15th Sunday of ordinary Time, year ’A’
"On that day, Jesus went out of the house, he sat down at the sea side, close by people gathered together around him, so he got into the boat and sat down; all of the crowd sat at the side of the shore. He spoke to them at length in parables : ’Look, the sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell at the side of the road, and some birds came and ate them all up. Other seeds fell onto stony ground, where they weren’t in need of much soil ; they sprouted up straight away because the earth was shallow. The sun came up, they scorched and because they didn’t have any roots they dried out. Others fell amongst thorns and grew up stifled by the thorns. Others fell onto good earth and gave fruit up to a hundred fold, sixty or thirty for each seed." Jesus, the Word of God, left the father’s bosom to dwell Inside of the bosom of the woman! She gave birth to a son in the world! The Word of God, who is Jesus, Son of Mary, was the ’seed of wheat’ coming into the world so as to bring the peace of his Presence and of his Love. From the boat of men, He made God’s Word resound in a world of iniquity, such a stormy world. God’s Word is the seed of life who bore fruit a hundredfold. It is received in he name of the whole of humanity by Mary. Not only did Mary hear the Word but she understood it, kept it and meditated it in her heart. We overflow with Joy, for we know that Jesus is with us, that he introduces us into the Kingdom. “Whoever has ears let him listen!” The disciples came up to Jesus and said to him : ’Why are you speaking to them in parables?’ He answered them : ’It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but not to them. To whoever has , it will be given to them in abundance : to whomever has not, even what they heave will be taken away. If I speak tot hem in parables it is because they look without seeing, listen without listening nor understanding." We , too, can be so caught up in worldly riches that we forget what is essential. The human heart encounters within itself many an obstacle when confronted with the Word of God :dispersion, agitation, laziness, hardness, all these things besiege us and prevent us from receiving God’s Word within our hearts. And yet God is watching over us, and He is sowing, giving us grace in abundance. Whilst dying on the Cross, Jesus will bear fruit for the multitude. The whole of humanity will be able to receive it and will be regenerated by it! Thus will be able to become a huge field of wheat harvested for the Lamb’s wedding Feast. “In this way Isaiah’s prophesy will be accomplished : You may have listened, but you do not understand. You may have looked, but you won’t see a thing.’ This peoples’ heart has grown heavy : their hearing has hardened, they have covered their eyes, in case their eyes see, in case their ears hear, in case their heart understands, and they get converted, - and I shall bring them healing. But as for you, happy are you for because your eyes see and your ears hear! Amen I say unto you : there are many prophets and upright people who have wished to see what you see, and they have not seen this, they have wished to hear what you hear and have not heard.” There comes about a growth in peace, joy and gentleness for the one who believes, providing that the earth of his heart is ready to let his heat be worked upon by God’s Word. The heart of God’s people is enlightened, it comes to understand the Word thanks tot his given experience. Each one bears witness to the fact that wherever there is a drought nothing can grow there. Once God’s Blessing of rainfall comes all is well! And so there is singing and dancing, life is ahead of us. This is what it is like when God’s Word is in his people and it bears fruit. We can identify ourselves within this crowd which has born ’ a fruit’ beyond all hope because we have remained in Jesus. Many prophets and upright people have wished to see what you see and have not seen it, to hear what you have heard and have not been able to.’ We ask Jesus for the grace not to stifle God’s Words as He speaks to us, but to have them grow in our daily prayer. 18 ’So pay attention to the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the Evil One comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the seed sown on the edge of the path. 20 The seed sown on patches of rock is someone who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. 21 But such a person has no root deep down and does not last; should some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, at once he falls away. 22 The seed sown in thorns is someone who hears the word, but the worry of the world and the lure of riches choke the word and so it produces nothing. 23 And the seed sown in rich soil is someone who hears the word and understands it; this is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’