by Father Alonzo Q. Cox
AS A GIFT for my First Holy Communion, my mom and dad presented me with my first Bible. It was, of course, a Bible meant and designed for children. It included illustrations depicting many of the biblical passages. The first page had my name, First Holy Communion date and who it was from. It was actually my first encounter with Sacred Scripture. I was excited to have a Bible of my own. And I still have that Bible with me, 27 years later.
One of the aspects of my encounter with Sacred Scripture that I was fascinated with the most was the image of Jesus sitting with people and teaching them. My first Bible had pictures of our Lord sitting with His followers and He was speaking to them, not using overly verbose words and examples, but words that they could relate to and understand. I soon learned that Jesus spoke to the people in parables.
Meaningful Stories
In today’s Gospel, Jesus does just that. Large crowds of people surround Him and they are longing to hear the words that come from His mouth. Our Lord speaks to them in parables, that is, He tells them a story. This particular parable is that of the sower.
Jesus tells the people gathered that a sower scattered seeds, which fell on different parts of the earth: first on a path, which the birds ate up; next on rocky ground, which produced nothing; and then among thorns, which choked the produce of the seeds.
Finally, seed was sown on rich soil, which produced an abundant and rich harvest. Imagine the fascination and awe of the people gathered around Jesus who are hearing these words from Him.
Jesus is the sower and the seed is the Word of God that is meant to produce an abundant and rich harvest. As disciples of the Lord, we are each one of us is called to allow those seeds to grow and flourish throughout our lives.
As we hear in today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah: “Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth” (Isaiah 55:10).
Jesus gives us the parable of the sower as a reminder to truly hear and live the Word of God and to not be distracted by one or anything else.
We must continue to keep the Word of God alive in our hearts, even in times of trial, tribulation and suffering. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that the sufferings of this time are as nothing compared with the glory of God as revealed to us. The seed, that is the Word of God, gives us the strength and courage that we need to bear those sufferings, as we await the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven.
I love how the disciples of the Lord react when they ask, why do you speak to them in parables? Jesus reminds them that they have come to know and believe in the words that He speaks to them. The disciples fully understand, but the people need to hear from their own perspective of how the Word of God will radically change their lives forever.
God’s True Parable
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in his Sunday Angelus in 2011 on this Gospel passage spoke of how God’s true parable is Jesus Himself.
He said, “God’s true ‘parable’ is Jesus himself, his person who, in the sign of humanity, hides and at the same time reveals his divinity. In this manner God does not force us to believe in him but attracts us to him with the truth and goodness of his incarnate Son: love, in fact, always respects freedom.”
As we strive to be faithful and holy witnesses of Jesus Christ, let us pray that we will be able to hear the Word of God, understand it and most importantly, live it out. We are called to bear much fruit in this world, the fruit of God’s love and mercy. By the power of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to yield those fruits a hundred fold.
Readings for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55: 10-11
Psalm 65: 10, 11, 12-13, 14
Romans 8: 18-23
Matthew 13: 1-23
Father Cox is the pastor of St. Martin de Porres parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and the diocesan coordinator of ministry to African-American immigrants.