Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Is. 55: 10-11; Rom. 8: 18-23; Mt. 13: 1-23

Why does Jesus speak in parables?  That is the question on the minds of his disciples.  He gives a long explanation using farming to explain it so we can all understand.  We can surmise it as it takes faith in action to believe, to trust and to follow. 

No one knows this better than a farmer.  When planting season starts there are so many potential obstacles to a good harvest, too much rain, too little rain, pests, storms, the quality of the soil, not enough laborers, and on it goes.  Farmers operate under faith in action vigilant to sustain the crop.  When harvest time comes they experience the joy of their faith believing in a power greater than self, trusting in the wisdom from knowledge, experience, and reason, and following their actions with prudence to forecast a good harvest.  I am reminded of a picture of a cotton picker harvesting the crop and all the white cotton flying into the future bail is depicted as the harvest of souls in white garments.  Just like we are called to be fishers of souls, we can also be more like farmers of souls and the white cotton are the souls dressed in our white baptismal robes harvested into the bail of salvation.     

It all begins with the seed and the soil.  God provides the seed in his word and we are the soil of creation.  Creation however is bound by slavery of sin that is blinding, deafening, and muting our senses.   I recall being a child growing up in Houston and we had the three monkeys hanging on the corner, one covering its eyes, one the ears and the other its mouth.  Back then it represented the meaning of see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.  Where is evil?  The gospel speaks of the evil found in creation making us slaves of evil with groaning in labor pains in need of a rebirth into freedom.  Freedom comes from the word of redemption if we believe with the eyes of faith, trust with the ears of understanding and follow with the word of truth by our actions. 

“They look but do not see”.  Where is our attention?  Our look often begins in judgment of what we see from our bias.  St. Francis of Assisi at first could not see beyond the skin of a leper to the image of God behind the skin.  The expression “skin deep” is often as far as we allow ourselves to look.  We want to see you Jesus but like so many crowds we follow the herd mentality to validate our skin deep notions.  We miss seeing Christ risen from the dead and remain among the dead in spirit. 

“They hear but do not listen”.  Where is our reasoning?  Our mind becomes self-listening.  We hear our voice as soon as the other speaks reasoning with our prejudgment with the too often “yes, but”.  Listening is the art of leaving out the “but” and following the reasoning of the other to their heart.  Our “yes” is accepting truth from the word speaking to our hearts and reasoning in dialogue to discover “how did you reach that understanding?”  We are also reminded of the “blind leading the blind” so all truth requires discernment. 

They speak “but do not understand”.   The intent of dialogue is to reach understanding.  Dialogue is misused to offensively or defensively create barriers to understanding.  “What do you know or How dare you?”  That hurts the one body in Christ we share.  The art of speaking is a shared wisdom from the gift of the spirit giving fruit in our minds, hearts, and souls.  The harvest of understanding will bear much fruit. 

Seed on the path without understanding is stolen away by the evil one.  The seed on rocky ground understands but is rooted in shallow ground unable to sustain a tribulation.  Seeds among the thorns of worries and temptations choke the word from the heart before it gives fruit.  Seed on rich soil yields 100 or 60 or 30 fold. 

A butterfly must first overcome the slavery of its cocoon to be released into freedom.  If it is set free prior to its time it will not fly.  It is in the struggle to free itself from the cocoon that it gains strength in its wing to fly.  We are in a cocoon of creation and the struggle for freedom is our redemption.  Our freedom awaits but we must nurture the seed given to us in the word to give a good harvest.  Faith in action produces a harvest of good while faith without action quickly dies.  Let our wings be as nimble as a butterfly and as strong as an eagle to reach our heavenly freedom.