
'It's not a reflection on you, Father' insisted the woman. 'Christopher has been walking in his sleep ever since he was a child.'
I have a friend who loves to shop around the neighborhood churches for priests that give the shortest homilies. His idea of a good church service was on that took as little time as possible. The shorter the better.
And kiddingly remarked: The definition of a good sermon for my friend: It should have a good beginning. It should have a good ending. And they should be as close together as possible.
We also know so well from personal experience that Catholics come to church on Sunday burdened with many human issues: one person may just have lost his job that week, another couple has just separated, perhaps a mother and father have just had a violent confrontation with a teenage son or daughter. Finally, and this is the most prevalent failing today. Some minds are so preoccupied with money and craving for the comforts of life that the teachings of Jesus are simply choked to death.
Jesus spent his days sowing the Word of God throughout Palestine. Herod and Pilate scorned him. The religious authorities rejected him. Some of his disciples abandoned him. Judas betrayed him. Talking about Judas...He did receive the word with the rest of the disciples. He enjoyed the company of Jesus. He witnessed the different miracles and healing that Jesus performed. But, sad to say, after receiving the word and after receiving communion during the Last Supper, He immediately left and betrayed Jesus. Judas introduced and pioneered the wrong practice of leaving after communion.
The seed of God’s Word is still scattered around the world. This parable is a challenge to all of us. Seeds are tossed our way every week. What kind of soil do we provide? If the Word of God does not get our whole-hearted attention by finding a home in our lives, it withers and dies.
That is why, we should always pursue to encounter the word of God, not only during Sunday in the church, but most especially at home where the family is complete. You can read the word of God before meal, or before you begin your day in the morning. This would keep your family rooted in the message of Christ.
And we do not have to be pessimistic about ourselves; we have all of the failings which are represented by the hard surface, the dusty surface and the cluttered surface, but we can have hope, because God who chooses to use us, is the miracle worker who even in our hearts’ poor soil can bring forth more good than we could ever have imagined.