Texts taken from the Missalette “On Your Word” July-August 2023

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
3rd week of the psalter

FIRST READING

From the book of the prophet Isaiah (Is 55:10-11)
Thus says the Lord: “Just as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth, making it fertile and causing it to sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth: it shall not return to me without effect, without accomplishing what I desire and without achieving the purpose for which I sent it.” - The word of God.

Commentary on the first reading

This word of the prophet Isaiah seems to be contradicted in practice. God says that his word descends into hearts and returns to him after accomplishing what he desires, but in reality we see that this is not always so. Perhaps we too have heard many words from the Lord, yet remained inactive, and the Word slipped away like oil on water, thus without effect. So, in this case, is the word of God mistaken? Evidently not. We must believe that every instruction that comes to us from above returns to the Lord with its own effect, which may be positive if we have allowed ourselves to be watered and then bear fruit; otherwise, the fruit will not appear immediately, because it is impossible for the Lord to speak at random or by mistake. What happens to this Word that has returned to the Lord? It remains active, because as long as we are alive there will always be the possibility of responding: perhaps in the final breath of our life we will respond positively to God, according to a Word we may have heard years or decades earlier.

SECOND READING

From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Romans  (Rom 8:18-23)
Brothers and sisters, I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. For creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. Creation was subjected to futility, not by its own choice but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning and suffering the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we await adoption, the redemption of our bodies. - The word of God. 

Commentary on the second reading

All creation shared in the fall of Adam and Eve and “suffered” the original sin of our first parents, but it cannot be lost, because nothing God has created is meant to end forever. Plants, minerals, and animals also sing of God’s glory through their existence and groan as they await complete liberation. This is the question many Fathers of the Church have asked: are animals saved? And plants? They do not have a rational soul capable of making decisions, but they are necessarily linked to human beings, who were made king of creation. We can therefore say that creation will be “saved” with us and in us, when we participate - we hope! - in the life of heaven, in Paradise. We will not be alone, without the animals we loved or the vegetation created by God’s generosity; rather, we will find again our places and all the things that, in some way, we have “taken into ourselves” through love. What great glory, then, awaits us! This helps us overcome all the sadness of the present world: nothing is lost in God’s love for us.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:1-23)
That day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore. He spoke to them at length in parables. He said: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, but when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no roots, it withered. 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, sixty, or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” Then the disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He answered them: “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. For to the one who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one 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 scarcely 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. The Evil One comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown on the path. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the Word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no roots and is inconsistent. When some trial or persecution comes because of the Word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the Word, but worldly anxiety and the lure of wealth 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; he indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred, sixty, or thirtyfold.” - The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

The parable of the sower is easy to understand, partly because it is one of the few that the Lord himself explains in detail. The commentary, then, is his. More difficult is the central point, where he says that Christ explains the parables to his friends so that they may know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, while the others are destined not to understand. Why this disparity? Here Jesus is referring to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who in theory should already know everything; therefore, they would not need to hear again the teachings of the Kingdom expressed in parables. Yet the ancient prophecy of Isaiah applies to them: they are those who have hardened their hearts and closed their ears and eyes so as not to hear or see. For them, neither the ancient teachings nor the new parables are effective, because they do not want to convert to the Good News, which is the life of love. The problem, then, lies not so much in the Word as in the soil that should receive it, namely our heart. This greatly comforts us: whenever we prepare to listen to Jesus speaking, we must undertake an inner act of purification and welcome everything God will tell us, like good soil that has been well prepared.