In the Gospels, Jesus was called a rabbi, a teacher of Jewish law. But there was something different about this rabbi as the words he spoke and the things he did were unlike any other rabbi before (and after) him. Jesus taught with an authority and power that people had not seen before (cf. Mt 7:29, Mk 1:22 and Lk 4:31), and because of this, he drew large crowds continuously to himself, who gathered around him hungry to see and hear more.
In the Gospel for this 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mt 13:1-23), we see this exact situation taking place, not for the first time. Jesus is surrounded by such a large crowd that he gets into a boat so he can teach to those gathered. In this scene, Jesus shares with the crowd the parable of the sower.
This parable, which many of us are familiar with, tells of a sower who went to sow seeds into the land. Along the way, some of the seeds fell into different types of terrain. Depending on where the seeds landed, they experienced different types of growth. Some didn’t have a chance to grow before being consumed by birds, others experienced a quick but short-lived growth because they were quickly burned by the sun or choked by thorns. And lastly, those that landed in fertile ground were able to dig deeply to establish strong roots and become fruitful.
The image Jesus uses would have conveyed a strong message to the hardworking people of the land who had gathered around him, to remind them of their need to establish themselves in fertile ground and be nourished by life-giving water. The crowd comes to Jesus, who is by the sea. They didn’t come for that body of water, but rather for the “living water” that is Jesus.
This Sunday’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah (Is 55:10-11) shares the words of the Lord: “Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”
Jesus sows the word of God, planting the world with his seed and nourishing it with his life. Those who listen to his words and see his deeds are called to open their hearts to recognize him for who he is and to establish themselves in him, who desires nothing more than for his seed to prosper.
Dear brothers and sisters, the different terrains conveyed in the parable represent the world in which we live, and we are the seed. But unlike seeds, we can get up and make a choice about how we want to live our lives. We can choose to cling to Jesus or allow the world and the evil one to keep us from him. May we receive the Word of God and let him flow into and through our hearts, nourishing us with his life eternal … and may we in turn do likewise for those around us.
Father Ly is pastor of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood.
Sunday, July 16
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
