Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week we were badly in need of rain in Dayton. Our gardens needed daily watering, the grass was beginning to dry up, and we needed a respite from the heat. It finally rained yesterday. Just one rain, and everything looks refreshed. Just one rain and the grass is greener, the flowers are smiling, and we are relieved. There is something miraculous about how creation and nature work. For us, it is telling about God.
If we look carefully, creation is integral to all the three reading. So, even though the Parable of the Sower and the Seed is classically interpreted as the dynamic between seed and the soil, I would like to reflect on it from the perspective of God’s creation. Here are my three points and three practical implications:
Creation
Creation is an expression of the love that exists between the God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Creation is sacred. Creation is holy. Creation has a purpose. This is expressed nicely in today’s first reading: “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…” Creation’s purpose is to glorify God and to help human beings be fruitful and multiply.
Creation best fulfills its purpose when it flourishes. When Creation flourishes, it magnifies the Creator. Reversely, when Creation is destroyed by us, we impede God’s purpose for Creation. The depletion of the Amazon forests, the warming of the oceans, the melting of the Arctic ice, the exploitation of the earth’s resources, the depletion of fossil fuels, the colonization of space (as opposed to exploration) of outer space, the lack of a sense of sanctity for Creation, human greed, and unbridled consumerism is an affront to God. Scripture teaches us that Creation is an integral part of God’s redemptive work. As today’s second reading says, “For creation awaits with eager expectation… in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Rom 8:19-21).
The Parable of the Sower and the Seed is teaching us to become stewards of God’s creation, even as we honor our place in God’s creation. It fulfills God’s purpose to have Creation share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. You and I need to be the fertile soil for God’s Creation to flourish, bear fruit and fulfill God’s purpose.
Every Human Person A Seed
Secondly, I would like to think of seeds in the parable as referring to human persons. You and I, each one of us, is the seed that God has strewn on God’s beautiful earth. The rain, the sun, the snow, the air, soil, are all given to us so that God’s purpose for each human person is accomplished. Even more, we are not just creatures. We are God’s children, brothers and sisters to each other.
The Parable of the Sower and the Seed is inviting us to look at ourselves as a seed that has immense potential – to sprout, the grow, the flourish, and to bear fruit. Killing each other, exploiting each other, abusing each other, treating each other with indignity does not fulfil the purpose for which God has placed us on the earth. Rather, we must help each other flourish, bear fruit, and fulfill God’s purpose. At the same time, the parable is also invitation to reflect on what we do to our own selves. Just like the rain, the sun, the soil and the seeds have a purpose, our lives have a God given purpose. Of all our pursuits on earth, nothing is more significant than glorifying God and living meaningful, purposeful, harmonious, and fruitful lives.
We ask ourselves: To what purpose am I living my life? What fruit is my life bearing? Do I place myself in fertile soil where my life can be lived meaningfully? Is my life bearing abundant fruit for the purpose for which God has created me?
God’s Word
In the first reading from Isaiah and in the classic interpretation of the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, the seed is the word of God. The complete quote from Isaiah his, “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…, 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” (Is 55:10-11). God gives rain and snow, air and sun, soil and growth for Creation to flourish. But the human person is given God’s breath, God’s life, God’s word. To us God gives God’s very self. Jesus, the Word made flesh, is given to us. In the Eucharist we receive the Body and Blood of Christ. Just like a seed needs fertile soil, rain, sun, and air to sprout, grow, and bear abundant fruit, we need God, God’s word, God grace, and God’s life. God has given us it all so that we can grow, flourish, and bear good and abundant fruit but we must place ourselves in fertile soil.
To the contrary, we can place ourselves in environments, situations, and positions that are harmful to us and go against the purpose for which God has created us. Harmful social media, materialistic living, godless attitudes, unjust and exploitative lifestyles are the are rocky soil, soil without depth, ground with thorny bushes. Perhaps there are areas in our lives where are on good soil and other areas where we are on not the best soil.
God wills that our lives fulfill the purpose for which God has created us - to glorify God and to live in harmony with Creation, with each other, and with ourselves.
God, Creation, and each human person are integrally connected. This connection is most visible in the Eucharist. God gives us seeds. Seeds grow and bear fruit. Wheat and grapes become bread and wine. Bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. They nourish human life and through them we enter into our Communion with the God of all Creation.
- Fr. Satish Joseph