Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 103
Reading 1 Is 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.
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.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 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.
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.
Reading 2 Rom 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.
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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
All who come to him will have life forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
All who come to him will have life forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mt 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."
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."
".
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Who are we then? Here we are
gathered in Christian Community receiving spiritual food. But who are we
really? We need to ask ourselves how much has Jesus Christ really transformed
our lives. Yes, we are receivers of His Living Word and consume Him in the Eucharist
but, sometimes, there is still some resistance. Our humanness gets in the way
and we can easily take Him for granted. There is a temptation for us to use
Jesus Christ in such a way that we feel good in the short term but do not want
to fully commit to Him. We want to retain our free will and actually dictate
how we are going to enter into a relationship with Him. After all of our
sufferings and disappointments, we still want to be in control of what we want
to say and do.
Jesus speaks of this in the Gospel Reading today. There of those of us who
will be stimulated by what He has to say. We will then react to the presence of
the Holy Spirit and make a tremendous effort to follow what Jesus wants us to
do. But soon, we will grow tired, reverting back to what is more familiar to
us. We will take what is given to us, squander it, and then revert back to what
is more familiar to us. We were scortched by the sun. Shallow was our faith and
we actually used it to heal us in the sort-term but, because of temptation and
longings of the flesh, we returned to our old ways. Then there are those of us
who are drawn to the Call of Jesus Christ but are embarrassed and forced to
ignore what Jesus has to say. He calls to us and we want to answer but find
that we do not have the strength. The birds have snatched us away. There are
those who live among the thorns who draw us away from Jesus Christ and back to
where we find ourselves lost and desolate.
The path of a Christian is not easy. Everything that is offered by Jesus
Christ will feel right and perfect but getting there is indeed a burden. The
world hates us for what we are. The reason for this is simple: Jesus Christ
offers us the Truth without any preconditions while society, dominated by
Satan, wants us to give it everything in return for the temptations and allures
of the flesh. We are easily distracted and led astray. There is a comfort in
what is familiar to us which is sin. There are no demands for us to act out on
the temptations of the flesh yet it is the sins of the flesh which will
ultimately destroy us. We are our worst enemy. We are naturally attracted to
the allures of the flesh and ignore the consequences.
If we take a moment to step back and actually contemplate what we are
doing, the truth can be revealed to us. We need to inhale a deep breath and
pause for a moment. This will enable us to contemplate what is the best thing
for us and what is bad. One of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit is Wisdom. It is
through Wisdom that we can ask ourselves What is the Wise thing to Do based on
our past experiences, present situation, and future hopes and dreams. Too many
times we repeat our same actions expecting a different result and then become
frustrated when the outcome is the same: disappointment and failure. It is very
difficult to break this pattern but that is exactly what Jesus wants us to do.
He wants us to receive what He is giving us and weigh it against what we have
experienced before. Naturally, we are afraid of anything new even if it the
most beneficial thing for us, but He wants us to take that risk just like we
have taken so many risks before to act out our desires of the flesh.
The risk that Jesus presents is different. It leads to a fuller and more
complete life filled with joy and love. We have spent so much time chasing that
which is bad for us. Why is it so hard for us to actually chase after something
that is good for us? The Gift of Joy is free through Jesus Christ. He loves us
completely. The challenge is that, after we get this gift, what are we going to
do with it?
Deacon Tom
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