18th Sunday A (July 31, 2005)
Mt.14:13-21
Jesus said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here." Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds (Mt.14: 16-19).
There was an old woman that lost her sense of God’s presence. She shared this to her friend and the latter’s advice was, “Pray to God, ask Him to touch you and put His hands on you.” The lady began to pray right then and there. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Full of joy she told her friend, “The Lord has touched me! But you know, it feels just like your hand.” Her friend replied, “Sure it was my hand. What do you think God would do? Stick a long arm out of heaven to touch you? He will just take the hands of the person near to you and use that.”
The disciples of Jesus were so concerned about the hungry crowd that they asked Jesus to dismiss them so that they could go and buy themselves something to eat. But instead of sending them away, Jesus told His disciples, “Give them some food yourselves.” But all they have were five loaves and two fish. The disciples trusted in Jesus and they gave them to Him. Jesus blessed the food, broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples who in turn gave them to the crowds. To their amazement, the food that they partook was more than enough to satisfy their great hunger.
The disciples were concerned with the crowds and they accompanied this concern with their generosity to share. In sharing what they had with Jesus, a miracle happened. Five thousand men (not counting women and children) ate and were satisfied. God would like to continue doing miracles. He wants to touch the lives of people. He wants to help them in their needs. He wants to console them in their misery. He wants His presence to be felt by them. But God would not stick out a long arm out of heaven to touch others. He will use us to make His miracle happen.
Around us people are starving. They suffer all kinds of hunger. Hunger not only for food but love, peace, care, understanding, patience, kindness, acceptance, and forgiveness. God would like to satisfy this hunger, but He is waiting for us to share our five loaves and two fish. God’s miracles happen when we become generous and share our blessings with others.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Friday, July 22, 2005
Valuing Ourselves as Jesus Values Us (July 24, 2005)
17th Sunday, Year A
Mt.13:44-52
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it (Mt.13: 44-46).
One day a priest decided to change his strategy in asking donations from couples who would like to get married. Instead of asking for a fixed donation, it would depend on how much the guy value his wife. One day a couple came to him, after learning all the requirements for marriage, the man inquired how much the donation was. The priest said, “It depends on how responsible your fiancée is.” The man then said, “If that is the case I will donate $1,000.” The priest was happy with that donation. A little later another couple came inquiring about marriage. After learning the procedure, the guy asked how much the donation was and the priest said, “It depends on how loving your fiancée is.” Then the man said, “If that is the case, I will give $5,000.” The priest was happy with this big donation and proud of his new strategy. Later a man came by himself. He also asked about marriage in the church. The priest asked him, where is his wife to be. The man said, “She is waiting in the parking lot.” After learning all the requirements, he asked how much the donation was. The priest said, “Oh it depends on how beautiful your wife to be is.” The man said, “If that is the case, here is my donation of $10.” The priest was stunned. He wondered how his wife to be looks like, so he sneaked out of the office and looked for the girl in the parking lot. Upon his return, he smiled to the man, handed him $5 back, and said, “Here is your change!”
How we perceive and feel about ourselves is important. Without some measure of self-worth, our life can be enormously painful. When we reject parts of ourselves, we damage the psychological structure that keeps us alive. In our story, the guy seems to reject the physical appearance of his wife to be by not bringing her with him. It is important for us to be affirmed, admired, and appreciated. Seeing how Jesus values us would raise our self-esteem which in turn would change the way we interpret our lives. Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of God like a treasure buried in a field or a pearl of great value. To know the value of the Kingdom of God is to know our value.
In this parable, we see two attitudes. The first is a person’s joy for finding such treasure, and second is the willingness to risk everything for it. I believe the Kingdom of God can only reign in our hearts if we see that we are blessed and we are God’s most valued treasures. Sometimes with all the bad things that we experience, it is hard to believe that there is a God who loves us. We start to wander far from Him.
But God is taking the risk just to get us back. He became like us in all things but sin. Jesus embraced our wounded humanity and transformed us to become adopted children of the Father and become co-heirs to the kingdom. To God we are the treasures buried in a field or the pearl of great value. The price that He paid to redeem us is the blood of His Son. He gave His Son Jesus to us that we may have life in Him. He sees our uniqueness as persons and our worth as His children. Do we see ourselves as God sees us? Do we value ourselves as Jesus values us?
