Matthew 13:1-23:
Sunday, July 16th, 2023 (15th OT A).
“Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside. So many people came that he had to get into a boat. He spoke many things to them in parables.”
This Sunday Jesus tells us the parable of the sower: he sows the seeds and some fall on the road and are eaten by the birds; some fall among stones and dry up; some fall among brambles, which choke them and do not let them grow; and some fall on good soil and bear fruit. But not all of them are the same.
Jesus explains this to the disciples: the seed is the Word of God and we are the soil where it falls. And each one receives it in his own way: Do I receive it and forget about it, does it all remain just good intentions, does the environment and what people will say, does it have any influence on my life, does it imply any kind of commitment for me?
The Word is a gift that God gives us, but it is also a commitment, because it needs us to take care of the land, to water it, to remove weeds. It is effective by itself, it bears fruit. But the percentage depends on us.
After explaining the parable, Jesus asked his disciples: “Have you understood these things? Hopefully we can say yes, for another beatitude that Jesus adds to his list will be fulfilled: “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.”
Juan Ramón Gómez Pascual, cmf
What fruit does the Word of God bear in you?
