Ordinary Time

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

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Today’s readings remind us that the soul, like soil, must be good if we expect good things to grow from it.

In today’s First Reading we’re taught that God’s word comes down like the rain to nourish the earth and help good things grow. Throughout salvation history the Lord has rained down many words (the Old Testament, for example) to help his creation thrive and grow, but with mixed results. Isaiah reminds us today that those mixed results are not the Lord’s fault; they’re ours. The rain produces fields ripe for cultivation, but it takes work to reap the seeds that will keep the crops going, and keep bread on tables.

In today’s Second Reading Paul reminds us that sin did not just mess up agriculture; it messed up the designs of creation itself by diverting it from its purpose. The Lord created many things for us to love and serve him as well for loving and serving others. Yet, as we saw in the First Reading, the results were mixed due to an inadequate response on our part to his designs. Paul goes beyond the fertile fields described by Isaiah: all of creation is a fertile field that will reap a glorious harvest: eternal life. Sin tried to frustrate that glorious harvest, but the Word came to show us how to follow God’s plan for a glorious harvest once again and help creation achieve its purpose again.

Today’s Gospel is the Parable of the Sower, and the seed being sown is the Word of God trying to make its way into a soul. Through the parable Our Lord explains the obstacles to the Word of God bearing good fruit. Our Lord invites us to see the difference between hearing something and listening, between looking at something and seeing it. Just as farmers till the soil we have to be active in letting the Word of God bear fruit in our life by cultivating the soil of our soul.

We shouldn’t be afraid of welcoming and nourishing the seed of God’s Word, because God has sown it for a good purpose and he will continue to watch over the soil and cultivate it. He may ask for something demanding, but he’ll be with you every step of the way and he has plans for something good to grow out of your generosity and sacrifice. Parables present something from daily life, but are also doorways to other spiritual and divine insights about God, the “knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven.” It’s not enough to look at the door: it must be opened to discover what lies beyond. When we see parables in this way, when we see the Word of God in this way, we see something from which we can draw profound truths regarding ourselves, our world, and Our Lord, not just once, but constantly. That requires an effort in faith to listen and to see, an effort to open our hearts and open that door into the greater world Our Lord wants to reveal to us.

If we don’t understand what he is telling us, his Word stays on the surface and doesn’t penetrate our hearts, and the Evil One can easily sweep it away before it has any effect. There is an active Evil presence out there that would like us to remain shallow and superficial and someday lose eternity with God, which is why we always need to watch and pray in moments of temptation and seek to understand God’s Word with profundity.

There’s a moment where an insight into his Word causes sensible consolations and warm feelings, but sentiments are often skin deep and change direction like the wind. If we only listen to feel good, when we start feeling bad we’ll stop listening–enthusiasm only lasts so long. God’s Word wants to be with us and help us in our ups and downs; he always has something to say, so whether we’re exultant about something or despondent, we need to keep listening, harder if needed.

We must till our soil so that God’s word can produce a good harvest in our lives, but environmental factors can impact the quality of our soil too. There is a lot of “noise” that can try to drown out his Word, and not all of it is self-generated. We live in a culture today that can be shallow, superficial, and base: all those things can form a sort of screen on our hearts that prevents God’s word from getting in. There can also be a moment where we let our anxiety about something separate us from his Word: we become more concerning with the passing things of this world and not about the Kingdom: we worry about money, power, or pleasure. If we become attached to those things they won’t just drown out God’s Word, but they’ll make us deaf to many other things as well. What comes to mind in moments of silence? Concerns that come to mind in a quiet and peaceful moment often help us analyze and address our attachments. A bad environment can choke out the Word in our lives, so we need to always consider whether there are certain places we should no longer go, certain people we should no longer see (if we’re too weak to change and to help them), certain things we should no longer do.

Readings: Isaiah 55:10–11; Psalm 65:10–14; Romans 8:18–23; Matthew 13:1–23.

