15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Parables are a type of riddle, something we have to stop and think about.  They are not simply comparisons between the things of God and common day images or experiences.  Parables can be confusing and unclear.  They cause us to stop and think.  Today we hear the beginning of Matthew 13 which is made up of a series of parables.  We will hear more parables from Matthew 13 in the next two weeks.

A danger for us with parables is that they are too familiar to us since we have heard them so often.  We miss the shock or confusion that the first hearers of the parables would have experienced.  For example, do we think about what a poor planter the man in the parable was?  He let some of the precious seed fall on the path.  Then he threw some more on  rocky ground and some more among thorns.  He was wasting good seed; it didn’t stand a chance of growing in places like that.

The seed is the word of God.   And so we know it is infinite, like God’s love.  And God lovingly chooses to spread it everywhere, anywhere at all, as long as there is a chance that it will grow.  God wants us to hear God’s word.  God wants us to know God’s love.  Consequently, God is always and everywhere putting it in front of us and in places that we wouldn’t expect it.  God is good – all the time and in every place - even in places and situations where we wouldn’t think we would encounter it.  Amazing! And yet we may miss this beautiful point of the parable when we hear it because it has become familiar to us.

The different places the seed falls, the different types of ground in which it seeks to grow, affects how much or how little it grows.  Each of us, depending on where we are in life or even what type of day we are having, has some rocky ground, some ground with little soil that will sustain roots, and some ground good for growing.  It’s up to us to be aware of this and to do what we can to be receptive ground for God’s word as much and as often as we can.

The Christian life is one of success and failure, of growth and of withering, or even dying.  But since God never gives up and never has had enough of us when we fall and fail, we can count on being given countless opportunity to grow again.

How best can we do that? Take time to pray with the Scriptures.  For God’s word to grow, we need to be familiar with the Bible, especially the gospels.  We need to take time to pray and to ponder over God’s Word.  Listening to four short readings for a few minutes each Sunday isn’t enough.  More is needed.  And once we discipline ourselves to read and pray the Scriptures each day, our love for the Word grows and we start to grow. 

God is throwing out seed right now.  Watch for it, make room, and work with it, for we are guaranteed a harvest beyond anything we could ever imagine.  Our good God will be delighted and we will know the peace that only God can give.