Mt.13:44-52
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it (Mt.13: 44-46).
One day a priest decided to change his strategy in asking donations from couples who would like to get married. Instead of asking for a fixed donation, it would depend on how much the guy value his wife. One day a couple came to him, after learning all the requirements for marriage, the man inquired how much the donation was. The priest said, “It depends on how responsible your fiancée is.” The man then said, “If that is the case I will donate $1,000.” The priest was happy with that donation. A little later another couple came inquiring about marriage. After learning the procedure, the guy asked how much the donation was and the priest said, “It depends on how loving your fiancée is.” Then the man said, “If that is the case, I will give $5,000.” The priest was happy with this big donation and proud of his new strategy. Later a man came by himself. He also asked about marriage in the church. The priest asked him, where is his wife to be. The man said, “She is waiting in the parking lot.” After learning all the requirements, he asked how much the donation was. The priest said, “Oh it depends on how beautiful your wife to be is.” The man said, “If that is the case, here is my donation of $10.” The priest was stunned. He wondered how his wife to be looks like, so he sneaked out of the office and looked for the girl in the parking lot. Upon his return, he smiled to the man, handed him $5 back, and said, “Here is your change!”
How we perceive and feel about ourselves is important. Without some measure of self-worth, our life can be enormously painful. When we reject parts of ourselves, we damage the psychological structure that keeps us alive. In our story, the guy seems to reject the physical appearance of his wife to be by not bringing her with him. It is important for us to be affirmed, admired, and appreciated. Seeing how Jesus values us would raise our self-esteem which in turn would change the way we interpret our lives. Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of God like a treasure buried in a field or a pearl of great value. To know the value of the Kingdom of God is to know our value.
In this parable, we see two attitudes. The first is a person’s joy for finding such treasure, and second is the willingness to risk everything for it. I believe the Kingdom of God can only reign in our hearts if we see that we are blessed and we are God’s most valued treasures. Sometimes with all the bad things that we experience, it is hard to believe that there is a God who loves us. We start to wander far from Him.
But God is taking the risk just to get us back. He became like us in all things but sin. Jesus embraced our wounded humanity and transformed us to become adopted children of the Father and become co-heirs to the kingdom. To God we are the treasures buried in a field or the pearl of great value. The price that He paid to redeem us is the blood of His Son. He gave His Son Jesus to us that we may have life in Him. He sees our uniqueness as persons and our worth as His children. Do we see ourselves as God sees us? Do we value ourselves as Jesus values us?
Friday, July 15, 2005
Judgement!! (July 17, 2005)
"The virtuous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of the Father"
Matthew 13:43
The parable in today's Gospel is about a farmer who sowed good seed into his field. Under cover of the night, an enemy sowed "darnel (weeds) all among the wheat." And when the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well.
We find it hard to imagine that someone would go to the trouble of purposely sowing bad seed in another person's fields, but among the ancients this was a favorite method of revenge or punishment. According to most translations, the bad seed is what is nowadays called "bearded darnelle." Darnel and wheat is a particularly insidious combination, because the sprouts of both seeds are indistinguishable, even to a trained eye. Consequently, the darnel cannot be weeded out as soon as it emerges, lest the wheat be pulled up by mistake. By the time the plants can be distinguished, it's too late to weed out the darnel because the roots of the darnel and the roots of the wheat become intertwined. Plucking the mature weed will also uproot the good wheat.
The farmer in the parable could burn off the whole field and sow again, but instead he pursues the only course which will allow him to salvage his original crop. He allows the wheat and the weeds to grow side-by-side until the harvest. Then every plant will be cut, the wheat will be stored in the barn, and the weeds will be gathered for burning. In explaining the parable Jesus says, "The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His Kingdom all things that provoke offenses and all who do evil, and throw them into blazing furnaces" (Mt. 13:43).
It is probably safe to say that in our mental images of Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds, we depict ourselves as the wheat. We see ourselves on the side of the angels. We see them collecting all those evildoers (the weeds) and throwing them into the fire while we (the good wheat) patiently wait for those nice angels to escort us into heaven. There, in Jesus' words, we will join "the virtuous who will shine like the sun in the Father's Kingdom" (Mt. 13:43). In other words, the parable is a proper warning for the evildoers (some of whom we would have little trouble identifying) but, as for us, we're the "good guys," we're on the side of the angels, we're on God's side ... Aren't we?
