CATHOLIC HOMILIES: 15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A
HOMILY Theme: The Revelation through the Word
By: Fr. Cyril Unachukwu CCE
Homily for Sunday.
The Word of God is never sterile but forever fecund, creative and productive. Through the power in the Word, all things were brought into existence out of nothing. Through the same Word, the created order is sustained, protected and directed to her proper end. Through the power in the Word, life is received and conversion is experienced; and much more than these, life is changed from the natural state to the supernatural where the full identity of the Word of God is made manifest in eternity. The power in the Word of God is borne out of the fact that the Word of God is divine; the Word of God is a Person, the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. May we make ourselves receptive of the Word of God so as to be most fruitful by its power; Amen.
God has never ceased to speak from all eternity. Even in the seeming human experience of the silence of God, He speaks, to the understanding of those who are spiritually attentive to discern His words. In whichever way God speaks, it is always for a purpose and there is always a focus and His words are never wasted nor do they return to Him in vein. Speaking through the Prophet Isaiah in the First Reading of today (Isaiah 55:10-11), God made this clear to us, “as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower… so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty.” One big question for today is; what does the Word of God come to do in our midst? Why does God speak His Word to us? The Word of God comes to recreate us into new men and women; to redeem and save us from damnation; to liberate and set us free from the clutches of the evil one so as to enjoy in full the freedom of God’s children. God speaks to us to make Himself known to us and to lead us into communion with Him. The Word of God is the primary means of God’s revelation of Himself to us right from Creation to the Incarnation of the Word in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Revealing God the Source of all life to us, the Word also guides us through the path of life; “Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). In the Sacred Scripture and in the living and sacred Tradition of the Church, the Word of God continues to reveal God to men and women who open their heart to Him; and to inspire and empower countless number of people to do great things in the name of God and to contribute their quota in making the world a better place. The Word of God is the very power that can bring all to fruitfulness depending on one’s disposition towards it.
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God never forces Himself on us; He comes to us stimulating us to give in to the promptings of His will. The Word of God likewise never forces itself on us; it comes to us inspiring us to cultivate the right disposition in order to make its power manifest in us. This was the central message of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel Reading of today (Mt 13:1-23). The Sower of the Word of God gives all the benefit of doubt and the opportunity to have personal encounters with the power in the Word of God; even those who may be considered to be in the roughest of conditions and places. However, “the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man or woman who hears the word and understands it; he or she is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.” One thing is very certain; the Word of God is forever available and accessible to us. We are the ones who must render ourselves receptive of the Word of God. To be receptive of the Word of God is to make oneself available, by the power of the Holy Spirit, for the semination, germination, maturation and fruitfulness of the Word through a healthy Christian style of life; in prayer and in good works. Being receptive of the Word of God is always followed by the capacity to yield great harvest, bringing forth fruits that will last. God our Creator requests of us fruitfulness and productivity, made possible by the Holy Spirit who makes the power of the Word of God most manifest in us, and through us to the whole world. This power keeps us firm in hope as we anticipate the full manifestation of the promises of God at the end of time. In fact, in the words of the Second Reading (Romans 8:18-23), “creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God.” The Word of God not only makes us fruitful, but also makes us free. Through the power of the Word of God, we become free to live for God.
Lord God, make us receptive of your Word by the power of the Holy Spirit, because outside your Word we have no life in us. Through the power in Your Word, may we be recreated, transformed and most fruitful to the greater glory of your Name; Amen. Happy Sunday.
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