20200919 BEING PATIENT WITH THE PROCESS OF EVANGELIZATION
19 September, 2020, Saturday, 24th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
1 Corinthians 15:35-37,42-49 © |
The resurrected body is heavenly by nature
Someone may ask, ‘How are dead people raised, and what sort of body do they have when they come back?’ They are stupid questions. Whatever you sow in the ground has to die before it is given new life and the thing that you sow is not what is going to come; you sow a bare grain, say of wheat or something like that. It is the same with the resurrection of the dead: the thing that is sown is perishable but what is raised is imperishable; the thing that is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; the thing that is sown is weak but what is raised is powerful; when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies the spirit.
If the soul has its own embodiment, so does the spirit have its own embodiment. The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 55(56):10-14 © |
I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.
My foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.
This I know, that God is on my side.
I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear;
what can mortal man do to me?
I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.
I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you have rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.
I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Lk8:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 8:4-15 © |
The parable of the sower
With a large crowd gathering and people from every town finding their way to him, Jesus used this parable:
‘A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on the edge of the path and was trampled on; and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on rock, and when it came up it withered away, having no moisture. Some seed fell amongst thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell into rich soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.’ Saying this he cried, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’
His disciples asked him what this parable might mean, and he said, ‘The mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the rest there are only parables, so that
they may see but not perceive,
listen but not understand.
‘This, then, is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and then the devil comes and carries away the word from their hearts in case they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not reach maturity. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.’
BEING PATIENT WITH THE PROCESS OF EVANGELIZATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 CORINTHIANS 15, 35-37, 42-49; LUKE 8, 4-15 ]
The Word of God is paramount. It is not just any opinion or view of life. In a world of relativism when one is no longer certain of what is right or wrong, true or false, we need the Word of God to lead us in the path of life. This is our response in today’s responsorial psalm, “I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.” Rather, the message of the Kingdom is a unique message and the way to life. To be able to grasp the message of the Kingdom is to find life. And to obey it is to find blessing in life. However, much depends on how we respond to the message of the gospel.
This is what St Paul was speaking about in the first reading with respect to the resurrected body. It depends on whether the seed sown germinates to give new life by dying to itself. “Whatever you sow in the ground has to die before it is given new life and the thing that you sow is not what is going to come; you sow a bare grain, say of wheat or something like that. It is the same with the resurrection of the dead: the thing that is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; the thing that is sown is weak but what is raised is powerful; when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies the spirit.” It is therefore important that the Word of God takes root in us. How does this take place?
Very often, we think that the process of conversion is something that happens overnight. In truth, the Word of God, just like a seed sown in the fields, takes time to mature and to grow. Often the preaching of the Word of God is met with much obstacles. There is often resistance and different reactions to the proclamation of the Word of God. Indeed, as preachers or teachers of the Word of God, we often see the mysterious working of grace at work when we proclaim the Word of God. The same Word of God preached brings about different responses. There will be some who are inspired by what is preached, others angry at the message; many are indifferent. How could it be that the same Word of God brings about such diverse reactions? Hence, we need to ask, is the effectiveness of the Word of God dependent on the preacher or more on the listener?
The onus lies more on the listener than the preacher. We have many preachers that are not considered eloquent or intelligent, yet because they preach in simple words, are down to earth, full of wisdom and truth, and speak in sincerity and love, everyone, including intellectuals, is able to connect with them. We have great saints such as St Paul, St John Mary Vianney and St Teresa of Calcutta who were hardly eloquent, yet they spoke powerfully and brought about conversion.
Before we consider the different reactions to the Word of God, we must not think that the different kinds of soil represent the four types of people at any moment of time. Rather, the same person could give diverse responses to the Word of God in his or her lifetime depending on the circumstances. Someone might not respond to the Word of God initially because of skepticism or pride. However, later his heart is softened by changing circumstances and he starts to listen to the Word. However, over time, complacency sets in and the person is distracted by the attractions of the world. Once again, he might rediscover God in his life and allow the Word of God to act in Him. Consequently, this parable of the Sower will always be relevant to every individual in his or her life. It exhorts us to be watchful where we are at a particular point of time. Our spiritual life is never a linear growth. So we must know how docile we are at every stage of our journey so that we become aware of the challenges we are facing at different periods in our spiritual life. In those times when we are weak and distant from the Word of God, we must cling to the Word of God in faith and be patient as we remove the obstacles to growth, relying on His grace that leads to fecundity.
What would be the different stages and scenarios in our lives that make us docile and resistant to the Word of God? Firstly, the seed that falls on a heart that is on the pathway would never be able to take in the Word simply because such people consider God as secondary or even irrelevant in their lives. They do not pay attention to the Word of God as they are uninterested. We are speaking of a mind that is already closed to anything that is spiritual or from God. This is what secularism is doing to this world, making it impossible for our people to hear the Word of God because they have managed to exit God from the world and public space. The world today can no longer hear God because God has been silenced. Their minds have become so dull and heavy that they can no longer hear the Word of God. They are so coloured by prejudices and self-centeredness that they no longer see the truth revealed to them.
The seed that falls on rock represents the Word that falls on a person with a hardened heart and a proud mind. The person is not receptive and nothing much is received or heard interiorly by the listener. Whatever superficial response is given would not last. It will be short-lived and the moment temptations come, they will fall away. This happens particularly to nominal Catholics and those catechumens who do not take their RCIA lessons or spiritual growth seriously. There is no real conversion of mind and heart. They do not really have time to absorb what they hear or read. It is what St James said, “For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.” (Jms 1:23f)
Of course, this group of people could include those who have been so wounded and hurt by the world, their loved ones and the Church. When they are hurt, they will no longer be able to listen without prejudice. The past pain and resentment will block them from seeing the truth of the message and the goodness of the people they meet. They tend to be skeptical, judgmental, critical of the Church, the preachers, the priests and all those whom they see as being responsible for their pain. Unless we soften their hearts, heal them and hear them out, they will not be able to reconcile the apparent Good News they hear with the negative experiences they had. So getting this group of people to accept the Word of God would take time and patience. We need to feel with them and let them know we care.
The seeds that fall on thorny soil represent those who are choked by their pursuit of worldly things and the distractions of the world.The desire for pleasure, power, glory and honour will take the person away from the love of God and love of people. This could also happen because of anxiety about our business, career, the stock market and other investments. Wealth and pleasure often take us away from God. Of course, lust, too, is a very powerful instrument of the Evil One to make us turn away from God and make use of people. When we are obsessed with sex, our minds become contaminated and we focus not on loving our loved ones but on making use of them for our pleasure.
Finally, the Word of God that falls on good ground is one that yields a rich harvest. These are humble and receptive to the Word of God. They receive the Word of God gladly and they take the gift of God’s revelation seriously. They make time to read, reflect and apply to their lives. Because they are sincere and open, the Word of God takes flesh in their lives. They find happiness and joy. Such soil is where the Word of God matures.
However, this is an ongoing process repeated many times in our life. God is patient with us. His grace is constantly at work in our lives and in our hearts. Sometimes, His grace is met with indifference, hardness of heart or competing demands of life. The Lord patiently continues to work on us. With proper cultivation and nurturing of the Word, it will eventually take root in our hearts. We must persevere and never give up. The fruits will not be seen immediately but over time, we will see the results of our effort in cooperating with His grace. Perseverance is necessary before we can reap the fruits. So we should not fall into despair or be disheartened when we see the lack of response to the Word of God.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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