15th Sunday of the Year
Isaiah 55:10-11. Romans 8:18-23. Matthew 13:1-23
Jesus issues the invitation; “Anyone who has ears to hear, let them hear!” He asks us to pay attention to the parable. But, what are we supposed to reflect on? The sower? The different terrains on which the seeds fall?
Traditionally Christians have focused almost exclusively on the ground on which the seeds fall. We need also to note the sower and the manner of his sowing.
Yes, we all accept that Jesus was referring to himself as the sower. The seed we believe is the Word of God; the Scriptures, spoken and written. The Soil is us, the people of the world and we all fit into one or other of the categories of soil – or perhaps, into various categories!
We do listen to the Word of God at Mass, many of us read the Word of God privately. But do we hear? We are assured by Isaiah that God’s Word which comes from his mouth will not return to the Lord unfulfilled.
In Galilee the sower spread the seed on a very dry and hard surface and only after the seed was spread did they plough the soil. The mediocrity of our lives and of our religious commitment maybe needs ploughing – to disturb us and allow space for the seed to take root. Even then there are the stones – after the initial understanding and enthusiasm our soil hardens again.
Think about it: how easily we seem to lose the ability to forgive, grudges build up, hardened opinions and attitudes take a hold.
Yes, most of us give water to the soil of our lives by our practice of religion. That keeps the soil healthy. But a crisis comes, or extra commitment is called for and we have not got the necessary depth of fertility.
What makes for good fertile soil? Possibly the most important things are the training, teaching and nourishment we all receive from parents, at home and in the local Church community.
As a former teacher, I am often surprised at some of my past students remember our time together. “I remember you saying one time …” and then, if not word for word they give at least in its general thrust of what I might have said. Even mere words spoken by an ordinary individual can have an extraordinary life-span. Sometimes we remember things our parents said long after they are gone. Their words and their outlook are not dead as long as we are alive and recall them.
So, maybe the role of ‘sower’ in the parable is not confined to the Lord himself. We have received God’s Word through no merit of our own. We are called on today to Listen and to Hear and to proclaim that Good News, even when the world is not receptive