A homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 16, 2023
Is 55:10-11, Rom 8:18-23, Mt 13:1-23
Late in my freshman year in college, I was persuaded to give Army ROTC a try. It didn’t stick, but that’s another story. And from my buddies in khaki, I first heard about The Rack Monster.
No, this wasn’t/isn’t the rack of medieval torture infamy. In military slang, a rack is a bed, a bunk, a cot, and, occasionally, a couch.
Thus, The Rack Monster hangs onto you and clamps your backside to the bed when reveille sounds.
Now, in life, there are different kinds of reveilles. And The Rack Monster hates them all. But to live fulfilling lives, we have to fall or jump out of bed, french-fry our couch potato selves, and ignite the fires that power our skills and talents whenever we hear the bugle’s call. From God or from our sisters and brothers.
Without weeping or wailing or gnashing of teeth (even though some newer translations say “grinding”; phooey).
Back when our kids were young, Andrea and I impressed upon them that there are “Wanna-do’s” and “Gotta-do’s,” and the Gotta-do’s come first. No whining.
(Note to self: You have plenty of Gotta-do’s waiting for you. No whining.)
But like bathing broccoli in Bosco, we did our best to mask if not transform Gotta-do’s into Wanna-do’s. We usually succeeded by ending each Gotta-do chore … uh, fun family activity … with a celebration.
A celebration of accomplishment.
Which is what God promises us through Isaiah, the psalmist and Jesus, as related in our Scriptures today.
In these passages, the rewards and celebrations are clear and easily understood, even though they’re couched in the metaphors of good harvests. As we wallow in our neighbors’ excess zucchini, we do indeed get the message.
It’s the Gotta-do tasks that seem a bit under-explained, if you ask me.
[S]o shall my Word be, that goes forth from my mouth;
my Word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
And
But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
We’ve all been shaped by the power of God’s Word, but how, precisely? Was the Word within us from birth? Did the Holy Spirit implant it in us while we slept, the way so many prophets and St. Joseph received messages from God?
How did we receive the Word, and who delivered it? How well?
Maybe we soaked in the Word as we worshipped as a community. That’s very likely.
Maybe we absorbed the Word from the people of God we met in our everyday lives. That’s also likely.
But soaking in and absorption — synonyms — are essentially passive. Couch potato stuff. The Rack Monster is just fine with sponges.
And God’s Word is spread, is sown, is embraced, takes root. Actively.
The power of God spreads the Word, and God’s power is manifested through us. Each individual child of God, acting alone and, especially, acting as a community. As the Body of Christ.
God’s power is manifested by our actions, our acts of love and kindness, our active choices to help bring about God’s kingdom and show all of humankind the Way to get there.
We sow the seeds, looking for the fertile ground of people hungering for hope in this chaotic world. We sow the seeds through evangelizing — never proselytizing! — in our community gardens, at food banks, at clothing drives, at blood drives, at senior drop-ins. We sow the seeds with a silent warm hug for a person in mourning, with a cup of coffee for someone who’s confused.
We sow the seeds when we see Christ in everyone we meet, especially if that Christ we meet is carrying a heavy cross. We sow the seeds when we take Christ’s place in someone’s yoked burden.
We sow the seeds in fertile ground by making an effort to seek out our sisters and brothers in need, and caring for them as only each of us uniquely can. We sow the seeds whenever someone in need, any sort of need, crosses our paths and we say yes, you’re worth my time and treasure and skill and effort.
We sow the seeds by saying God Loves You in deeds and, if necessary, in words.
Throughout the military, reveille sounds every morning, calling the troops to roll out of their racks and do their duty.
Throughout Christianity and all faiths, reveille sounds every morning, too. Are we up and ready to answer the call?
