The Word God Spells

Matthew 13: 36-43
Ex 33:7-11; 34:5-9.28 / Ps 103:6-13

The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom.
(Matthew 13:37-38)

May we be counted to belong
Among the good seeds God has sown;
To fight for justice, right the wrong,
And make His Word to others known.

When Jesus left the crowd, His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Reflection

Who are the “sons of the kingdom” that our Lord was referring to? Quite obviously, Jesus was referring to the apostles, and the saints who followed them. And among the greatest seeds that God sowed on earth, one of the most remarkable in terms of having produced bountiful harvests was St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, (the Jesuits), in whose honor the Church is celebrating this day.

Ever since St. Ignatius was converted from the life of a courtier, gambler and soldier, he had always wanted to teach, even getting imprisoned twice for it, as only the ordained clergy then were allowed to preach the faith to others. When he finally received his ordination, he and his companions travelled to Rome where Pope Paul III gave his formal approval for them to establish their own community -– to preach and teach scripture and theology. Initially, they called their community the Company of Jesus, but their order was later to be known as the Society of Jesus. Unanimously elected as the first Superior General of the order, St. Ignatius worked in his tiny quarters in Rome, writing the Society’s Constitutions and sending letters in the thousands to his fellow Jesuits all over the world to direct the affairs of the Society. He also wrote to lay men and women who sought the spiritual life. In his own lifetime, the Society of Jesus grew from eight men to a thousand members. The Jesuits founded colleges and seminaries all over Europe and in other countries like Brazil and Japan. Today, the Society’s universities are scattered all over the world.

The Jesuits of St. Ignatius have always taught that we must strive for excellence in every event, relationship, and endeavor of human life — whether in the daily grind of earning a living, raising children, teaching students, working for the community, or in spreading the Good News of salvation. As a student from grade school to college in the Ateneo institution, I believe the Ignatian heritage of working, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, has been the greatest influence in my life in helping spread the values and ideals of our Lord Jesus Christ to others through the skills that my Jesuit teachers had taught me. From the single seed of St. Ignatius Loyola, millions of good seeds all over the world continue to be harvested throughout the generations.

Thank You, dear God, for Your servant, St. Ignatius Loyola, whose life on earth gave, and continue to give hope to millions not only for the benefits of education, but for their professions where his followers strive to excel, all for Your greater glory. Amen.

Matthew 13: 31-35
Ex 32:15-24.30-34 / Ps 106:19-23

It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full grown it is the largest of shrubs.
(Matthew 13:32)

To make the bread of life expand,
With yeast of love a pinch will do;
Christ’s parables we’ll understand
If in His Word we are renewed.

He put another parable before them. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.’ He told them another parable, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’

Reflection

Our Lord was not speaking in parables to confuse His listeners, or to hide the true meaning of His teachings. He was in fact being faithful to Scriptures, fulfilling what was prophesied in Psalms 78:2- “revealing old mysteries which our ancestors have told us.” He also clothed His messages in parables in order to make them relevant to the contemporary setting, and at the same time allegorical to highlight the truth for all generations to understand throughout human history.

His kingdom on earth for instance (which is our Church), started out like a tiny mustard seed (just a few apostles), but is now like a great tree, home for many birds in its branches — various Christian denominations, all children of the One True God. Our Church has also been like a yeast, mixed in with so much flour — the millions of unbelievers among us, who would never have risen above their apathy or faithless state, had they not been infused with the Gospel values of Jesus Christ.

We in the renewal are part of the yeast of the Kingdom of God. Like “the salt of the earth” that permeates the bland, and “the light on the lampstand that dispels the darkness,” God’s yeast will make His Church expand to all the corners of the earth. It is true that out of the many who are called, only a few are chosen, but in God’s kingdom, like salt, yeast, a single candle, or a mustard seed, only a little is required to make a great difference.

Our diocesan priests are few and far between, ministering one to 20,000. And yet a few of them still go periodically on mission to such places like Papua New Guinea or parts of Africa to spread the Catholic faith and the Good News of Jesus to the far corners of the globe. According to Msgr. Afable of the Diocese of Davao del Sur, who was once a missionary himself, hundreds of thousands of these modern pagans have been converted by such a “small measure of yeast”.

