Gospel Reflection July 12 – Kim VanHuffel
Sunday, July 12
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13: 1-23
Gospel:
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The disciples approached him and said,
“Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted,
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
“Hear then the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one
who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,
and the evil one comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
Gospel Reflection:
I included the long version of this reading. Sometimes we only hear the short version at church, and we are left on our own to make sense of this parable. However, the teacher himself, Jesus, tells us exactly what this parable means in the last verses. So, I will keep my reflection short, as you can hear from Him directly about the meaning.
However, I would like to point out the verses in the middle that are set in bold (by me). It is a prophecy of the prophet Isaiah. We need to pay special attention to these words. Our job specifically is to make sure that our hearts and eyes and ears are open to the Word of God, so we will understand with our hearts and be healed by Jesus. Sometimes life’s trials, challenges, and even just shear busyness keep us from being open. We close ourselves off from God, maybe not even intentionally, but just because we don’t have more time. We don’t prioritize God. This specifically makes us deaf and blind to His word. It also makes us ignorant of what he wants from each of us. If we prioritize God, making time for prayer and praise, we will be the rich soil that will produce ten times greater things in this world. So, to quote another gospel passage from Mark — “ephphatha (which means be opened)” to the praise of glory of God!
Kim VanHuffel
Pastoral Associate