The Catholic Calendar for Thursday, July 21, 2005
The Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
St. Lawrence of Brindisi, priest and doctor of the Church

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20
Daniel 3:52-56
Matthew 13:10-17

A reflection on today's Scripture. . . .

"Why do you speak to them in parables?" (Matthew 13: 10)

Today's Gospel makes us wonder if our Lord used parables to confuse some hearers. We know of various teaching methods; probably the most boring is lecturing, conveying information without engaging one's hearers. Christ chose a more interesting, thought-provoking means, that of storytelling, narrating human events and behavior to reveal divine truths. How, then, are we to interpret Jesus telling His disciples that they "had been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to...[others] it had not been given.?" His answer is the quotation from Isaiah; paraphrased, it warns that those who distance themselves from God will eventually dull their hearts and render themselves deaf and blind to Christ's divine gift of healing their sins and leading them to salvation.

This admonition is strengthened by the parable of the sower; the quality and quantity of the crop depends on the receptivity of the soil upon which God casts the seed. What falls on hardened paths, rocky soil or among thorns cannot root deeply and will perish without bearing fruit. A second parable, however, shows God's care for all humanity when a farmer tells his workers to not pull up the weeds from among the wheat and avoid the danger of also uprooting the good grain. Good and evil must be allowed to exist side by side in order that we may exercise free will and so be held accountable for our choices. People do not become loving and fruitful children of God in isolation. To enter the kingdom of heaven they are first to be tested on a proving ground fraught with temptations and difficulties.

O Divine Spirit,
strengthen our wills
and guide us through this world's maze of allurements,
that we may emerge worthy of being admitted
into the heavenly kingdom.
Amen.

- Marie Bocko, OCDS
(mlbocko at earthlink dot net)

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