Like the tiny host that we receive when You come to us, Lord Jesus, so little is required to make the whole body renewed in Your Spirit. Thank You, Master for Your parables. Make us worthy to be the yeast of Your kingdom. Amen.

Matthew 13:24-30
Ex 24:3-8 / Ps 50

First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.
(Matthew 13:30)

God sends the sun after the rain,
To let the weeds grow with the wheat.
Don’t be afraid of Satan’s gain,
Christ has prophesied his defeat.

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

Reflection

Most, if not all of Jesus’ parables are also prophecies, the reason why they apply as well to all generations. Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel that God only desires good people of faith to establish His Church, but His enemy, Satan has undermined the plan of God by infiltrating the ranks of the faithful with his own minions. These are the weeds, or darnel that Satan has sown among the wheat. Often, we cannot tell that these infiltrators are from the other side, because they are even well versed in the sacred Scriptures, or may even be members of the clergy itself!

On two occasions, I have had the unforgettable experience of meeting two of these darnels that our Lord prophesied would come to deceive many of His followers. The first one was a Baptist pastor who was also the municipal mayor of a coastal town where our company tried to establish a trading company. We needed a general agent for the barter of rice with copra and other agricultural products, and decided to make him our partner because of his influence and perceived integrity, being a man of God’s Word. He was always quoting passages from the Bible, and could cite any verse from memory. Having won our confidence, he was able to advance a big amount of money to buy corn and copra, which he sold behind our backs. Only our diligence to audit his operations prevented our company’s near bankruptcy.

The other weed I encountered was also a man of the cloth -– in fact a Catholic priest who celebrated a necrological mass for a brother Mason. Instead of extolling the virtues of the deceased in his homily, he gave a tirade on why the Church was wrong in its views about Masonry, and even boasted about his membership in that secret society. Short of saying that he was excommunicating himself, the faithful in that congregation was at a loss whether to receive communion from him or not.

As Jesus predicted in today’s Gospel, the weeds in the Church may be thriving, but their day of judgment will come when they will be bundled up and thrown into the fire. In the meantime, we must be firm in holding fast to our faith to resist them.

Most loving Lord of the harvest, You know all the seasons for sowing and reaping, as well as the conditions for our healthy growth; we put our trust in You. Do with us as You will, fully confident that we will be part of the great harvest in Your kingdom. Amen.

Matthew 13: 18-23
Ex 20:1-17 / Ps 19

The man who hears the word and understands it — he produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
(Matthew 13: 23)

The seed of God’s Word has been sown
And has taken root in my heart. . .
Christ’s teachings now that we have known
To others we must also impart.

Jesus explained to His disciples: “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Reflection

Our Lord Jesus used ordinary events (such as sowing and reaping, as much of Galilee and Judea were agricultural regions) to represent His spiritual messages to the people. Remarkably, His parables are still applicable to present-day human events or circumstances. We can see the allegories of the seeds sown in four kinds of people.

The seed that fell on the pathway is the Word of God preached to people who live in the “fast lane”. They simply have no time to listen to Gospel values that they find to be antiquated, and “cramps their lifestyle”. Sharing the sacred message with this kind is just a waste of time, and is like “throwing your pearls before swine” (Mt.7:6).

Then there are those that receive the seed with excitement, and at first it may seem that a conversion has begun. But soon we discover that their faith is superficial, like a thin layer of soil above hard limestone. Just as easily as they were excited by their “new-found faith”, just as easily they get discouraged and fade away when they experience trials, or are disappointed by some Church doctrine, or biased against a member of the clergy, or a member of our religious community. These are usually typical candidates for “born again” or new-age religions.

