YEAR B: HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (1)

YEAR B: HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

HOMILY THEME: THE SOWER AND THE SEEDS

BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon

HOMILY:

(Mt. 13:18-23) Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells the parable of the sower and the seeds. The dynamics of the life and growth of a seed provides an analogy for the life and growth of the word of God in us. Just as the seed will grow and bear fruit in good soil, the word of God will be effective and will bear fruit in a listening heart and witnessing person.

To bear fruit means to possess the Gospel values like faith, love, peace, forgiveness, justice, compassion, sacrifice, etc. Being able to help a neighbor be converted, share the values to others, and be a martyr or a saint are great fruits. The opportunities for those are rare. The immediate expected fruit is to be formed by Jesus’s teachings, i.e. to be a good, true blooded, and dedicated follower. We should be the first beneficiary and witness to Jesus’s command for is to bear fruit.

It follows that we do not only strive to attain holiness for ourselves but to others as well. When we have formed ourselves, our interaction with others radiate this formation. By attaining for ourselves the fruits of God’s gifts, we render those fruits available to others too. How many times have we heard of successful people attributing a great part of their achievements to some people who they heard and worked with? And when informed, the model would admit of not being aware of it? When we seriously and honestly live, we send an aroma of goodness and inspiration to others. Without intending, we bear fruit.

Jesus’s expectation for us to bear fruit is but normal. The gifts we received were not meant to be hidden and used selfishly. They were for the service of the community. We can imagine God’s plan. He wants a community full of gifts which they share to each other. Nobody will be in need. Each will have their fill. Everyone bears fruit.