Preparing the Soil of Our Hearts
15th
Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Isaiah
55:10-11 • Romans 8:18-23 • Matthew 13:1-23
1.
From Last Week's Burden to This Week's Soil
Last Sunday,
Jesus gave us one of the most comforting invitations in all of Scripture:
"Come
to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."
Every one of
us carries a burden. Some carry illness. Some care for aging parents. Some
worry about children, finances, relationships, or an uncertain future. Jesus
never promises that those burdens will disappear overnight, but He does promise
that we never carry them alone.
Last week,
Jesus spoke about the burden—the yoke—carried by a disciple.
This week,
He speaks about the soil that represents you and me.
The
connection is important.
If Christ
helps us carry our burdens, today's Gospel asks another question:
What
kind of soil am I becoming?
2.
God's Word Never Stops Speaking
The prophet
Isaiah gives us the answer before Jesus even tells the parable.
Isaiah says
that God's Word is like the rain and snow that come down from heaven. They land
upon the earth, make it fruitful, and accomplish God's purpose. So does God's
Word.
The seed is
good.
God never
stops speaking.
He speaks
through Sacred Scripture, through the quiet voice of conscience, through
faithful people around us, and through the ordinary events of daily life.
God's Word
comes down from heaven to the earth so that, bearing fruit in our lives, it may
lead us back to Him.
The question
is not whether God is speaking.
The question
is whether I am listening.
Have I
turned down the other voices in my life so that I can turn God up?
God is the
perfect visitor.
He does not “land
on us” with force. He never forces His way into our lives.
He respects
our freedom.
Remember
what Jesus says in the Book of Revelation:
"Behold,
I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)
God knocks.
He waits.
He invites.
But He never
breaks the door down.
He asks us
to welcome Him so that His Word may bear fruit in us.
3.
Preparing the Soil
Anyone who
has ever planted a garden knows that good soil doesn't happen by accident.
Stones have
to be removed.
Weeds have
to be pulled.
The ground
has to be cultivated.
The same is
true of the spiritual life.
Prayer
prepares the soil.
Listening
prepares the soil.
Repentance
prepares the soil.
Forgiveness
prepares the soil.
Acts of
charity prepare the soil.
Growth
usually isn't dramatic.
No one sits
outside watching the grass grow.
Yet every
day it grows.
So does the
spiritual life.
You're doing
that right now.
We don't
come to Mass simply to hear God's Word for one hour each week.
We come here
to prepare our hearts to hear God's Word at the dinner table, in our
workplaces, in conversations with family and friends, in the quiet of our
conscience, and in the ordinary moments of every day.
Forgiveness
is part of preparing that soil.
When we
forgive someone who has hurt us, it doesn't mean we approve of what happened.
It means we
stop allowing yesterday's wounds to keep tomorrow's grace from taking root.
4.
Looking Beyond Place, Price, and Privacy
Jesus' image
of soil naturally makes us think about land.
And land
makes us think about home.
Many of us
have worked very hard to own a home, care for a home, or perhaps dream of
owning one someday.
Our homes
teach us important lessons.
But Jesus
invites us to think beyond them.
Place
This summer,
some of us will travel to a different home—or perhaps to what we call a
"home away from home."
One
temptation is to think, "I'm away from home. I'll skip Mass this
weekend."
Instead, one
of the easiest Google searches you can make is:
"Catholic
Mass near me."
The search results
remind us that Christ is already waiting there.
The same
Eucharist is celebrated throughout the world.
God's
presence is not confined to one church building or one place.
Every
faithful Mass prepares us for our true homeland—the Father's Kingdom.
Price
Owning a
home also makes us think about value.
"What
is my home worth today?"
"What
will it be worth in five years? Ten years? Twenty years?"
Jesus asks a
different question.
What
is your soul worth?
Your dignity
as a son or daughter of God does not rise or fall with your appearance, your
health, your finances, your résumé, or your accomplishments.
From the
first moment of your existence, you were created in God's image.
You have
been redeemed by the Blood of Christ.
Your dignity
has always been, and always will be, immeasurable.
Privacy
Home also
reminds us of privacy.
"My
house."
"My
family."
"My
room."
Our
relationship with Christ is deeply personal.
But it is
never merely private.
We are
baptized into one Body.
We carry one
another's burdens.
Before Mass
ends today, pray for someone you know.
Pray for
someone you don't know.
Pray for the
person sitting beside you, in front of you, or behind you.
Perhaps he
or she is carrying a cross you cannot see.
God knows.
And He
invites us to carry one another in prayer.
5.
Temporary Turf or Lasting Soil?
This summer,
MetLife Stadium is hosting FIFA World Cup matches.
For those
games, real grass has been brought into a stadium that normally doesn't have a
natural grass field.
It's real
grass.
It's real
soil.
But it's
only temporary.
When the
tournament is over, it will all be removed.
Jesus isn't
looking for temporary turf.
He's looking
for hearts where His Word can put down deep roots and remain for a lifetime.
6.
Jesus Is Still the Gardener
There is one
more gardening image that has always fascinated me.
On Easter
morning, Mary Magdalene mistook the risen Jesus for the gardener.
In one sense
she was mistaken.
But in
another sense, she was exactly right.
From the
Garden of Eden to the Garden of the Resurrection, God has always been
cultivating life.
Jesus is
still the Gardener.
He removes
the stones that harden our hearts.
He pulls
away the weeds that choke our faith.
He patiently
cultivates every life that is willing to receive Him.
As St. Paul
reminds us today, all creation is still groaning, waiting for God's work to be
completed.
Sometimes
our own spiritual lives feel that way.
We are still
growing.
The Gardener
has not finished His work.
7.
Preparing for Our True Home
Perhaps today's
question is not simply,
"Which
kind of soil am I?"
Perhaps the
better question is,
"What
is Jesus trying to cultivate in me today?"
Isaiah
assures us that God's Word never returns empty.
Jesus
promises that good soil bears abundant fruit.
If we allow
Christ to cultivate the soil of our hearts, His Word will bear fruit in our
lives—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.
Then, after
our pilgrimage through this world, the Lord will bring us home.
Not merely
to a promised land on a map.
But to our
true home:
the Father's
Kingdom,
where every
burden will be lifted,
every tear
wiped away,
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