July 12^th 2020. The Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 13, 1-9

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

GOSPEL: Matthew 13, 1-9

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . On Sunday, we have the “Queen of Parables”, that of the Sower. It raises the question of how we are to understand the word of the Lord. The word of God is one only, because the grace of God and the love of the Father are one only. But the same word can be more or less fruitful in us depending on how we receive it in our hearts. The fact is that people did not understand the parable of the sower. The disciples eventually understood it, but only by coming closer to the teacher, closer to Christ! They valued his word, wanted to comprehend it, and so they asked for his help. What prevents us from understanding God’s word are the various filters that we use to interpret everything that happens to us. God is always sending a word our way, a providential plan hidden in the events of our lives. But this word will not be illuminated unless these filters are overcome. Now consider the three “filters” in the parable that prevent us from receiving God’s word. First, the seed falls on the path and it does not penetrate. This represents the word that is not understood by us. Sometimes we discard the Lord’s word because we don’t understand it, just as we ignore what others say to us sometimes whenever we have problems of comprehension. But if we do that with the word of God then we will never understand! God has much to say to us that we cannot grasp right now. We must allow ourselves to be led by him into that which we do not comprehend. If we only say yes to that which we grasp, then our understanding will always remain at the same mediocre level as our brains. It is not intelligence that counts, but abandonment into the hands of the Lord. Mary is our great example. She kept and pondered in her heart what she could not comprehend. Secondly, the seed falls on the rocky soil and sprouts quickly. Sometimes we receive the Lord’s word with enthusiasm, but reject it when difficulties arise. Difficulties, however, are what make real listening authentic. If we don’t like what the Lord is saying, but we still welcome it, then we give ourselves the chance of making progress. If we only listen to what we want to hear, then we will remain exactly where we are already. Thirdly, the seed falls among thorns. This is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. Receiving the word of God requires renouncing the things of this world. If I “listen” to the word of God but also listen to other things, then I am living a life of mediocrity. Selfless love is not compatible with worldly considerations of profit and self-promotion. With Mary we must learn not to resist the word the Lord is sending us. We too must learn to say, “Let it be done onto me according to thy word”.

The parable of the sower is the “Queen of Parables”. The same exact seed produces six different outcomes.

This Sunday we listen to the queen of parables. As Jesus says with regard to this same parable in Mark’s Gospel: "If you do not understand this parable, how will you be able to understand all the others?" (Mk 4:13). In the story, the exact same seed produces different results. Six different outcomes are described, of which three are negative and three are positive. The seed can fall on the path, on the rocky ground, in the middle of the thorns, or can be fruitful to three different degrees (thirty, sixty or one hundredfold).

How are we to understand the parable? Only by coming closer to the teacher, closer to Christ! What prevents us from understanding God’s word are the various filters that we use to interpret everything that happens to us. God is always sending a word our way, a providential plan hidden in the events of our lives. But this word will not be illuminated unless these filters are overcome.

To the crowds Jesus adds nothing else, and simply asks whoever has ears to hear. But in reality nobody understands what Jesus means. The disciples ask him for an explanation of this apparently simple, but in reality cryptic, communication. To them, after a severe quote from the prophet Isaiah and a consideration of how lucky they all are, the key of interpretation is finally given, and then they understand. The parable, in fact, is a communication that must be decoded, but to do this you need to come closer to the teacher who delivered it. Here is the point: nobody understands the parable except those who establish a relationship with Jesus. The Lord is always sending a word our way. This word can be hidden in the events of our life, which conceal a providential plan. In order for this word to be illuminated, the filters that we have erected have to be overcome. Otherwise we do not “have ears to hear” the word that the Lord is trying to speak to us.

Sometimes we resist the Lord’s word because we don’t understand it. But if we do that then we will never understand! God has much to say to us that we cannot grasp right now. We must allow ourselves to be led by him into that which we do not comprehend. If we only say yes to that which we grasp, then our understanding will always remain at the same mediocre level as our brains. Mary is our great example. She kept and pondered in her heart what she could not comprehend.

The word the Lord is trying to speak to us can find an impenetrable path. This happens when we do not understand the word and continue to follow our own way regardless. Is it so surprising to learn that being unable to understand does not entitle us to refuse? Often, God has things to tell us that we do not understand at the moment. We must let ourselves be led into what we do not understand. Otherwise we will never reach the stage of being able to grasp things more deeply. If we do not allow ourselves to be led into that which we cannot comprehend, then our understanding will always be at the same mediocre level as our brains. Mary is our great example. She pondered and kept in her heart the words she did not understand (cf. Lk 2,50-51).

Sometimes we receive the Lord’s word with enthusiasm but reject it when difficulties arise. Difficulties, however, are what make real listening authentic. If we don’t like what the Lord is saying, but we still welcome it, then we give ourselves the chance of making progress. If we only listen to what we want to hear, then we will remain exactly where we are already

The word the Lord is speaking to us can also arouse enthusiasm. This is the case of the seed that sprouts close to the stone because the conditions for sprouting are more favourable there. But our enthusiasm is shattered when it confronts difficulty, just as the seed withers when the sun comes out. In reality, it is difficulties that can make listening authentic; it is the tribulations that verify whether one is truly welcoming the word or merely listening in a superficial way. In fact, the word the Lord is speaking to us  can often be something that we do not want to hear. But if God wants to us to journey as adults with him, then he cannot tell us only what we want to hear; otherwise he will leave us exactly where we are already.

Receiving the word of God requires renouncing the things of this world. If I “listen” to the word of God but also listen to other things, then I am living a life of mediocrity. Selfless love is not compatible with worldly considerations of profit and self-promotion. With Mary we must learn not to resist the word the Lord is sending us. We too must learn to say, “Let it be done onto me according to thy word”.

We can also give the word of the Lord an ambiguous welcome: “I listen to you, but I also listen to other things”. We are the artists of compromise and the lovers of mediocrity. The word of God does not agree with the world, because the word operates according to love and not according to profit, which is actually the opposite of selfless love. God asks us to renounce things, and love asks for renunciations very often. Let us face it: we must stop defending our little corner before the word of God. It is better to say with Mary: "Let it be done onto me according to your word".  Let us welcome the word without resistance.