Merely asking that question should remind us that judgment of all persons is God's prerogative, not ours. If God is willing to let the wheat and weeds grow side-by-side for now, why should we presume upon God's decision? Judgment is God's prerogative. It's not our job to sort out those who belong to the Kingdom or to weed out those who do not. That is God's job, and God will handle it just perfectly, thank you, in His own time.
The story is told of a woman who decided to take a break after a long afternoon in a big shopping mall. She sat down on a bench, opened her newspaper, and reached down to take a bite of the candy bar she had just purchased. A well-attired man was sitting next to her and, much to her chagrin he suddenly reached down, took a piece of the candy bar and popped it into his mouth!
The woman was a bit shocked, but she figured, "I'll ignore it." Then she took another piece of the candy -- and he took another piece and popped it into his mouth. Then he beat her to the punch and took yet another piece of the candy bar. By this time she was incensed. She grabbed the remaining candy, threw it in a trash basket, and stormed off through the mall, muttering to herself, "That awful person. I should have slapped his face!"
Minutes later she spotted the man standing in front of a bakery with a donut in his hand. Later, she said, "I couldn't resist the temptation. I grabbed that awful man's wrist, took a big bite out of the donut, and walked away." Then she confessed, "When I got home, I put my things down, opened my purse -- and there was my unwrapped candy bar!" All that time she had been eating his candy!
The constant willingness to pass judgment on others can bruise feelings, stifle relationships, and box people into stereotypes. Instead of being constantly judgmental, we should be constantly striving to bring out the best in one another.
In 1968, a psychological study was carried out in a lower middle-class elementary school. Two researchers convinced the faculty that they had developed a test which allowed them to predict which students were on the verge of surging forward in their learning. To all the teachers they gave a confidential list of the students who were supposedly primed to "blossom" in the coming year. Unknown to the teachers, the researchers had conducted no such predictive test, and the pupils on the list had been selected at random.
At the end of the school year, the listed students had indeed made better grades, performed better on exams, and even improved their scores on intelligence tests. Their teachers expected the best from them, and the students responded by giving their best!
A fable tells of an ancient King who wanted to discourage his four sons from making rash judgments...
At his command, the eldest made a winter journey to see a mango tree. When spring came, the next oldest was sent on the same journey. Summer followed and the third son went. Finally, after the youngest had made his visit in the autumn. the King called them together and asked them to describe the tree.
The first son said it looked like a burnt stump. The second disagreed, describing it as lovely -- large and green. The third son declared its blossoms were as beautiful as roses. The fourth said that they were all wrong. To him it was fruit -- like a pear.
"Well," the old King said, "each of you is right." Seeing the puzzled look in the sons' eyes, the King went on to explain. "You see, each of you saw it in a different season, thus all of you are correctly describing what you saw. The lesson for you, said the King, is to withhold your judgment until you have seen the tree in all its seasons."
There are those who have embraced judging others as a way of life. There are those who seem to take demonic delight in it. A woman was talking about a member of her bridge club. She said, "I wouldn't say anything about her unless it was good. And boy, is it good!" She then went on to gossip about the woman in a very judgmental way.
There was a priest who found a great deal of judgment going on among the people in his Church and he found a wonderful way of dealing with it. Everytime someone in the congregation started to make a judgmental statement about someone else he took out a notebook and a pen and he said, "Now will you please repeat this? I want to be sure I get it down exactly as you said it." It's simply amazing how the people would disappear into the night. I think it would be wonderful if we all kept a notebook on ourselves. When we get our judgmental statements down in writing they may shock us enough to realize how terribly self-righteous we have become.
Through His whole life and ministry and teaching, Jesus has assured us that our relationship with God is the single most important thing in our lives. He also has shown us how our relationships with other persons affect our relationship with God. When our relationships with others are enriching and loving, the power and love of God can move in us and through us. But when our relationships with other persons are destructive, the power of God is literally blocked and we become estranged from Him, cut off from His power. Jesus is very clear, very direct and very specific about this: Do not judge and you will not be judged," He says. "because the judgments you give are the judgments you will get, and the amount you will measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and never notice the plank in your own?" (Mt. 7:1-3).