 

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

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Today’s readings remind us that while many things in a believer’s life remain the same whether they’re believers or not, the believer also lives those things differently: in meekness and humility of heart.

In today’s First Reading, a prophecy of the Messiah, the Messiah does not come charging in on a huge warhorse; he comes on a lowly beast of burden not “built for speed.” The king is just, but meek. That doesn’t seem enough to do the job. How is he going to banish chariots and archers and establish peace among the nations with so little? The Lord promises this king will not just serve national interests: he will proclaim peace to the nations and reign over them all. He is not ambitious, but selfless and simple. He has a big job to do and he doesn’t tackle it making a lot of noise or mustering a huge army. We know who this Messiah, is and how he brought peace: his meekness, justice, and desire for peace disarmed the world of his time and took it by storm.

In today’s Second Reading Paul gives us an insight into how the Messiah, and his disciples, conquered the world: by turning from the flesh and living the life of the Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord spread and conquered hearts, just as it does today. However, we always face the danger of backsliding, and some don’t live according to the Spirit of God at all, despite the fact that they’ve received the Spirit through faith in Christ and Baptism. It’s the Spirit that teaches us the true cause of woe and war and provides the solution: the desires of the flesh must be conquered. Wars and discord in our world stem from those who strive after the things of the flesh, desires that make them greedy, selfish, and cruel. The true war, at times unseen, is between the flesh and the Spirit. It is still waged by Christians, with victories and defeats, but always with their hope firmly placed in the Lord, who definitively overthrew the things of the flesh.

In today’s Gospel the Lord teaches us that there are things in life to which we’ll be blind if we are not “little” in our aspirations and taught by him how to be meek and humble of heart. Creation was made with the Son in mind, so it is no wonder that the Father would make his Son the key to understanding life’s meaning and purpose. The Son encourages us to learn from him, meek and humble of heart. Without this knowledge, life is much more burdensome than it was meant to be. That’s why in today’s Gospel he assures us that it is not as tough as it seems, and will give us rest from our struggles. If the Spirit of Christ is woven into the fabric of creation, the more we imitate him and try to make his Spirit guide our lives, the easier everything will be, because through peace with Our Lord we’ll also achieve peace with ourselves and with his creation.

The most common misconception about meekness is that it is synonymous with weakness. Did Our Lord seem weak to you? Meekness requires a concerted effort of various virtues. It requires self-mastery which forestalls and checks impulses of anger, so it is related to temperance. It requires tolerance of the failings of others, so it requires patience and fortitude. It calls for forgiveness of injuries and benevolence towards all, so it comes from charity. If you’re still not convinced, try being a little meeker this week and see how much effort it requires.

Readings: Zechariah 9:9–10; Psalm 145:1–2, 8–11, 13–14; Romans 8:9, 11–13; Matthew 11:25–30.

13th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday, Year I

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In today’s readings we see the first steps of two connected legacies being assured. In the First Reading Sarah’s death and Abraham’s old age show a generation passing and the need to ensure a legacy of blessings for the generations to come. Abraham paves the way for his son Isaac, the inheritor and custodian of the promises of God, to marry and become a patriarch in his own right. His inheritance is not just material wealth; it is to transmit the faith and promises that the Lord made to Abraham, promises underway: a great nation, and a land to call their own. Isaac himself is the first sign of God fulfilling his promises.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord calls Matthew to be one of his apostles. Our Lord himself would be the one to definitively fulfill the promises made to Abraham: beyond the earthly promised land and simply biological progeny, Our Lord would become a blessing for all nations, gathering them in the Promised Land of Heaven for all eternity. The Apostles would be entrusted with this inheritance, including Matthew, and transmit it to future generations of believers: the Gospel.

Both Abraham and Matthew knew that if they turned back to their past they’d lose all the Lord had given them: Abraham was called out of the land of his birth and his kin in faith and insists that Isaac not return there for any reason. It’s as if doing so would be turning his back on the faith and promises that had taken him so far. Similarly, Matthew turned his back on sin and never looked back.

