HOMILY FOR THE 15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.
THEME: ‘A sower went out to sow’
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul.
In the Gospel of today which is Jesus’ parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23), the seed landed on four types of ground, producing four different results. ‘The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.
We are never told the seeds were different. We are equally never told that the sower had the intention to sow in vain. So if God’s words aren’t being fulfilled in your life, ask yourself, ‘What kind of soil am I?’ Are you a surface person who can’t receive the word? A shallow person with no spiritual root system? Are you thorny ground? Are ‘the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things’ choking the spiritual life out of you? Or are you rich, fertile ground that produces results? Check the soil of your heart.
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Ever notice how you can sit at home and watch a two-hour, advert-packed film without feeling restless or bored, yet when the priest’s sermon exceeds thirty or forty minutes, you keep glancing at your watch and can’t wait to get out of church? And if someone had asked you the next day what he preached about, most times you wouldn’t remember anything.
The problem is not about the sower nor the seed. It is about the soil type.
So how can we be good soil and retain the word of God? 1) Write it down (see Exodus 17:14). When you make notes on what you read and hear, you will retain more, be more impacted, and get much more out of it. 2) Pray it through. Unless you pray over the Word you are hearing, you will keep coming home from church moved but unchanged. Many of the great saints of old read through the Bible on their knees. You should try that too! 3) Discuss it with others. God’s Word is like a seed that multiplies and grows when it’s watered by conversation with others who share your faith. The Bible says, ‘Those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard’ (Malachi 3:16 ). 4) Practise it daily. John tells us, ‘The Word was made flesh’ (John 1:14). The best way to retain God’s Word is to practise its principles. The conviction not just to hear but to act on the word of God is necessary for growth. It is the hardest part of it all. Living what we believe, acting on our convictions, and persevering in the face of resistance are not for the faint-hearted.5) Humility enough to hear. The ability to hear and understand God’s message is often blocked by our own assumptions and biases. I believe humility is a necessity when approaching God’s word. We have to recognize that we all pick and choose the parts of scripture that best fit our understanding of God. If we are to “walk humbly with God,” we should be prepared to be surprised by what we learn when we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. We must allow God to interrupt us, bend us at will and use. The part of the land that produces fruit is a soft place and not the rocky part.
This parable calls us to be good soil, to hear and then to respond. It is not enough to hear the word of God daily. We must allow that to transform us. God desires fruits and not withered trees or unproductive land. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God have mercy on us, heal our land, bless and protect us all through Christ, our Lord Amen. Happy Celebration.
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