The parable of the wheat and the weeds is a story about judgment -- about good seed and bad, saints and sinners living side by side in the world. In the end God will sort everything out, and God's judgments will be just. Meanwhile, our lot is to strive for the best from ourselves, look for the best in others, and leave the harvesting to God! For it is God alone who sees each and every one of us in all our seasons.
Matthew 13:43
The parable in today's Gospel is about a farmer who sowed good seed into his field. Under cover of the night, an enemy sowed "darnel (weeds) all among the wheat." And when the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well.
We find it hard to imagine that someone would go to the trouble of purposely sowing bad seed in another person's fields, but among the ancients this was a favorite method of revenge or punishment. According to most translations, the bad seed is what is nowadays called "bearded darnelle." Darnel and wheat is a particularly insidious combination, because the sprouts of both seeds are indistinguishable, even to a trained eye. Consequently, the darnel cannot be weeded out as soon as it emerges, lest the wheat be pulled up by mistake. By the time the plants can be distinguished, it's too late to weed out the darnel because the roots of the darnel and the roots of the wheat become intertwined. Plucking the mature weed will also uproot the good wheat.
The farmer in the parable could burn off the whole field and sow again, but instead he pursues the only course which will allow him to salvage his original crop. He allows the wheat and the weeds to grow side-by-side until the harvest. Then every plant will be cut, the wheat will be stored in the barn, and the weeds will be gathered for burning. In explaining the parable Jesus says, "The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His Kingdom all things that provoke offenses and all who do evil, and throw them into blazing furnaces" (Mt. 13:43).
It is probably safe to say that in our mental images of Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds, we depict ourselves as the wheat. We see ourselves on the side of the angels. We see them collecting all those evildoers (the weeds) and throwing them into the fire while we (the good wheat) patiently wait for those nice angels to escort us into heaven. There, in Jesus' words, we will join "the virtuous who will shine like the sun in the Father's Kingdom" (Mt. 13:43). In other words, the parable is a proper warning for the evildoers (some of whom we would have little trouble identifying) but, as for us, we're the "good guys," we're on the side of the angels, we're on God's side ... Aren't we?
Merely asking that question should remind us that judgment of all persons is God's prerogative, not ours. If God is willing to let the wheat and weeds grow side-by-side for now, why should we presume upon God's decision? Judgment is God's prerogative. It's not our job to sort out those who belong to the Kingdom or to weed out those who do not. That is God's job, and God will handle it just perfectly, thank you, in His own time.
The story is told of a woman who decided to take a break after a long afternoon in a big shopping mall. She sat down on a bench, opened her newspaper, and reached down to take a bite of the candy bar she had just purchased. A well-attired man was sitting next to her and, much to her chagrin he suddenly reached down, took a piece of the candy bar and popped it into his mouth!
The woman was a bit shocked, but she figured, "I'll ignore it." Then she took another piece of the candy -- and he took another piece and popped it into his mouth. Then he beat her to the punch and took yet another piece of the candy bar. By this time she was incensed. She grabbed the remaining candy, threw it in a trash basket, and stormed off through the mall, muttering to herself, "That awful person. I should have slapped his face!"
Minutes later she spotted the man standing in front of a bakery with a donut in his hand. Later, she said, "I couldn't resist the temptation. I grabbed that awful man's wrist, took a big bite out of the donut, and walked away." Then she confessed, "When I got home, I put my things down, opened my purse -- and there was my unwrapped candy bar!" All that time she had been eating his candy!
The constant willingness to pass judgment on others can bruise feelings, stifle relationships, and box people into stereotypes. Instead of being constantly judgmental, we should be constantly striving to bring out the best in one another.
In 1968, a psychological study was carried out in a lower middle-class elementary school. Two researchers convinced the faculty that they had developed a test which allowed them to predict which students were on the verge of surging forward in their learning. To all the teachers they gave a confidential list of the students who were supposedly primed to "blossom" in the coming year. Unknown to the teachers, the researchers had conducted no such predictive test, and the pupils on the list had been selected at random.
At the end of the school year, the listed students had indeed made better grades, performed better on exams, and even improved their scores on intelligence tests. Their teachers expected the best from them, and the students responded by giving their best!
A fable tells of an ancient King who wanted to discourage his four sons from making rash judgments...
At his command, the eldest made a winter journey to see a mango tree. When spring came, the next oldest was sent on the same journey. Summer followed and the third son went. Finally, after the youngest had made his visit in the autumn. the King called them together and asked them to describe the tree.
