“A farmer went out to sow grain in his field.”
July 13, 2008, 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55: 10-11 Romans 8: 18-23 Matthew 13: 1-9
To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a church not built by human hands[2]
First reading from Isaiah
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.
Second reading from Romans
Brothers and sisters: I consider that what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later. For all creation is waiting patiently and hopefully for that future day when God will resurrect His children. For on that day thorns and thistles, sin, death, and decay – the things that overcame this world against its will at God’s command – will all disappear, and the world around us will share in the glorious freedom from sin which God’s children enjoy. For we know that even the things of nature, like animals and plants, suffer sickness and death as they await this great event. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. (Living Bible translation)
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, Lord.
That same day Jesus left the house and sat by the seaside. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood along the shore. Then He spoke to them at length in parables. “A farmer went out to sow grain in his fields. As he sowed, some seed fell on a footpath, 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 thirty-fold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Introduction
Seaside parables
Chapter 13 of Matthew relates that Jesus left the house and went to the sea and there taught the people by means of parables. The chapter lines up five seaside parables of Jesus: the Parable of the Sower (18-23), of the Yeast (33), of the Hidden Treasure, (44), of the Pearl (45-46) and the Parable of the Net (47-50).
The purpose of parables
A parable[3] is a simple, easy-to-remember story told with humble imagery and bearing a single message. It says something more than what at first it seems to be saying. As such, a parable is a kind of riddle. It has a light and dark side, and that stirs curiosity and calls for a response from the listener. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Mt 13:9)
One day the disciples asked Jesus why he always spoke to them in parables, i. e., in hard-to-understand illustrations? (Mt 13:10) Enigmatically He told them that by speaking in parables He divides men into two groups: those who are capable of spiritual insight and would understand what He is saying, and those who are not spiritual and wouldn’t understand. “This is why I speak to them [with no spiritual insight] in parables, so that seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear and do not understand what I am saying.” (Mt 13:13)
Birth: an unfair sower
The Parable of the Sower is the first of the seaside parables. It is found in all of the Synoptic Gospels. (Mt 13:1-23, Mk 4:1-20, Lk 8:1-15) It is also found in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas. (Thomas 9) A farmer went out to sow grain in his field. Some of it fell on a footpath, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground where it couldn’t sink roots, and it died in the noon-day sun. Some fell among thorns and thistles which grew up and choked it. But some of the grain fell upon rich soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty and even a hundred times as much as he had planted. (Mt 13: 1-8)
I never get beyond this point in the parable. I always feel sorry for the poor seed which landed on a footpath or on rocks or on thorns and thistles, while other seed landed on fertile soil. My take on the parable is that birth (that sower of life) is downright unfair! On the one hand, it casts some upon a footpath to be trampled under foot by others, or upon rocky ground to be deprived of physical and psychological nutriments, or among thorns and thistles to be suffocated by the problems of life. On the other hand, birth casts others upon fertile soil, where they produce a rich harvest of their potential. Some of us are luckily born, and some of us are not. Birth is downright unfair!
A lucky dog & an unlucky dog
It’s downright unfair not only for humans but also for animals. My dog Simeon, a yellow lab, was luckily born. His pedigree states that his father’s name is Shadowlake Sun and his mother’s name is Carly. The names of his two grandfathers are Gordie Boy and Casey. I actually consider it a privilege to be his chauffer as he sits in the back of my roomy Toyota Rav.
Across the alley from me, however, was a poor black lab, unluckily born and, indeed, without pedigree. Sometimes he was chained to a car (!) even on a hot summer day. At times, I would stealthily give him cool water to slake his thirst. I even mustered up enough courage to confront the human beings capable of such inhumanness. I thought of stealing him or unchaining him in the dark of night and setting him free to go in search of a more humane society. All the while before me was the thought of my dog Simeon, son of father Shadowlake Sun and of mother Carly, being chauffeured in a roomy Rav. The contrasting thought makes me angrily cry out, “Foul! Foul! Birth is downright unfair!” It is then that I know for sure there is a heaven for dogs, just as there is a heaven for human beings where the downright unfair birth of both is set right.
The second reading today says that all creation groans in labor pains as it awaits the great event which will give all of creation new bodies which can never get sick again and die. (Rm 8:22-23) The Living Bible’s translation of this passage offers great comfort to animal lovers. It reads, “For we know that even the things of nature, like animals and plants, suffer in sickness and death as they await this great event.” (Rm 8:22) Animals and plants, too, await the great day. Animals and plants, too, will reap the same freedom and glory promised to us humans. In the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:20) we humans will not be all alone or lonely. There will also be animals and plants there with us to help make heaven heavenly!
Our stories
We all have a story behind ourselves. In our story we are all cast randomly as seed into the furrows of life. My story is about my Italian immigrant parents who came to this country in the early part of the last century. Our mother was taken from us at a very early age. That left our father without a helpmate in a foreign land, my sister and I without a mother and our house without a soul.
