Ps 65
Rom 8:18-25
Mt 13:1-23
It is important to remember that both the Old and New Testaments were written in a particular time and place. They reflect a specific social structure and describe a unique model of governance and law.
One of the challenges today is to put the teaching of the scripture into a modern context so as to understand how particular examples and mandates apply to us now in the 21st century. Some of the images and examples may not resonate with us whereas others still work fairly well. Because of the geographic and social setting of the scripture images of agriculture recur throughout. These images of sheep, cattle, and grain, to say nothing of vineyards and wine, are common in the US though not necessarily in Boston where wine comes from the store, lamb and beef and shrink wrapped, and furrows are seen on the brow rather than the field. For the most part, however, we can relate to the images in Jesus' teaching.
The first reading, the psalm and the gospel all contain images of grain, seed, rain, and soil. There is quite a bit to consider. The gospel from Matthew had a shorter option limited to the first nine verses of chapter 13 rather than the first 23 verses. The longer version is a complete self-explanatory unit. The parable begins in the first nine verses and is explained in the last eight verses, with some exhortation to the apostles in the middle verses.
This particular parable is oftentimes referred to as the parable of the sower. It is the wrong title. This parable has nothing to do with the sower or the seed. It has everything to do with the soil into which the seed is sown. The sower is merely the means of getting the seed to the ground. Recall that the seed is good seed that could take root anywhere.
A parable always points to something more than its story. When we hear one of Jesus’ parables we must always ask ourselves, as did the apostles at the end of this narrative, what is below the surface, what does it mean? The story of a parable is generally simple; the meaning, however, is deeper and more complex. That is the great gift of Jesus' parables, we can return to them again and again, and find something new each time. We can meditate on them repeatedly and never exhaust the possibilities.
The parable about the soils where the seed falls is a parable about us. It is a parable about us who are here to receive the Living Word of God in the readings and the True Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament of the altar.
The Word of God is the seed, we are the soil. What kind of soil are we? Are we willing to receive the word? Are we going to let it take root in us? Will we start off strong and fade in the end or will the Word of God take root in us and produce a yield up to a hundred times? It isn’t always easy. When he explains the parable to the apostles Jesus gives three reasons that some reject the Word of God.
The activity of the evil one.
Personal shallowness.
Worldly concerns and the desire for wealth.
We confront each of these challenges to accepting the Word of God daily.
Like us, Jesus knew temptation from the evil one. Unlike us Jesus never acted on the temptation. He never “took the bait” of food, power, or glory. Jesus, fully Divine and fully human, was like us in all things but sin. He is our model of obedience to the will and law of God.
Personal shallowness is a different way of rejecting God’s Word. It is represented by the seed that springs up and then withers with the sun. That is us when we enthusiastically embrace the Word of God, and nurture the seed . . . until something happens. It could be a natural disaster, a personal crisis, a loss you name it. Today one has to add the disruptions of covid to the list.
As soon as things don’t go our way we decide God is not worth bothering with. The childish response, “I could never believe a God who let something like this happen” is no different than the child who shrieks I hate you at his or her parents when the highly desired and expensive video game, or the pony, or some other tchotchke is not among the birthday presents.
The crop that is choked out by weeds of worldly concern brings to mind a popular bumper sticker that never fails to depress me when I see it. “He who has the most toys when he dies . . . wins.”
Exactly what he wins is never spelled out.
Accumulating material possessions in competitive fashion, having more, bigger, faster; more luxurious, more exclusive, more prestigious, distracts us from living. Financial success or having nice things is not a sin. A flashy car or a large house is not inherently sinful. However, when obtaining these things to the exclusion of everything and everyone else becomes the dominant factor of our lives, we allow the Word to be choked by those distractions.
The seed that the sower has spread is of the finest quality. The rains have been plentiful. As we heard in the psalm: “You care for the earth, give it water, you fill it with riches. Your river in heaven brims over to provide its grain.”
The only question is about the quality of soil we are
and how we will receive the Word or God.
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Meant to post on Sunday but time was getting very tight to get to Mass. And then I crashed. The photos below are all from Cohasset, MA where I'd been giving a small retreat, taken in at sunrise two different mornings. The BC Bellarmine Conference Center is a true gem and, because it is on the highest point around the harbor, has exquisite views.
The white deck leads to a not-inexpensive boat moored at the end.
Down at the entrance to the conference center that adjoins the Cohasset Yacht Club.
A lighthouse far out at the end of the harbor. I'd just remembered a 70-300 telephoto lens I've had for years but haven't put on the camera in at least a year. Won't make that mistake again. Very misty morning that cleared a few hours after this shot.
The lens noted above has some challenges built it. It does not focus quickly or, at least some of the time, accurately, when set to autofocus. I was trying to shoot a boat going out fishing at about 6 AM. The light was low and the camera was working hard to focus. I like the effect and may try to intentionally recreate it at some point soon.
Our Lady Queen of the Harbor. The statue is about four feet tall and is anchored into a rock in a way that it can never blow over.
Mary's view. There is a period about 20 minutes before sunrise and 20 minutes after sunset called the blue hour when the rays of the sun, through the magic of physics, create a blue cast. That is oftentimes enhanced by the sensors on a camera.
Shooting from the boathouse on the property. No boats. In theory there is a kayak somewhere. I do not need to know where.
Another boat heading out early in the AM.
+Fr. Jack, SJ,MD
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