The first son said it looked like a burnt stump. The second disagreed, describing it as lovely -- large and green. The third son declared its blossoms were as beautiful as roses. The fourth said that they were all wrong. To him it was fruit -- like a pear.
"Well," the old King said, "each of you is right." Seeing the puzzled look in the sons' eyes, the King went on to explain. "You see, each of you saw it in a different season, thus all of you are correctly describing what you saw. The lesson for you, said the King, is to withhold your judgment until you have seen the tree in all its seasons."
There are those who have embraced judging others as a way of life. There are those who seem to take demonic delight in it. A woman was talking about a member of her bridge club. She said, "I wouldn't say anything about her unless it was good. And boy, is it good!" She then went on to gossip about the woman in a very judgmental way.
There was a priest who found a great deal of judgment going on among the people in his Church and he found a wonderful way of dealing with it. Everytime someone in the congregation started to make a judgmental statement about someone else he took out a notebook and a pen and he said, "Now will you please repeat this? I want to be sure I get it down exactly as you said it." It's simply amazing how the people would disappear into the night. I think it would be wonderful if we all kept a notebook on ourselves. When we get our judgmental statements down in writing they may shock us enough to realize how terribly self-righteous we have become.
Through His whole life and ministry and teaching, Jesus has assured us that our relationship with God is the single most important thing in our lives. He also has shown us how our relationships with other persons affect our relationship with God. When our relationships with others are enriching and loving, the power and love of God can move in us and through us. But when our relationships with other persons are destructive, the power of God is literally blocked and we become estranged from Him, cut off from His power. Jesus is very clear, very direct and very specific about this: Do not judge and you will not be judged," He says. "because the judgments you give are the judgments you will get, and the amount you will measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and never notice the plank in your own?" (Mt. 7:1-3).
The parable of the wheat and the weeds is a story about judgment -- about good seed and bad, saints and sinners living side by side in the world. In the end God will sort everything out, and God's judgments will be just. Meanwhile, our lot is to strive for the best from ourselves, look for the best in others, and leave the harvesting to God! For it is God alone who sees each and every one of us in all our seasons.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Put Yourself Into It (July 10, 2005)
There are some who receive the Word with great joy
"As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit"
Matthew 13:23
A seminary student was showing little promise of developing into a good preacher. One day, as he stumbled through a practice sermon in class, his homiletics professor called out to him from the back of the room: "Why can't you be more enthusiastic? Speak louder. Open your mouth. Put yourself into it!"
No better phrase could describe the energy and enthusiasm of the New Testament writers: "They put themselves into it!" They wanted us to know and love Christ as they did. And they made a particular effort to try to get us to think of Christ as the Word of God. The Apostle Peter has written,
Your rebirth has come, not from a destructible but from an indestructible seed through the living and enduring Word of God.
Then, quoting from the Old Testament Prophet, Isaiah, Peter says:
All mankind is grass and the glory of men is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts, but the Word is the Gospel which was preached to you" (1 Pt. 1:23-25).
Among all the other ancient religions, sight is primary in the relationship with God. There is an emphasis on visions or on idols that one can see. In our Judeo-Christian Tradition, the element of sight has not been absent. Prophets were referred to as "seers" or "visionaries," for example. Nevertheless, in the Judeo-Christian Tradition, the encounter with God is not primarily through seeing but hearing. The "Word of the Lord" is a phrase that occurs hundreds of times in the Old Testament.
According to a story told by the late humorist, Bennett Cerf, there were press agents at work all the way back to the time of Moses in the Old Testament. It seems that Moses' chief publicity person was urging him to build a bridge across the Red Sea as an escape route from the Egyptians. "There is no time for that," said Moses. "I have just received the Word of the Lord. I am to order the Red Sea to part in the middle and we'll just walk right through." To which the press agent replied, "You do that Moses and I'll guarantee you at least two full pages in the Old Testament."
Open your Bible to the very beginning -- the creation story in the Book of Genesis -- and you will read, "Then God said, 'Let there be light.'" (Gen. 1:3). And from that point on, emphasis on the spoken word of God continues to build:
Then the Word of the Lord came to Abraham (Gn. 15:4). And Moses commanded the People according to the Word of the Lord (Num. 396:5). The Word of the Lord came to Samuel (1 Sa. 15:10). Hear the Word of the Lord! .. Hear the Word of the Lord! ... Hear the Word of the Lord!