Finally, we meet Christians who may have been receptive to God’s Word, but their commitment is overwhelmed by concerns in their businesses or professional careers, or by the material success of their enterprises. These are like the seed that fell among the thorns. So many of this kind have passed through the doors of our nine-week Christian Life Programs, stayed for a while, and then disappeared, never to be seen again. It seemed as if our efforts in bringing the values of Christian living into their lives had been in vain. But, as St. Paul said, we are not discouraged. Because out of 28 “seeds” that are sown from every Christian Life Program we hold every year, if only seven brothers or sisters become active members of our brotherhood, we believe that they will produce “a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Thank You, Lord for Your parable of the Sower, which has made us understand that numbers do not matter to You; even just a little will suffice to spread Your Gospel message to the world. We only need to persevere, and believe, that in Your time there will be a great harvest, and we will also reap our reward in heaven. Amen.

Mattthew 13:16-17
Sir 44:1.10-15 / Ps 132

Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
(Matthew 13:16)

We are more fortunate today,
The Word of God we hear and see,
While those who lived in Jesus’ day
Were blinded by hypocrisy.

Jesus said, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Matthew 13: 16-17.

Reflection

Jesus may well be speaking those words to us today –- we who are blessed to have come to know Him, the Father and the Holy Spirit better than the multitudes of His age who followed Him blindly, regarding Him merely as the political savior of Israel.

Even His own disciples did not understand His teachings at first, and only after the Holy Spirit had descended upon them on Pentecost did they finally comprehend all that their Master had told them, and what God expected them to do.

Many Christians today are still referred to as nominal in their faith because they have not yet come to know Jesus in a personal way. They go to mass and receive Holy Communion every Sunday, but they do not really “see” or “hear” with their hearts the sacred Eucharistic transformation. They are not familiar with the parables and the wonders that Jesus performed because they never bothered to read about Him in the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These so-called Christians-in-name are the ones Jesus referred to who “look but do not see, and hear but do not listen or understand” (Mt.13:13), just like the first seeds in our Lord’s Parable of the Sower that fell on the path and the birds ate up (Mt.13:4).

God’s Word comes to us in various ways in order to bless our lives. We hear it preached from the podium (or EWTN); read about it in spiritual books and writings, or in reflections such as this one; and even in subtle events of divine intervention. Through the Word of God we come to a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God will give us this gift of understanding the gospel through the power of His Holy Spirit when we desire and seek to become more intimate with Jesus our Savior. Not so for those whose hearts have become calloused by sin. God’s Word will only fall on hard ground where it will make no impression, much less take root in their heart.

Lord, open the eyes and ears of my heart, and make me want to know you better. By this knowledge will my spirit be empowered by Your Holy Spirit to love You and my neighbor even more. Amen.

Matthew 20: 20-28
2 Cor 4:7-15 / Ps 126

The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
(Matthew 20: 28)

Without personal ambition,
Christ’s leaders just abide and wait;
Their hearts filled with pure intention,
Servanthood is their common trait.

The mother of James and John Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favour of him. And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ But Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’ When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

Reflection

The kind of leadership that our Lord Jesus taught has not always been the standard that the world recognizes as necessary to bring about success or profitability in the enterprise where it is employed. In most cases, the main motivation behind such a kind of leadership is personal gain or reward, where power is emphasized as the main ingredient, exactly the opposite of what our Lord taught and demonstrated.

At the last supper, Jesus showed His apostles what he meant when He stooped down and washed their feet, a service usually performed by the most menial servant in the house. Our Lord did this to show them (and us) that His leaders must have a servant attitude, expressing authentic humility in serving others that would inspire them to become servant leaders themselves. Therefore, unlike the world’s standard, the primary motivation of true leadership should be a strong desire to serve others.

Ralph Nader, a noted consumer advocate, once said, “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” Harvey Firestone, of the famous tire brand, intoned the same idea when he said, “The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.” Finally, the world’s richest man, Bill Gates noted in the same vein, “Leaders are those who empower others.” The only way people can be motivated, inspired and empowered to serve others and become true leaders is by the example of their own leader’s character, integrity, dedication and humility.

The growth of a certain community has been suffering because its members no longer believe that their leader possesses these leadership qualities. Unfortunately, the members discovered that the head of their community has a weakness for a particular form of gambling, thus eroding their trust and confidence in his leadership. We can only pray that this brother will soon mend his ways before it is too late.

Almighty Father, please send us the kind of leaders who are willing to sacrifice their personal interests for the good of our communities, and for the glory of Your kingdom here on earth. Amen.