20250723 PATIENCE IN FORMING THE PEOPLE OF GOD
23 July 2025, Wednesday, 16th Week of Ordinary Time
First reading |
Exodus 16:1-5,9-15 |
The Lord sends quails and manna from heaven
From Elim they set out, and the whole community of the sons of Israel reached the wilderness of Sin – between Elim and Sinai – on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. And the whole community of the sons of Israel began to complain against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness and said to them, ‘Why did we not die at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and could eat bread to our heart’s content! As it is, you have brought us to this wilderness to starve this whole company to death!’
Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now I will rain down bread for you from the heavens. Each day the people are to go out and gather the day’s portion; I propose to test them in this way to see whether they will follow my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have brought in, this will be twice as much as the daily gathering.’
Moses said to Aaron, ‘To the whole community of the sons of Israel say this, “Present yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your complaints.”’ As Aaron was speaking to the whole community of the sons of Israel, they turned towards the wilderness, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the form of a cloud. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel. Say this to them, “Between the two evenings you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have bread to your heart’s content. Then you will learn that I, the Lord, am your God.”’ And so it came about: quails flew up in the evening, and they covered the camp; in the morning there was a coating of dew all round the camp. When the coating of dew lifted, there on the surface of the desert was a thing delicate, powdery, as fine as hoarfrost on the ground. When they saw this, the sons of Israel said to one another, ‘What is that?’ not knowing what it was. ‘That,’ said Moses to them, ‘is the bread the Lord gives you to eat.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 77(78):18-19,23-28 |
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
In their heart they put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
They even spoke against God.
They said: ‘Is it possible for God
to prepare a table in the desert?’
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Yet he commanded the clouds above
and opened the gates of heaven.
He rained down manna for their food,
and gave them bread from heaven.
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Mere men ate the bread of angels.
He sent them abundance of food;
he made the east wind blow from heaven
and roused the south wind by his might.
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
He rained food on them like dust,
winged fowl like the sands of the sea.
He let it fall in the midst of their camp
and all around their tents.
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:36,29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this seed will remain for ever.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 13:1-9 |
A sower went out to sow
Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.
He said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
PATIENCE IN FORMING THE PEOPLE OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EX 16:1-5, 9-15; PS 78:18-19,23-28; MT 13:1-9]
The Parable of the Sower can be read from two perspectives. One is from the perspective of the Sower, analyzing how the hearers respond to the message that is preached. The other is from the perspective of how the Sower looks at himself, analyzing the effectiveness of his ministry. Indeed, this Parable is addressed both to the crowd and to the disciples of our Lord.
The real audience of this parable, however, was in fact the disciples and apostles of our Lord. They were the ones who witnessed how our Lord was rejected by the very people He loved and cared for. Despite the many miracles He performed and His eloquent teaching – unlike the scribes and Pharisees – the people never took His words seriously, and many were not converted. Many turned against Him, not just the scribes and the Pharisees. Most of them, even those who had benefitted from our Lord’s ministry, did not support Him all the way. They only came to Jesus for what they wanted, not for Him or His message. Thus, the success of Jesus’ ministry was limited, and in fact, His death on the cross could be seen by some as a failure.
For the Christian community, however, this parable was also told, perhaps, to console the teachers in their work of evangelization, reminding them how they too would meet with rejection, failures and disappointments. They too were persecuted by both religious and political authorities. Indeed, in the work of proclamation and teaching, we experience different levels of success. We must not be discouraged simply because our message is rejected or we do not see any real conversion of the hearts of the people we reach out to.
Let us remember, first and foremost, that different people have varying capacities for receptivity. This is precisely what the Parable of the Sower aims to illustrate for us teachers, preachers, and ministry workers who feel discouraged by the results of our efforts to change lives and bring about conversions. Just as seeds fall on different types of soil and terrain, the Word we proclaim will also fall on different kinds of hearts and minds. The effectiveness of the message does not depend solely on the preacher, but also on those who receive it.
