Jesus, the best teacher, shows the sower seed with a parable: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

This past week we had a blessed time with Totus Tuus

·      We had a wonderful week as our kids were able to have fun, learn, pray and were led with college students

·      Through this week I shared how Jesus Christ is the best teacher

And our readings this weekend are clearly how Jesus taught

·      And he did so to teach in several levels:

o   Our Gospel begins with Jesus giving a parable—a Jewish style of storytelling

o   His story points to sowing seeds: gardening, growing wheat, vegetables

o   He points back to the Old Testament: Isaiah (our first reading)

o   And then he showed what he meant in this parable

Sowing seeds:

·      Path: birds ate it

·      Rocky ground: with little soil they couldn’t grow

·      Thorns: the thorns grew, which choked the small plants

·      Rich soil: and the seeds grew into fruit

Then Jesus quoted Isaiah:

·      He challenged people in his time, and us today

·      “Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people…”

Then Jesus spoke clearly to his disciples:

·      Path: “The seed sown on the path is the one
who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,
and the evil one comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.”

·      Rocky ground: “The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. 
But he has no root and lasts only for a time. 
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.”

·      Thorns: “The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.” 

·      Rich soil: “But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

Finally, through our readings today, Jesus is teaching us

·      But are we following our Lord?

·      Are you putting junk through our eyes and minds to allow evil to steal our hearts?

·      Are you only hearing our Lord here or there to fall away from Jesus?

·      Are you focusing so much for worldly anxiety or riches to be choke our faith?

Before Jesus came to our earth, God had said through Isaiah: “…my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”

·      How will God’s word come back to Him through your achievements through your prayer, your service, Mass, confession and teaching the same things Jesus teaches us to teach others?