07.12.2020 Homily

The gospel reading today comes from the very beginning of the 13th chapter of St. Matthew's gospel. There are seven parables that are found in that 13th chapter.The whole chapter is really a series of Jesus teaching in parables. This parable is the one that leads it off and we get a hint about what all of this is about. In the opening words, Jesus says, pay attention and listen. Then he tells the parable and he ends but saying now, if you have ears to hear listen. What he's asking of his disciples is that they open their ears to receive, but not only the physical ears, the ears of the heart. Saint Benedict, when he wrote for his monks said that the first rule of the monastery was to listen with the ear of the heart. 

But Jesus tells this parable, the sower goes out and he sows seed. And the first seed, he sows falls on the footpaths and the birds of the air come and take it away. It produces nothing. The foot path is hard ground. There's no give to it. It's like concrete. It's as hard as the city street. These categories that Jesus uses represent a worldview in which some people live. The foot path represents living with unquestioning presupposition. Preconceived ideas. It is the world of racism, sexism, prejudice. These are the values that one holds who is on that path and those values or those ideas or those impulses come from, from others. The people with whom they associate or from the culture, or from an ethnic experience or from religious teaching. 

Then Jesus says there is seed that falls among the rocks. And there was an openness there. The seed is able to, to find soil, but there's no substance to the Rocky soil. And that Rocky soil really represents habits that are truly resistant to change that Rocky soil is stubbornness. That rocky soil is the inability to take a risk. Then Jesus says some of the seed falls among thorns. And while it does sink roots down and begin to grow, the thorns grew up around it and choke it. Those are the ones who are choked by the lure of wealth or power pleasure. And then Jesus says, there's the good soil, the good soil that receives the seed, the good soil that receives the word and it bears fruit a hundred fold, sixty fold, thirty fold, rich harvest comes out. 

Now Jesus says, if you have ears to hear, listen to what I'm saying, He's really asking them, how much do you really want to hear the word God? Is That really important to you? And what has to go in order for you to hear that word? What has to change? What ground needs to be worked? The same questions are asked of you and me.