On and on it goes and, as it does, it picks up more and more content, so that the "Word" is not merely a sound but a Presence. The Word is filled with God's Presence. The Word is filled with the pre-existent Christ-Presence. Finally, when we come into the New Testament, John tells us in his Gospel that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn. 1:1, 14).
This Word is with you always, calling you by name. In order to hear it clearly, you need to go deep down -- below the noise and the distraction and the confusion and the busyness of your life. You need to go down deep to the level of spaciousness and silence, where this Word is given to you: this Word that is more than sound; this Word that makes you uniquely you; this Word that is your life. And when you allow it to come into your life, it will reverberate through your whole being.
The professor in a college English class was trying to impress upon his students the value of a rich vocabulary. He said to them, "If you will just take a new word and use it ten times it will be yours forever." Whereupon, a young woman in the class looked dreamily out the window and started saying, "George, George, George, George ... "
What the New Testament writers are trying to impress on you is that if you take this Word, which is Christ, and make it truly yours forever, you will be born again to a living hope, born again to a new life.
When you turn to Scripture, something special happens because Scripture is the Word of God coming to us in a very special way. Yet, how many of us read our Bible for an average of, say, ten minutes a day? That's one problem. Another problem is that when we do get into our Bible, we merely study it. Bible study is valuable, but we must remember that "understanding the Scripture" is not a mere intellectual exercise. The Bible is not simply one more puzzle, along with others, to be solved. We need to understand that there is a profound difference between studying the Bible and praying the Bible. Studying the Bible gives us a certain richness we can bring into the experience of Scripture reading. But in praying the Bible, we settle down in our quiet time, select a passage, let's say in the Gospel, and we begin to read slowly. We bring our mind into it, of course. But we bring more than our mind -- we bring our whole self. If we open our minds and hearts to the Word of God in this way, God uses the occasion to make His Presence very real to us. And the experience becomes an encounter with the living Word of God.
In today's Gospel, Jesus is speaking in parables to the crowds gathered about Him. He tells them the story of "a sower who went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path." Since this ground, which had been walked on, was hard, the birds came and devoured the seeds. Some seeds fell on rocky ground "where they had not much soil." Consequently, the plants that sprang up were not deeply rooted and they quickly withered and died. Some seeds fell among the thorns that had been turned under when the land was plowed, and the thorns grew up and choked them. "Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold." Later, Jesus interprets the parable for the disciples. The seed in hard, rocky ground represents His followers who have heard His Word and accepted it in faith. But not all persevere in the faith. There are some who receive the Word with great joy but do not allow it to take root deep within their being. Consequently, when trouble or persecution occurs because of the faith, they soon falter. "As for what was sown among thorns, "these are the ones who hear the Word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." As for what was sown on good soil, "these are the faithful who hear the Word and persevere in it. They indeed bear fruit -- as much as a hundredfold."
"He who hears the Word and understands it, he indeed bears fruit" (Mt 13:23). We can inspire the world to a new and living hope by hearing and receiving Jesus Christ, the living Word -- of God! We can be Christ's reconcilers in our divided world, if we put ourselves into it!
May God Bless you and your families!!
Fr Nony
"As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit"
Matthew 13:23
A seminary student was showing little promise of developing into a good preacher. One day, as he stumbled through a practice sermon in class, his homiletics professor called out to him from the back of the room: "Why can't you be more enthusiastic? Speak louder. Open your mouth. Put yourself into it!"
No better phrase could describe the energy and enthusiasm of the New Testament writers: "They put themselves into it!" They wanted us to know and love Christ as they did. And they made a particular effort to try to get us to think of Christ as the Word of God. The Apostle Peter has written,
Your rebirth has come, not from a destructible but from an indestructible seed through the living and enduring Word of God.
Then, quoting from the Old Testament Prophet, Isaiah, Peter says:
All mankind is grass and the glory of men is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts, but the Word is the Gospel which was preached to you" (1 Pt. 1:23-25).
Among all the other ancient religions, sight is primary in the relationship with God. There is an emphasis on visions or on idols that one can see. In our Judeo-Christian Tradition, the element of sight has not been absent. Prophets were referred to as "seers" or "visionaries," for example. Nevertheless, in the Judeo-Christian Tradition, the encounter with God is not primarily through seeing but hearing. The "Word of the Lord" is a phrase that occurs hundreds of times in the Old Testament.
