Gospel according to Saint (Mt 13:1-23):
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. 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, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Hear then the parable of the sower. 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. 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. 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. 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.”
The way we are
Luis CASASUS President of the Idente Missionaries
Rome, July 16, 2023 | XV Sunday in Ordinary Time
Is 55:10-11; Rom 8:18-23; Mt 13:1-23
1. A preliminary question. Christ explains to his disciples the meaning of this important parable of the sower. But let us keep on asking: What is the Word the sower sows?
It cannot refer only to the New Testament, for it was not yet written. As important as the Gospel is, the parable tells us that the sower was generous in his sowing, without measuring the quantities too much, for some grains fell on unsuitable ground… That makes us think that the Word comes to us copiously, of course in the Gospel reading, but let us not forget that already today’s First Reading tells us that the Word falls on the earth abundantly like rain and snow.
Jesus’ metaphor makes us look at a grain of wheat, which is not something of great size, but of surprising potential. If it is indeed, as the Second Reading says, the first fruits of the Spirit, it means that our ears are continually being reached by simple yet effective messages, which are rightly called the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Many will recall a classic example of this abundant and generous inspiration in the life of St. Francis Xavier. There are several paintings depicting the saint exclaiming: Enough, Lord, enough, enough, in allusion to the words which, according to his own testimony, he cried out to God in the face of the numerous and continuous spiritual consolations he received and which made his breast burn.
We should not think that our case, yours and mine, are different. Our daily experience is to hear many people say: How is it possible that Arthur does not realize that he is arrogant in his way of speaking? How many times and in how many ways have we told Dionysius that he has to be punctual? How could a person with so many gifts like Victor leave the priesthood and go to live with a rich widow? The Parable of the Sower focuses on these behaviors that surprise, sadden and mislead. But it is not only a description of how we are, but a call to not lose even one of these seeds, because all, without exception, are a promise of life.
The truth is that, no matter how powerful a message is, no matter how brilliantly it is presented, there is always a good part of the audience that will be bored, that will not pay enough attention, or that will soon forget everything. Is there a solution to all this?
2. The Parable of the sower is a mirror. It is curious how many “experts” in neuropsychology tell us today that the lack of attention is due to the fact that the neural circuits that regulate attention and other cognitive processes have not been sufficiently developed. Actually, in a much more expressive way, Jesus taught us this by pointing out the first group of people, whose soul is like a road, where, by definition, no one remains, but passes by, for a road is not a very suitable place to stay.
That is the first difficulty, a lack of attention or openness, which makes it impossible for any plant to grow. Actually, as science confirms today, that can be changed with some form of practice, of training. Christ will tell us that he who is faithful in little, will also be faithful in much.
It is interesting how two different and sensitive young people, both in their 20s, one in Italy and the other in Spain, shared with me the same spiritual concern: I have the impression that Christ is asking me to give my life, but I need a sign to confirm that it is NOT just an idea of mine. The answer is really simple: If I am totally faithful in the little things that TODAY I can do for others, without losing one, the Holy Spirit is obliged to show me what the next one is, which will normally be more demanding, but increasingly clearer and more evident.
The difficulty is that we do not give value to those small actions, to those first seeds that reach the soil of our soul. They do not deserve our attention and fail to motivate us. On the contrary, we have seen how some simple experiences of generosity have been decisive in the turn to a generous life, even to the crystallization of a vocation in many people.
Sometimes we need time to be aware of how the Holy Spirit has been taking advantage of events, people, dreams, talents, defects, sins, of our life to manifest to us the will of our heavenly Father. But, the evidence is accumulating and in spite of the setbacks, mistakes and persecution, those first fruits of the Spirit that St. Paul mentions today, are filling and directing our life.
This first class of people in the parable, in which we are all at certain times, represented by the road, is characterized by a resistance to novelty, or better, to new things that imply a change in their life. Without going any further, they are often resistant to correction, or to a simple critical observation.
This is observed in the field of work, academic life, family and spiritual life. Resistance, the lack of openness to correction, is expressed in various reactions, one of which is isolation or silence of the person; another, some form of lying; at other times, defensive responses emerge:
– I did not say that at all.
– It’s no big deal; my intention was not to offend anyone; I never raise my voice!!!
– Actually, my reaction was automatic; the response to a provocation.
– Things were not as you say, you have superficial information.
Narcissistic people always interpret a correction as a personal attack.
But if all this happens among us, limited and sinful, it is even more delicate in our relationship with God, for as a sower He is discreet and keeps silent in the face of our pride. As St. John Paul II said, the silence of God is rather the rejection of man (11 DEC 2002).
Let us read a legend of the natives of North America:
A man said to God, “God, speak to me.” And a Nightingale began to sing. But the man did not listen to it.
The man repeated, “God, speak to me.” And the echo of thunder was heard. But the man was unable to perceive it.
The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you.” And a star shone in the sky. But the man did not see it.
The man began to cry out, “God, show me a miracle!”. A Child was born. But the man did not feel the beating of life.
The man began to cry and despair: “God, touch me and let me feel you to know that you are here with me…”. And a Butterfly landed gently on his shoulder. The man shooed the butterfly away with his hand and disappointed continued on his way, sad, lonely and afraid.
Poetically, this legend reveals to us a great truth: God speaks us through abundant signs, which in reality obey and are an answer to our deepest longing, to have eternal life, to love and be loved forever.
Christ, personally, gives us a lesson of openness to the Word, which always conveys the will of our heavenly Father. for each one of us, not “for humanity” in general.
The silence of Jesus before the voices of his enemies in the Passion is moving: He remained silent and answered nothing (Mk 14: 61). In the face of so many false accusations, he appears helpless. God our Savior, comments St. Jerome, who has redeemed the world in his mercy, allows himself to be led to death like a lamb, without saying a word; he neither complains nor defends himself. In his silence, he could see clearly that no other gesture was appropriate at that moment, not even a word, or a sign of power.
The voice of the Divine Persons manifests to us, in its deepest sense, two spiritual sentiments: You are not alone and I need you. That is, His Beatitude, His peace in the midst of the storm and His Affliction, the pain of our neighbor for whom He awaits our consolation, our company, our humble presence.
3. The parable of the sower also refers to the rocky ground and the one full of thorns. We can interpret in many ways what these soils mean, but let us simply say that it is possible, it is sadly frequent, that one of us is faithful today to what he perceives in prayer and tomorrow he commits an inexplicable infidelity. This is one of the dramatic consequences of our inner division, which will never be completely healed in this world. Between the arid soil of the road and the “fourth soil”, the one that bears abundant fruit, there are a variety of states of fracture of our soul that make us sterile. According to Christ, stones, thorns and the devil himself contribute to render the Word unfruitful.
In my ascetic prayer, it is not a matter of deciding whether I am good or bad, but of accepting that my soul is divided and that is why I need help.
We cannot forget the last part of the Gospel text. The disciples who heard this parable were not able to understand, so they ask the Master to explain its meaning. And Jesus gladly accepts to explain the parable to his disciples. The same happens in the case of the diligent and attentive Martha, Mary’s sister, whom Jesus instructs, encouraging her to listen to him, because the many cares, even if they were to serve Jesus himself, did not allow her generous soul to go a step further.
This can be the key to change our soil, our soul: to ask Christ, to hear with his ears the messages of the Holy Spirit. To see with his eyes, the value of a gesture that I can make, of the glass of water that I can give, the silence that allows me to listen to a person who unexpectedly transmits to me God’s desire for me, here and now. He will confirm to us that this glass of water is perhaps more important than many nights of work, many trips, many written pages.
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In the Sacred Hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Luis CASASUS
President