The parable of the Sower reveals the varying levels of people’s receptivity. Those seeds that fell on the edge of the pathway are those who do not consider the message important enough to give their full consideration. They may appear interested, but they have other priorities. It might be seen as “good to have” item, not truly essential to happiness. Consequently, these are the people who would come to church occasionally if they are free. They hope to gain some inspiration or consolation, but they do not expect God to solve their problems. They are not paying attention to the gravity of the Word of God, and as a result, it does not affect them. After some time, they are drawn away to other interests.
Even when it comes to taking care of our physical, emotional, and spiritual health, most people consider these unimportant. What is more important to them is to work hard, and make more money. When something is not deemed as important to us, we will eventually forget about it. In life, it is a matter of judgement what is really important to us and whether it can really give us life, make us happier in this world, and for some, also in the next life.
Secondly, we read that the Word of God fell on rocky ground, “where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth.” This is a situation where those who have received the Word of God do not seek to deepen their faith. They are content with a shallow understanding of their faith. They like externals, such as rituals, maybe the songs, and fellowship. However, they do not seek to deepen their relationship with God or delve deeply into the Word of God. All that they learned in Catechism classes or during their RCIA eventually get forgotten because they believe they already know enough of the faith. This is the illusion many Catholics harbour, thinking that growing in faith is a one-off event, like attending a course, when in reality, it is always ongoing. They feel there is no need to deepen their knowledge and relationship with the Lord, especially through the study and praying of the Scriptures. And true enough, when the trials of life come, when “the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away.” A shallow faith cannot withstand the trials of life. This is why the Lord reminds us that a house built on sand cannot withstand the storms unless it is built on rock (cf Mt 7:24-27).
Thirdly, the Word of God can fall among the thorns, but “the thorns grew up and choked them.” This is perhaps the greatest tragedy of life. Many good Catholics start well in the faith and may even have conversion experiences. However, soon after a life-transforming retreat, they return to the world and begin to slacken in their faith, prayer life, and fellowship with the community. Eventually, the temptations of the world and trials of life draw them further away from God. Sometimes, paradoxically, they can be involved in the church and many activities, yet these very responsibilities take them away from the Lord instead of drawing them closer to Him. They suffer burnout and eventually lose their zeal to serve the Lord because of the trials inherent in the apostolate.
Finally, we have those who are good and fertile ground for the Word of God. These are those who remain humble, discerning, and watchful of what they have received. They cherish the Word of God, their relationship with the Lord, and their Christian community. They know their priorities in life and remain humble, grateful, and dependent on the Lord. Because of their lives, their exemplary Christian conduct, and their love for God and their brothers and sisters, they will reap fruits and a good harvest. They know their priorities and live in the Wisdom of God.
When we reflect on the different receptions of the Word of God, we come to realize the complexity of the interplay between grace and human co-operation. We should not be discouraged simply because our work does not seem to produce the results we expect. We think we might have laboured in vain. Of course, we must examine our ways, strategy and the methodology in proclaiming the Gospel, and consider ways we can improve on them. However, success in the vineyard of the Lord is not all a matter of strategy, eloquence and commitment. It also depends on the receptivity of the grace of God by our recipients. Even if the Word is preached eloquently, it still can fall on deaf ears for those who are sceptical, stubborn, and distracted by the world.
Even God faced the same challenges in reaching out to His people, as we read in today’s first reading. The sons of Israel were ungrateful and forgetful of what God had done for them. They were constantly complaining and never satisfied with the water, manna, or meat provided. They were demanding and always asking for more. Not only that, they were rebellious and disobedient by not obeying God’s orders – for example, by not collecting more manna than needed. This was God’s way of testing whether they would trust His divine providence and that He would be faithful to them. But some did not follow the simple instructions, and their disobedience reached its height in the worship of the golden calf. The main purpose of sending manna and quail was to teach them who the Lord they were serving was, so that they “will learn that I, the Lord, am your God.”
So, we need to be patient. As St. Teresa of Calcutta reminds us, “we are called to be faithful not successful.” We must trust in the grace of God working in the hearts of people that we reach out to. They might not respond now, or in our own time. But the seeds that have been sown in their hearts will one day mature, in His time, and in His grace. Hence, like the Sower, we just keep on sowing and sowing, never falling into despair. Conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit. God touches the hearts of people in ways beyond our imagination. It does not matter who sows the word, because we are all servants of the Word. “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (cf 1 Cor 3:5-9).
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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