Homily For The 15TH Sunday In The Ordinary Time (Yr A). July 12, 2023.
The beauty of a Christian’s heart lies in their disposition to accepting and have conviction in God’s Word. This, for me, is what sets apart a fruitful life.
Sunday Readings
Happy Sunday my dearest friends and welcome to another life-changing encounter with the living and active Word of God.
The readings of this Sunday challenge us to look inwardly and individually ask ourselves these questions. Do I allow the Word of God to bear fruit in my life? Do I believe in the power of God’s Word? Am I convinced and disposed to accept His Word without any barriers? The first reading reminds us that the Word of God is potent and cannot return to God void until it has accomplished that for which it was spoken. This creative and transforming Word brought creation into being. “And God said let there be… and it came to be.” (Cf Gen 1ff). The Word of God commands and the devil obeys. “Jesus commanded the unclean spirit come out of him…and it came out.” (cf Luke 4:35). The Psalmist says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (cf.Ps 119:105). His Word is alive and active (cf. Heb 4:12). Unlike the words of men that are often empty, the Word of God has a purpose and it is irrevocable. When God speaks, He speaks to accomplish a purpose. The Word of God cannot be void in our lives. His promises are true and must surely come to fulfillment in our lives if we persevere in faith, knowing that the sufferings of this present time are nothing to be compared with the glory that is yet to be revealed – the glorious freedom of the children of God.
If you ever think that God’s Word has not brought any transformation in your life, change in your present condition of suffering, nor fulfilled the favor for which you have been hoping; it is because your heart has not been a fertile ground in which it could blossom. It could also be that you have not nurtured it daily. The Word is the seed of faith. Our hearts are the soil. Faith comes by hearing this Word. (cf Romans 10:17)
In the parable, Jesus performs, as it were, “a ‘spiritual x-ray’ of our heart, which is the soil on which the seed of His Word falls. Our heart, like the soil, can be good and then the Word bears fruit — and so much — but it can also be hard, impermeable.” Pope Francis
God dispenses His Word through the Magisterium of the Church who help us in understanding and interpreting His Word. Priests have as their primary responsibility the preaching of this Word. The Bible is our reference to His Word. The capacity to understand the Word has been given to us by the Holy Spirit. What is lacking is our disposition, our acceptance, and our practice of what this Word requires.
Because of our lack of disposition, many seeds fall on the path. In this category are those whose minds are completely shut off from the things of God. They glory in vanities and detest things of the Spirit. They want nothing to do with the Church or any spiritual exercise. Their hearts are completely closed. They are atheists. Semi-atheists may believe there is a God, but that He has no place in their lives. If they come to Mass their eyes are fixed on the wall clock and their minds on whatever activity that comes next after Mass. They are those who complain when the priest exceeds 5 or 10 minutes in the normal Mass time. They don’t watch Christian channels on TV or listen to Christian podcasts. Since their hearts are closed to the Word of God, it falls on deaf ears and vanishes as it comes. Since they do not dispose themselves to understand the Word, the devil comes and steals it away almost immediately.
The seeds that fall on the rocky ground represent those who are superficial in their Christian life. Even though they believe and accept the Word of God, they don’t take it seriously. They are impressed by beautiful homilies and are very enthusiastic about church activities. They spend more money after Mass buying enchiladas, burritos, tamales, etc than they commit to God in the offertory or a donation to the poor. They receive Communion even if they have not gone to confession in the past two years. For them, there is nothing to confess. Their perception of the Church and attitude to Christian life is more of a social gathering than a Eucharistic celebration. Everything about their Christian life is superficial. They are not yet convinced why they should be Christians or are still struggling with their Christian calling. They read the Bible but aren’t convinced that the words are true and that’s why their arguments are always, “Where is it in the Bible?” Because of the doubts in their heart, the Word does not take root and it quickly escapes their memory and their heart.
Some seeds fall among thorny hearts. Thorns represent worries, greed, over-ambitiousness, etc which choke the Word in our hearts. Thorns represent everything in our lives that make it impossible for the Word of God to grow in our hearts and consequently stifle our spiritual growth. It could be your job, a relationship, a habit, or an addiction. Frequently, when we are confronted by challenges in life, we find ourselves being swept off our feet, by these challenges, which often leads to all manner of compromises. To grow in faith, we must maintain an interior disposition that is fertile for the Word of God to motivate our actions and inspire our thoughts. We must trust in God’s immeasurable Love and incomprehensible Mercy. Unless we do have faith in His Word, nothing will ever be satisfying to our hearts, and we will find ourselves living daily in fear of uncertainties and desperation.
When we offer God a fertile heart, one eager to learn, a heart that daily strives to live by the standard imposed by God’s Word, a heart that trusts solely in His divine promises, a heart that thirsts for God as the deer thirst for running streams; then, in such a heart, does the Word of God blossom and bear fruit in abundance, bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22ff). These are the seeds that fall on good soil.
I do not know which category of disposition or soil your heart represents. The good news though is, that we can always move from doubt to faith, from blindness to sight, from deafness to hearing, and from a stony to a fertile heart, because God has granted us all we need to answer His call. Just say yes to God’s Word and it will blossom in your life.
If we have eyes but don’t see and ears but do not hear, it is because our minds are closed. We have taken the option of not seeing and hearing. We have chosen, only, that which we want to hear and see. God in His Infinite Love has revealed to us the mysteries of His kingdom to ensure that no one is lost. ( cf John 6:39) Salvation has been granted freely to you. It is left for us to choose to have life or die in sinfulness. To those who desire to know God, more graces are given unto them and for those who do not desire Him, what they have shall be taken away from them and given to those who will make use of them for the glory of God.
May our lives be solidly anchored on the life-giving Word of God. May we trust in it and make His Word the standard of our lives to bear the fruits of holiness.
There would be a transformation in the lives of many if we would have faith in the Word of God and live by His Word.
I keep you and your family always in my prayers. ©Clem C. Aladi (2024)
