15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click here to view this week’s Sunday scripture readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/071308.shtml

This week’s readings once again present us with a consistent theme to follow. Yet, we might be confused by the theme of these readings as given in the responsorial psalm: “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.” Is not all ground good because God made it? Metaphysically speaking, all things are good because they exist and have that existence from God, who is existence itself. However, the readings today have us reflect on moral goodness, which is the result of human choice.

The first reading points out to us that the word of God, the seed for our souls, is good in itself and will not be sowed in vain. It will achieve the purpose for which God sent it to us. Here again we have to remember that the word, of course, is Jesus, and so it is not a message but a person. The message and the person are in fact one, and the sending of Jesus to earth, while it will be rejected by many, will nevertheless achieve its purpose, which is the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of souls.

That clearly is the message St. Paul wishes to convey in the second reading. He also reminds us that when our first parents sinned, it affected not only themselves, but also the entire created order. This reading reminds me of a passage from Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” where Titania looks over the quarrels of humankind and the ravages of nature, pointing out to Oberon that they were to blame for the ills in the world – “We are their parents and original.” Would that we would accept such blame and look to lead Spirit filled lives!

Finally, the Gospel passage reiterates the point made in the first reading that the seed is the word of God and thus is good in itself. What makes for the unique results of God’s word in the world is not the word but the human response to God’s word. It should be noted that the analogy of the parable is limited. The types of soil are not predestined or predetermined. They represent instead the various responses of the human heart to God’s word, Jesus. Let us be good soil for the word and produce abundant fruit year after year.