HOMILY FOR THE 15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A. (3)

HOMILY FOR THE 15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.

THEME: FIVE SPEECHES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD.

BY: Fr Andrew Ekpenyong

1. The Five Speeches. Mark Twain, the great humorist, and author of celebrated novels such as “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, is credited with the following: “I am not troubled by the things in the Bible which I do not understand, but I am troubled by those things which I do understand and which I find very difficult to measure up to.” Today’s Parable of the Sower is definitely one of those things we understand, because our Lord explained it clearly. Do we measure up? Are we rich soil? Let’s look a larger context of the parable. The Gospel according to Matthew contains 5 outstanding speeches which are easy to recognize because they are followed by the words: “When Jesus had finished speaking” (Mt 7:28, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, and 26:1). Each of these 5 speeches were followed by changes in the lives of many of His hearers. Most interestingly, the changes did not stop with these hearers. The reactions are happening right now. Sisters and Brothers, you and I are now reacting to a part of one of the 5 speeches of Jesus, that changed the world. Today’s Gospel reading (Mt 13:1-23), is part of the 3rd Speech. The 5 speeches are: (i) Sermon on the Mount, Mt 5-7, beatitudes; (ii) Missionary Discourse, Mt 10, sending out the 12 to preach, heal; (iii) Parable Discourse, Mt 13, Parables of the Sower, Tares, Mustard Seed; (iv) Ecclesial Discourse (Mt 18, lost sheep, Kingdom of Heaven; and (v) Eschatological Discourse, Mt 23, 24, 25, 2nd coming of Christ.

2. The Third Speech. In his book “Five Speeches that Changed the World”, Ben Meyer, gives one of the reasons our Lord’s 5 speeches changed and continues to change the world. “No other speeches known to humankind have been repeated more regularly over the centuries than those of Jesus as found in Matthew’s Gospel”. The repetition is not just because the Bible is the world’s most translated book: in over 1,329 languages. The repetition happens during Christian worship, during Holy Mass. Brothers and Sisters, that can be a problem: repetition, familiarity. For instance, today’s Parable of the Sower may not provoke as much positive reaction in us as when we first heard it. No wonder our Lord said: “…some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty-fold.” Notice the diminishing returns on the rich soil: 100, 60, or 30-fold? So I ask myself, am I at a 100-fold, 60 or 30-fold? And where are you at: 100-fold, 60 or down to 30 because of inflation, insecurity? That’s assuming we are rich soil in the first place. Are we?

3. The Four Soils. Who are those four soils in the Parable of the Sower today? If we make a careful introspection into our lives, we discover that we have been all 4 soil types at different times in our lives. First, let’s recall with renewed sorrow those times we were mere paths, and the seed of the Word of God did not even germinate in us. Those were the times we did not live good Christian lives. Second, there were times we were rocky soil to the Word of God, showing initial enthusiasm but losing it in the face of temptations and disappointments. Yet, thanks be to God, the message of today’s 1st reading (Is 55:10-11) became true in our lives: “my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” That’s because God does not give up on us. Third, that “some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it” should remind us of the times we were more concerned about what people thought of us than about God’s opinion of us; times when envy, materialism, etc, choked the Word of God in us. Even now, many of us are understandably choked by anxieties. Current socio-economic and political challenges are also spiritually and morally choking. And here, the 2nd reading (Rom 8:18-23) brings consolation: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.” (v.18). Fourth, we praise God that we are now fruit-bearing soil and pray that we get to a 100-fold. But I have a question about the Sower: instead of throwing the seed everywhere, why can’t the Sower just focus on rich soil so He can get only good harvest? Maybe this Sower is just super-generous. God is generous and patient. God gives everyone opportunities to hear and respond. So, there is hope for the unproductive soil.

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