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| “The Field is the World”, by UNKNOWN artist, c. 1892 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 55:10-11
Thus says the Lord:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
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Commentary on Is 55:10-11
This reading represents the
conclusion of Isaiah’s exhortation about the New Jerusalem. In these few verses
we hear how the word of God must be soaked up by the faithful as rain is soaked
up by the earth. Once it is absorbed it produces the desired result. Similar
thought is expressed in the Gospel of St. John in his exhortation on the
Eucharist (John 6:32) as the
Word come down from heaven.
“The Word comes from God, but it
can be heard only when it is soaked up in human life and spoken with human
accents. Deutero-Isaiah [Deutero-Isaiah refers to the second half of the book,
written during the Babylonian exile] explains world history, particularly the
sacred history of Israel, through the deep, omnipotent presence of the Word
(cf. Wisdom 8:1; 2 Corinthians 9:10).
M.-E. Boismard attributes to this text the immediate origin of the Johannine
theology of the Word (St. John's Prologue [Westminster, 1957] 100). We hear its
echo in John's doctrine of the Eucharist-the Word come down from heaven and
received as bread (John 6:32, 35).”
[4]
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 65:10, 11,
12-13, 14
R. (Lk 8:8) The seed that falls on good ground will
yield a fruitful harvest.
You have visited the land and watered it;
greatly have you enriched it.
God’s watercourses are filled;
you have prepared the grain.
R. The seed
that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows,
breaking up its clods,
Softening it with showers,
blessing its yield.
R. The seed
that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
You have crowned the year with your bounty,
and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
The untilled meadows overflow with it,
and rejoicing clothes the hills.
R. The seed
that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
The fields are garmented with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain.
They shout and sing for joy.
R. The seed
that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
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Commentary on Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14
Psalm 65 is a song
of thanksgiving. While the strophes presented are in gratitude for a bountiful
harvest, the image of rain falling on crops and fields links nicely to the
metaphor used in Isaiah 55:10-11.
God’s word brings forth a rich harvest causing rejoicing among those who
receive its bounty. There is also an obvious connection to the Parable of the
Sower in Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-23; Luke 8:5-15.
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Reading II: Romans 8:18-23
Brothers and sisters:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing
compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
For creation awaits with eager expectation
the revelation of the children of God;
for creation was made subject to futility,
not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itself
would be set free from slavery to corruption
and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until
now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
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Commentary on Rom 8:18-23
“Paul contends,
on the basis of cost-benefit analysis, that even our heaviest burdens of
suffering are fare outweighed by the glory that awaits us (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Though the afflictions of our time on earth are inescapable, the Spirit helps
to make them bearable (Romans 8:26). Suffering is all part of God’s plan to mold us
into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).”[5]
“The glory that believers are destined to share with Christ far
exceeds the sufferings of the present life. Paul considers the destiny of the
created world to be linked with the future that belongs to the believers. As it
shares in the penalty of corruption brought about by sin, so also will it share
in the benefits of redemption and future glory that comprise the ultimate
liberation of God's people.”[6]
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Gospel: Matthew 13:1-23
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 disciples approached him and said,
“Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted,
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
“Hear then the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one
who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,
and the evil one comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed 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.”
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Commentary on Mt 13:1-23
St. Matthew’s Gospel begins the third great discourse of teachings
on the Kingdom of
God
When questioned
on his purpose in using parables St. Matthew tells us Jesus response is “'they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand”. Using this literary form the Lord hopes to engage the
listeners so they will be enlightened. (He paraphrases Isaiah 6:9-10 a warning to the prophet whom he has sent that those to
whom he speaks will not understand). This citation implies that, as in St.
Mark’s treatment of this parable (Mark 4:1-23), the difficulty of the metaphor is almost a
punishment for the people’s earlier rejection of Jesus clearer statements.
“The point of the parable is that, in spite of some failure
because of opposition and indifference, the message of Jesus about the coming
of the kingdom will have enormous success.”[7]
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Or
Shorter Form: 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.”
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Commentary on Mt 13:1-9
In this shorter form of the Gospel only the parable is given
without St. Matthew’s description of how Jesus explained its meaning to the
disciples and told them how God have given them the singular gift given - the
ability to understand its meaning.
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Homily:
Most people these days use a computer for one thing or
another. As I reflected upon sacred
scripture in preparation for Mass this weekend it struck me that there are two
keys on the keyboard that represent things we can never have – the Control key;
and the Escape key.
