15^th Sunday  in Ordinary Time Cycle A:  Matthew 13:1-9

A farmer goes out to sow seed and at a deeper level God sows His Word in our hearts

In today’s Gospel reading we find Jesus getting up from the house and going to the Sea of Galilee where he finds large crowds of people gathered around him.  He decides to go into the boat.   He sits there and tells the people many things and teaches them in parables.

This picturesque description of the Sower going out to sow seeds sets the scene for the teaching of Jesus on the sowing of seeds.       He proceeds to tell them the parable of the sower going out to sow.

The story which Jesus tells the multitude about the sowing of seeds is an interesting way of using what would have been familiar to his audience to teach them the deeper sense to describe the sowing of God’s Word in their own hearts.

• As the farmer goes out to sow, some seeds fall on the edge of the path and the birds come and eat the seeds and no growth takes place.
• Other seeds fall on patches of rock and because there is little soil, and because there is insufficient good soil the growth is stunted.
• Others fall among thorns and are choked by the thorns,
• Lastly some seeds fall on rich soil which bears fruit in plenty.

The sowing of seed is more complex than we can imagine.   The seed yields fruit to the extent that it falls on fertile soil.   As we reflect on our lives, we realize that ultimately God sows the seeds of grace in our hearts, and these take root in so far as we are receptive and open to His inspiration.  He prepares the soil of our hearts, so that we are able to sow seeds in the lives of others which will prepare them for the Kingdom of Heaven.

At a deeper level:  The Gospel acclamation for this Sunday is:  “The seed is the Word of God, Christ is the sower.”  

In Scripture we have many examples of people who were receptive to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  In Mary we have a perfect example of a woman, who was receptive to the Word of God in her life.  No doubt she struggled when she said: her FIAT at the Annunciation that she would conceive and bear a Son whose name would be called Jesus.  This is a perfect example of one who says “yes” even though she is not sure how this will happen.  Throughout her life she was attentive to the Voice of God.   Let us pray that the seeds which are sown in our lives by God, our brothers and sisters may fall upon good soil and yield much fruit.  There is no limit to how much fruit will be the outcome.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Jacinta Teixeira  OP