No Good Samaritans stopped to pour the oil of compassion upon our immigrant family waylaid on the road to Jericho. Perhaps neighbors were conveniently quoting the rule to mind one’s own business. Perhaps they were heeding the strange warning that no good deed goes unpunished. Perhaps they simply did not know what to do with immigrants who didn’t speak English well. Whatever it was I don’t know, but upon such inhospitable terrain my sister and I were randomly cast as seed into the furrows of life.
A story is for telling. It is important to tell our story especially to ourselves. Those who never tell their story, at least to themselves, never really get to know who they are and what makes them tick. And given the right moment and the right reasons, it is also good to tell our story to others. We tell our story not as an excuse for this or that but as an explanation of who we are and what makes us tick. That will help us discern what we should be doing to dig ourselves out of our story, if, indeed, we have been snowbound by it
Telling my story
My story, which often lacked the compassion of good Samaritans, by some sort of reverse psychology makes me compassionate. That black lab chained to a car fills me not only with a raging anger but also with great compassion. Years ago I found a cat dying in the alley. Compassion made me pick her up and nurse her back to health. Now she luxuriates as queen, totally oblivious of her rags to riches story. One late fall day I found a tree lying half-dead in an empty city lot. When the whistle blew for quitting time, city workers threw it off to the side, went home for supper and never returned to plant it. With compassion even for a seedling tree I picked it up and placed it into the bosom of mother earth on the shortest day of the year, Dec. 21, 1997. Now the tree luxuriates as a thriving magnificent silver maple with a huge glorious crown.
Despite my story or perhaps because of it, I never pass by anything lying wounded on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, be it a black lab, an alley cat or an abandoned tree. I always slam on the breaks of my busyness to stop and pour the oil of compassion. And if, for some reason, I can’t stop, I always pass by feeling, if not guilty, at least very sad. Because of my story, for me the supreme text of all Scripture is that mother of all Jesus’ parables: the Good Samaritan.
Conclusion
Bloom wherever we are
Compassion, by some strange reverse of psychology, sprang up and blossomed out of harsh terrain. At the end of the day, birth, environment and the furrows of life do not explain everything. Into the mix enters an absolutely mysterious element that can knock the wind out of all our predictions and prognostications.
A farmer went out to sow grain in his field. Some seed fell upon rocky ground. So what! Isaiah promises that the desert will rejoice, and flowers will bloom even in the wasteland (Is 35: 1). Some seed fell upon a footpath. So what! Even out of harsh terrain compassion can spring up. Some fell among weeds and thistles. So what! Daffodils and crocus in early spring break through the snowdrifts above them, and show us how to bloom wherever we are.
[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!
[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24
[3] The Greek word for parable literally means "to place beside." A parable illuminates a spiritual truth by placing it beside an earthly reality.
July 13, 2008, 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55: 10-11 Romans 8: 18-23 Matthew 13: 1-9
To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a church not built by human hands[2]
First reading from Isaiah
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.
Second reading from Romans
Brothers and sisters: I consider that what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later. For all creation is waiting patiently and hopefully for that future day when God will resurrect His children. For on that day thorns and thistles, sin, death, and decay – the things that overcame this world against its will at God’s command – will all disappear, and the world around us will share in the glorious freedom from sin which God’s children enjoy. For we know that even the things of nature, like animals and plants, suffer sickness and death as they await this great event. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. (Living Bible translation)
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, Lord.
That same day Jesus left the house and sat by the seaside. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood along the shore. Then He spoke to them at length in parables. “A farmer went out to sow grain in his fields. As he sowed, some seed fell on a footpath, 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 thirty-fold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Introduction
Seaside parables
Chapter 13 of Matthew relates that Jesus left the house and went to the sea and there taught the people by means of parables. The chapter lines up five seaside parables of Jesus: the Parable of the Sower (18-23), of the Yeast (33), of the Hidden Treasure, (44), of the Pearl (45-46) and the Parable of the Net (47-50).
The purpose of parables
A parable[3] is a simple, easy-to-remember story told with humble imagery and bearing a single message. It says something more than what at first it seems to be saying. As such, a parable is a kind of riddle. It has a light and dark side, and that stirs curiosity and calls for a response from the listener. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Mt 13:9)
One day the disciples asked Jesus why he always spoke to them in parables, i. e., in hard-to-understand illustrations? (Mt 13:10) Enigmatically He told them that by speaking in parables He divides men into two groups: those who are capable of spiritual insight and would understand what He is saying, and those who are not spiritual and wouldn’t understand. “This is why I speak to them [with no spiritual insight] in parables, so that seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear and do not understand what I am saying.” (Mt 13:13)
Birth: an unfair sower
The Parable of the Sower is the first of the seaside parables. It is found in all of the Synoptic Gospels. (Mt 13:1-23, Mk 4:1-20, Lk 8:1-15) It is also found in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas. (Thomas 9) A farmer went out to sow grain in his field. Some of it fell on a footpath, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground where it couldn’t sink roots, and it died in the noon-day sun. Some fell among thorns and thistles which grew up and choked it. But some of the grain fell upon rich soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty and even a hundred times as much as he had planted. (Mt 13: 1-8)
I never get beyond this point in the parable. I always feel sorry for the poor seed which landed on a footpath or on rocks or on thorns and thistles, while other seed landed on fertile soil. My take on the parable is that birth (that sower of life) is downright unfair! On the one hand, it casts some upon a footpath to be trampled under foot by others, or upon rocky ground to be deprived of physical and psychological nutriments, or among thorns and thistles to be suffocated by the problems of life. On the other hand, birth casts others upon fertile soil, where they produce a rich harvest of their potential. Some of us are luckily born, and some of us are not. Birth is downright unfair!