The Gospel gives us some familiar images relate to that weakness,
does it not? The parable of “the Sower”
is found in all three of the synoptic Gospels; Matthew (heard today), Mark, and
Luke. For us to understand why Jesus
uses this parable we must pay attention to his situation. At the very beginning of the passage we hear:
“Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a
boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.”
The Lord must have looked out at those people and saw their
motives. He knew that with their free will he would never control them, and did
not wish to escape them. Some came
because they were curious; others because they had heard parts of the message
and were caught up in it. The thought expressed in it was so popular and this
young rabbi was amazing (performing miracles and all). Many of those from the local Synagogue would
have been prominent business people, interested in this new approach to their
ancient faith. Some of those on the
shore were full of hope; Jesus’ disciples and close friends would be in this
category. Oh, and the poor and the marginalized, they would resonate with
Jesus’ message. They would cling to it,
seeing their own salvation, if not in this life – in the next.
All of these different motives would have been clear to Jesus in
an instant as he scanned the faces tuned toward him as he stood in that
boat.
Seeing the curious he said “…some seed
fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up” These people
would not be with him long. His message
of love and hope would not attract them.
They were simply there because they had nothing better to do. We see the same in our community. They are the ones who might stop to listen to
an argument at work about care for the poor or the unborn and then walk away,
unmoved by the plight of either.
Seeing the next group – the fad seekers, he said “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,” These would be the people who like the message of hope the
Lord proclaimed but did not take it to heart.
It was only attractive until it became work to act upon it. Again we see the same people who come to our
community and are full of fire until it becomes inconvenient or some new idea
steals their attention.
Next the Lord addressed those driven by secular success. This group had such promise but their hearts
were not with Jesus, their hearts were with what their society called
“success”. To these he said: “Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and
choked it.” Talented people in our own community are frequently lured
into spiritual failure by worldly values.
How true the Gospel is when the Lord said later, a person can only serve
one master. It is the rare person who
can achieve fiscal success while staying focused on the things of God.
And finally, the Lord looked among that large crowd and saw the
faces that peered back at him with hope and love. His friends and family (Mother Mary was
almost certainly in that crowd) would be among them. To these Jesus says: “But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit, a
hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
This, of course is the category we all hope to be in, is it
not? We all want to be the good seed
that falls on rich soil. We want our
faith to shine out and produce that rich harvest. Or do we?
Think for a moment about what he means when the Lord says it
produced “…much fruit”.
That statement means that if we want to be the good seed, our results
for the Lord’s sake must be tangible and visible. Coming to Mass on Sunday and then burying the
message we receive is exactly what the Prophet Isaiah was talking about in that
first reading:
“Just as from the
heavens the rain and snow come down
and do not return there till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who
sows
and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to
me void,”
What we receive we are asked to give, to put into use. That is not an easy thing to do outside these
walls, outside of our family (and sometimes even there). We are called to take the message of love
into the world even though the world will not accept it.
I
was talking recently a friend whose wife had just recently given birth to their
first born. He told me that during labor, after a particularly sharp
contraction, she had said “I cannot for the life of me understand why any woman
would want to have more than one child after going through this the first
time. I don’t ever want to do this
again.”
He
said he was amazed to hear her say the next day after she had delivered
successfully and was holding their new daughter; “What a wonderful gift she is
to us. Do you think she would like a
brother or sister?” The gift of new life had wiped out the memory of the pain
of labor.
Often,
when God’s gifts are given, we experience pain and discomfort as our lives are
literally turned upside down. And as often
as we experience this change, our first reaction is to reject the gift seeing
the cost as being too high. St. Paul
That is the difficult part of the parable of the Sower. It is not simply recognizing that we should
wish to be the good seed, but rather making the sacrifices necessary to become
the good seed.
At the very beginning of my remarks I talked about the two keys
representing things we could never really have.
I now choose to contradict myself.
Because God, in his wisdom gave us free will and we can choose to
control our own actions and directions.
We can choose to be the good seed and in doing so bring the Lord his
bountiful harvest.
Pax
In
other Years: Optional
Memorial for Saint Henry
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture used today is “The Field is the World”, by UNKNOWN artist, c. 1892
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc.© 1968, 22:49 pp. 380
[5]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco , CA. pp.268
[6]
See NAB footnote on Romans 8:18ff
[7]
See NAB footnote on Matthew 13:3ff
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