According to a story told by the late humorist, Bennett Cerf, there were press agents at work all the way back to the time of Moses in the Old Testament. It seems that Moses' chief publicity person was urging him to build a bridge across the Red Sea as an escape route from the Egyptians. "There is no time for that," said Moses. "I have just received the Word of the Lord. I am to order the Red Sea to part in the middle and we'll just walk right through." To which the press agent replied, "You do that Moses and I'll guarantee you at least two full pages in the Old Testament."
Open your Bible to the very beginning -- the creation story in the Book of Genesis -- and you will read, "Then God said, 'Let there be light.'" (Gen. 1:3). And from that point on, emphasis on the spoken word of God continues to build:
Then the Word of the Lord came to Abraham (Gn. 15:4). And Moses commanded the People according to the Word of the Lord (Num. 396:5). The Word of the Lord came to Samuel (1 Sa. 15:10). Hear the Word of the Lord! .. Hear the Word of the Lord! ... Hear the Word of the Lord!
On and on it goes and, as it does, it picks up more and more content, so that the "Word" is not merely a sound but a Presence. The Word is filled with God's Presence. The Word is filled with the pre-existent Christ-Presence. Finally, when we come into the New Testament, John tells us in his Gospel that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn. 1:1, 14).
This Word is with you always, calling you by name. In order to hear it clearly, you need to go deep down -- below the noise and the distraction and the confusion and the busyness of your life. You need to go down deep to the level of spaciousness and silence, where this Word is given to you: this Word that is more than sound; this Word that makes you uniquely you; this Word that is your life. And when you allow it to come into your life, it will reverberate through your whole being.
The professor in a college English class was trying to impress upon his students the value of a rich vocabulary. He said to them, "If you will just take a new word and use it ten times it will be yours forever." Whereupon, a young woman in the class looked dreamily out the window and started saying, "George, George, George, George ... "
What the New Testament writers are trying to impress on you is that if you take this Word, which is Christ, and make it truly yours forever, you will be born again to a living hope, born again to a new life.
When you turn to Scripture, something special happens because Scripture is the Word of God coming to us in a very special way. Yet, how many of us read our Bible for an average of, say, ten minutes a day? That's one problem. Another problem is that when we do get into our Bible, we merely study it. Bible study is valuable, but we must remember that "understanding the Scripture" is not a mere intellectual exercise. The Bible is not simply one more puzzle, along with others, to be solved. We need to understand that there is a profound difference between studying the Bible and praying the Bible. Studying the Bible gives us a certain richness we can bring into the experience of Scripture reading. But in praying the Bible, we settle down in our quiet time, select a passage, let's say in the Gospel, and we begin to read slowly. We bring our mind into it, of course. But we bring more than our mind -- we bring our whole self. If we open our minds and hearts to the Word of God in this way, God uses the occasion to make His Presence very real to us. And the experience becomes an encounter with the living Word of God.
In today's Gospel, Jesus is speaking in parables to the crowds gathered about Him. He tells them the story of "a sower who went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path." Since this ground, which had been walked on, was hard, the birds came and devoured the seeds. Some seeds fell on rocky ground "where they had not much soil." Consequently, the plants that sprang up were not deeply rooted and they quickly withered and died. Some seeds fell among the thorns that had been turned under when the land was plowed, and the thorns grew up and choked them. "Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold." Later, Jesus interprets the parable for the disciples. The seed in hard, rocky ground represents His followers who have heard His Word and accepted it in faith. But not all persevere in the faith. There are some who receive the Word with great joy but do not allow it to take root deep within their being. Consequently, when trouble or persecution occurs because of the faith, they soon falter. "As for what was sown among thorns, "these are the ones who hear the Word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." As for what was sown on good soil, "these are the faithful who hear the Word and persevere in it. They indeed bear fruit -- as much as a hundredfold."
"He who hears the Word and understands it, he indeed bears fruit" (Mt 13:23). We can inspire the world to a new and living hope by hearing and receiving Jesus Christ, the living Word -- of God! We can be Christ's reconcilers in our divided world, if we put ourselves into it!
May God Bless you and your families!!
Fr Nony
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