Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55:10-11
Romans 8:18-23
Matthew 13:1-23

Storytelling is an intrinsic part of all religion and particularly Judaism. A traditional Jewish adage says that human beings were created because God loves stories. Storytelling has always been an effective way of teaching and Jesus was one of the world’s most accomplished storytellers. Matthew’s Gospel is filled with the parables of Jesus.

It is important to remember that Jesus did not write these parables; he spoke them. His listeners needed to get the point immediately. Jesus used what his hearers saw and experienced in the here and now to talk about the future. It is likely, then, that as Jesus told the story we hear today, there was a sower in a nearby field that his listeners could see.

The Jewish people were familiar with the harvest image. Traditionally it was an image of the final times. Now, though, Jesus is not simply proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom. He is telling his listeners that it will be fulfilled only through a slow and difficult process of growth. Certainly, we can look to history for a validation of that truth.

Parables have a dimension beyond their literal interpretation and even beyond the multi-layered meanings found in ordinary tales. It is meaning provided by the context of the Church and the believing posture of those who hear them. Through the years, the Church has developed a wider interpretation of this particular parable. The four different soils became descriptions of different types of conversion. The sowing became less important and the manner in which the seed was received was more important. The parable focuses on the hearers.

Some hearers have closed minds that fear new truths. Some simply refuse to hear and they are those whose minds cannot receive God’s word anymore than seed can take root in hard soil.

Then there are those whose minds are shallow. They are moved by every new cause and each new fancy. Their first reaction is excitement without reason and the emotions just as quickly die.

Then there are those whose lives are simply so crowded with other interests that there is no room for God’s word. They are too busy for God.

Finally there is the person whose mind is open and he is ready to hear. He stops to listen and he hears and understands. Then he acts. It is in this person that the word bears fruit.

Yet, the parable is meant to give hope to Jesus’ disciples. Like the sower, those who spread the word of God do not know what the results of their work will be. The parable is a reminder that we must not look for quick results but the harvest comes only slowly. In the end, each of us knows that we do not give grace. It is our task to sow and leave the rest to God.

Part of the hope with which we live is instilled by our active participation in creating the future, by making life better today. The prayers and service of those alive create the Kingdom which is promised and for which the Church prays today. The Lord works with and through his people. He asks us to be involved in the coming-to-be of a faith community that will encompass all creation. Because we will be freed in all eternity, we act with the freedom of the children of God today. Because we will love totally in the Kingdom, we deal with one another lovingly today. Christ, in his redemptive activity, has inaugurated the Kingdom. We move toward its fulfillment with the realization that “Thy Kingdom come” is a prayer that we speak to one another. The kingdom comes more swiftly and more certainly each time we respond with the knowledge that Christ is present here and now.