A lucky dog & an unlucky dog
It’s downright unfair not only for humans but also for animals. My dog Simeon, a yellow lab, was luckily born. His pedigree states that his father’s name is Shadowlake Sun and his mother’s name is Carly. The names of his two grandfathers are Gordie Boy and Casey. I actually consider it a privilege to be his chauffer as he sits in the back of my roomy Toyota Rav.
Across the alley from me, however, was a poor black lab, unluckily born and, indeed, without pedigree. Sometimes he was chained to a car (!) even on a hot summer day. At times, I would stealthily give him cool water to slake his thirst. I even mustered up enough courage to confront the human beings capable of such inhumanness. I thought of stealing him or unchaining him in the dark of night and setting him free to go in search of a more humane society. All the while before me was the thought of my dog Simeon, son of father Shadowlake Sun and of mother Carly, being chauffeured in a roomy Rav. The contrasting thought makes me angrily cry out, “Foul! Foul! Birth is downright unfair!” It is then that I know for sure there is a heaven for dogs, just as there is a heaven for human beings where the downright unfair birth of both is set right.
The second reading today says that all creation groans in labor pains as it awaits the great event which will give all of creation new bodies which can never get sick again and die. (Rm 8:22-23) The Living Bible’s translation of this passage offers great comfort to animal lovers. It reads, “For we know that even the things of nature, like animals and plants, suffer in sickness and death as they await this great event.” (Rm 8:22) Animals and plants, too, await the great day. Animals and plants, too, will reap the same freedom and glory promised to us humans. In the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:20) we humans will not be all alone or lonely. There will also be animals and plants there with us to help make heaven heavenly!
Our stories
We all have a story behind ourselves. In our story we are all cast randomly as seed into the furrows of life. My story is about my Italian immigrant parents who came to this country in the early part of the last century. Our mother was taken from us at a very early age. That left our father without a helpmate in a foreign land, my sister and I without a mother and our house without a soul.
No Good Samaritans stopped to pour the oil of compassion upon our immigrant family waylaid on the road to Jericho. Perhaps neighbors were conveniently quoting the rule to mind one’s own business. Perhaps they were heeding the strange warning that no good deed goes unpunished. Perhaps they simply did not know what to do with immigrants who didn’t speak English well. Whatever it was I don’t know, but upon such inhospitable terrain my sister and I were randomly cast as seed into the furrows of life.
A story is for telling. It is important to tell our story especially to ourselves. Those who never tell their story, at least to themselves, never really get to know who they are and what makes them tick. And given the right moment and the right reasons, it is also good to tell our story to others. We tell our story not as an excuse for this or that but as an explanation of who we are and what makes us tick. That will help us discern what we should be doing to dig ourselves out of our story, if, indeed, we have been snowbound by it
Telling my story
My story, which often lacked the compassion of good Samaritans, by some sort of reverse psychology makes me compassionate. That black lab chained to a car fills me not only with a raging anger but also with great compassion. Years ago I found a cat dying in the alley. Compassion made me pick her up and nurse her back to health. Now she luxuriates as queen, totally oblivious of her rags to riches story. One late fall day I found a tree lying half-dead in an empty city lot. When the whistle blew for quitting time, city workers threw it off to the side, went home for supper and never returned to plant it. With compassion even for a seedling tree I picked it up and placed it into the bosom of mother earth on the shortest day of the year, Dec. 21, 1997. Now the tree luxuriates as a thriving magnificent silver maple with a huge glorious crown.
Despite my story or perhaps because of it, I never pass by anything lying wounded on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, be it a black lab, an alley cat or an abandoned tree. I always slam on the breaks of my busyness to stop and pour the oil of compassion. And if, for some reason, I can’t stop, I always pass by feeling, if not guilty, at least very sad. Because of my story, for me the supreme text of all Scripture is that mother of all Jesus’ parables: the Good Samaritan.
Conclusion
Bloom wherever we are
Compassion, by some strange reverse of psychology, sprang up and blossomed out of harsh terrain. At the end of the day, birth, environment and the furrows of life do not explain everything. Into the mix enters an absolutely mysterious element that can knock the wind out of all our predictions and prognostications.
A farmer went out to sow grain in his field. Some seed fell upon rocky ground. So what! Isaiah promises that the desert will rejoice, and flowers will bloom even in the wasteland (Is 35: 1). Some seed fell upon a footpath. So what! Even out of harsh terrain compassion can spring up. Some fell among weeds and thistles. So what! Daffodils and crocus in early spring break through the snowdrifts above them, and show us how to bloom wherever we are.
[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!
[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24
[3] The Greek word for parable literally means "to place beside." A parable illuminates a spiritual truth by placing it beside an earthly reality.
