First Reading – Isaiah 55:10-11 ©
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm
64(65):10-14 ©
Second Reading - Romans 8:18-23 ©
Gospel Acclamation – 1saiah 3:9
Alternative Acclamation – John 6:68
The Gospel According to Matthew 13:1
- 23 ©
(NJB)
Listen!
All the
things we say and do have consequences, even the things we do and say only to
ourselves.
Words
matter, not only the words of God or God’s messengers, the angels and prophets,
the disciples and apostles, the words that belongs to each and every one of us
matter too. Even the words we do not speak out loud, words only given voice in the
secret chamber of the heart, those words matter too; all of our words matter, because
each word we utter is like a seed, once dropped they germinate, set roots, grow
and brings forth fruit according to their nature.
Know this!
It is right
to praise God, the creator of the universe, but be careful with your promises.
When we make promises to God we must never imagine that the act of promising ensures
their fulfillment.
Further, it
must be understood that God would prefer it if we no promises at all, swear no
oaths or take any vows...all such things are vanities.
God has
made us, and all of creation free; God does not interfere in our lives, or the course
of the universe, therefore do not look for God to answer your petitions.
God sees us
in our sins and bear witness to our transgressions, God shares our experience
even as we ourselves experience it: all of our tragedies and all of our
triumphs, all of our pain and all of our joy. God understood what God was
making even before the first moment of creation, God knew how things would be, God
loved us anyway and said that we were good.
Be mindful!
God has
chosen all people; temples and houses of worship are not holy places, only the
people in them are sacred.
If you seek
justice then live justly and remember that true justice is never present
without mercy. If you are in a position to administer justice, do it with mercy;
mercy is the ultimate gift, mercy is what we seek from God, and mercy is what
God expects from us.
Consider
what the apostle says.
There is a
cosmic purpose behind the suffering we experience in the created order.
We do not
suffer because we are evil, we do not suffer as a punishment for sin. We are
not to blame for the sinfulness of our animal nature, though we are meant to
transcend it, and through grace we can.
The
universe was made this way by God, it was made this way with all of the
suffering and potential for suffering fixed into the design, all the pain and suffering
that is, ever was or will be, and because it was made this way by God we know
that there is a purpose behind it which redounds to the good of all.
Our
suffering is temporary, that all suffering is limited to the finite scope of
time and space; it has a beginning and an end.
Our faith
instructs us that there is a future where we will all be, together with God, and
in that place outside of time our suffering will attain its final
meaning, and the importance of it will fall away like old skin. We will
experience resolution of all-sin and all-suffering and we will know that it is
just, we will all participate in this resolution as the ultimate expression of
God’s love for the whole of creation.
This is the
faith of the apostle, and we are called on to share it, this is the good knews:
It is wise
and good to anticipate the coming of God. It is wise and good to desire to be
in God’s presence. Anticipate that moment, relish it, cherish it, all the while
remaining present to the people and the events unfolding in our actual lives.
Listen!
The reward
for your service is the peace that comes with knowing you have done well, it is
peace in this life and the knowledge that you have walked humbly, acted justly
and done good.
Remember!
God has
prepared you for eternity, in the same way that God has prepared everyone, but do
not think for a moment that eternal life is a reward, like a boon granted for
good service. It is the gift of God to everyone.
The gospel is not that you will be spared from
suffering and torment in hell, or that when you are judged God will forgive you
if you receive the sacraments and join the church; the good news is that God
has already forgiven you already…you are saved, and there is nothing you can do
about it.
Believe it!
Accept the blessing, take it like a covenant and
start living this life as if it were true.
We are not called to believe in the idea that Jesus
is this or that, the Holy One of God, we are called to act on the principles of
his faith, to live lives of charity and service to each other.
Do it now!
Consider
the Gospel reading for today.
Be
wary of the scriptures when extol the virtues of the disciples and the apostles
who were the founders of the Church.
There
are many more times in the Gospels when Jesus gives a different teaching, than
what is presented in the text today, when the message is not: “to anyone who
has, more will be given,” and “but anyone who has not, even what he has will be
taken away.”
It
is not God who gives and takes away our food and shelter, land and freedom, our
status in the world or the things which bring us comfort; we do those things to
and for ourselves and one another.
More
often the case that Jesus teaches this: “the first will be last, and the last
will be first.” And “to whom much has been given, much will be expected.”
Remember!
The
enemy is not Satan (a fictitious being), the evil one. The enemy is fear and
impatience, it is gluttony, the enemy is the avarice that lies within the heart
of each and every one of us.
Therefore
be mindful of how you set out to live a life of faith.
On
one day the birds may eat the seed that you cast, on another day, when you cast
your seeds on the same field they may not.
Some
seed will always be lost to the birds of the field, but it is also the case
that the birds will deposit it elsewhere, and grain will grow wild in places you
never expected.
Even
seeds cast among thorns will grow; if the grain is not harvested when it
matures those seeds will fall to the ground, only to grow again in the next
season.
The
seed is never static, in time even the seed left unharvested in thorny places
will produce, growing strong enough to uproot the thorns that once threatened
the harvest.
Do
not be aggrieved at the seed that falls on shallow soil, amend the soil and
cast your seed again.
Always
be prepared and never be overconfident.
Even
the farmer who has fields of rich soil, even the farmer who is able to produce
an abundant harvest in one season, may find their fields barren and scorched in
the next.
The
conditions of our lives are always changing.
First
Reading – Isaiah 55:10-11 ©
The
Word that Goes out From My Mouth Does Not Return to Me Empty
Thus
says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not
return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide
seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my
mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding
in what it was sent to do.’
Responsorial
Psalm – Psalm 64(65):10-14 ©
Some
seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.
You
care for the earth, give it water,
you fill it with riches.
Your
river in heaven brims over
to provide its grain.
Some
seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.
And
thus you provide for the earth;
you drench its furrows;
you
level it, soften it with showers;
you bless its growth.
Some
seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.
You
crown the year with your goodness.
Abundance flows in your steps,
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.
Some
seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.
The
hills are girded with joy,
the meadows covered with flocks,
the
valleys are decked with wheat.
They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Some
seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.
Second
Reading - Romans 8:18-23 ©
The
Whole Creation is Eagerly Waiting for God to Reveal his Sons
I
think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as
yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us. The whole creation is eagerly waiting
for God to reveal his sons. It was not for any fault on the part of creation
that it was made unable to attain its purpose, it was made so by God; but
creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to
decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the
beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one
great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the
first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to
be set free.
Gospel Acclamation – 1saiah 3:9
Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening: you have the
message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Alternative Acclamation – John 6:68
Alleluia, alleluia!
The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower; whoever
finds this seed will remain for ever.
Alleluia!
The Gospel According to Matthew
13:1-23 ©
A
Sower Went Out to Sow
Jesus
left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round
him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach,
and he told them many things in parables.
He
said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the
edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of
rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there
was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and,
not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the
thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their
crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has
ears!’
Then
the disciples went up to him and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’
‘Because’ he replied, ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to
you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more,
and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he
has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look
without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case
this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:
You
will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not
perceive.
For
the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and
they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with
their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me.
‘But
happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you
solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw
it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.
‘You,
therefore, are to hear the parable of the sower. 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 man who received the seed on the edge of the
path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word
and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last;
let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls
away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the
word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and
so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the
man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest
and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’
The Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Year A)