We are the inheritors of the Gospel too. Let’s transmit it to future generations as our legacy and never look back to the life we lived before we received it.

Readings: Genesis 23:1–4, 19, 24:1–8, 62–67; Psalm 106:1b–5; Matthew 9:9–13. See also St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.

 

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12th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday, Year I

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In today’s Gospel the Lord puts us on guard against prophets who seem innocuous, even helpful, but actually have ulterior motives, none of them good. Travelers have lamented getting sick on seemingly delicious wild berries and mushrooms, only to find out that they’re poisonous. It takes knowledge to test a prophet and to avoid disaster. We all know that actions speak louder than words, and it is through actions that we can evaluate whether someone is being good or evil.

This is complicated today by a society that can be very “gray” when it comes to determining moral values. Sometimes saying someone is “bad” is really watering down the fact that their actions are evil. The ancient Greek philosophers formulated a simple moral principle: do good and avoid evil. That bears the test of time: a prophet who does evil is a false prophet, because a true prophet comes from the Lord, who’d never order evil.

All Christians are prophetic to the degree that they give witness to truth and good in their lives. Let’s all take stock today of the fruits of our actions so that we are true prophets and known to be so by our good actions.

Readings: Genesis 15:1–12, 17–18; Psalm 105:1–4, 6–9; Matthew 7:15–20. See also 23rd Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday.

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12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

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Today’s readings remind us that no matter how in the dark, surrounded, or outnumbered we feel in the face of evil, death, and sin, the Father will stand with us if we stand with him and his Son.

In today’s First Reading Jeremiah describes his former friends conspiring against him, but also his confidence that with the Lord at his side all their scheming would fail. Jeremiah had most of the ruling class of Israel against him as the Lord’s prophet because they didn’t like what the Lord was trying to tell them. Imagine when your friends and countrymen seek your downfall more than your companionship, even when you have their best interest in mind. They have their eyes on Jeremiah, waiting for him to slip up, and that is their mistake. If they’d kept their eyes on the Lord, as Jeremiah did, they would have been spared their fate. Instead they suffered death or exile at the hands of the Babylonians, and Jeremiah was vindicated.

In today’s Second Reading Paul reminds us that even though sin had a head start and plenty of time to spread it was nothing compared to the grace that would flow from one man standing up to it: Our Lord. Because of Adam, the “one man” mentioned at the start of today’s Second Reading, sin and death entered the world and spread to everyone, everywhere, throughout human history. The dire effects of that Original Sin still rage unchecked in many ways, and no one has a problem seeing the evil that plagues the world even today. It became so bad that it was not even recognized as sin at one point, until the Lord, through Moses, shared the Law (built upon the Ten Commandments) to show mankind how they could turn from sin and back to God and tell good from evil again. Even with the Law as a blueprint for life death still ravaged the world due to sin. Adam could have never made amends for the evil and death he’d caused. Yet the Father did not leave him, or us, to our fate. He sent his Son, who wiped away the sins of the world in Baptism and brought the grace of God to us again.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord reminds the Apostles that they only need to stand with him and not be afraid. If we stand with Christ bodily death should not frighten us, because, like him, eternal life awaits us. The only fear we should have is spiritual death: a life separated from him and separated from the Father, which makes life a living death from here to eternity. Trust in Our Lord should embolden us, more than evil and disbelief in the world should intimidate us. We all have moments where we question whether the Lord really knows what is going on or truly cares about what will happen to us. His son is the response to those doubts. He came to show us how precious we are in his eyes and in the eyes of Our Heavenly Father. He’s also our lifeline to the Father. St. Paul reminds us today that the grace we need comes through him, and that grace not only sustains us in communion with him, but with the Father as well.

We stand with the Father by standing with Christ, just as we fall if we don’t.

Readings: Jeremiah 20:10–13; Psalm 69:8–10, 14, 17, 33–35; Romans 5:12–15; Matthew 10:26–33.