Sunday, July 12, 2026

 

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(Isaiah 55:10–11; Romans 8:18–23; Matthew 13:1–23)

This Gospel passage is both familiar and difficult to understand. We have heard it countless times, and we know that the different kinds of soil represent different kinds of people. These images are so striking that many people pay little attention to the second part of the passage. There Jesus indicates that some fail to understand the parable because they have already rejected the basic message of his preaching. Let us look once again at the parable before trying to understand how some people reject Jesus’ message.

We know that the Parable of the Sower appears in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is also found in a shortened but more powerful form in the Gospel of John.  Shortly before his Passion, Jesus says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (John 12:24). In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the soil must be rid of obstacles in order for the grain to bear fruit. In John, the emphasis is on the grain dying in the ground so that it may have an abundant harvest.  

In all four gospels the grain represents the word of God. Yet “the word” in Matthew, Mark, and Luke has a different referent than in John. The first three gospels present the “word of God” as God's message proclaimed and heard, much like the prophet describes it in today's first reading. Isaiah says that the word that goes forth from God's mouth always accomplishes His purpose.  It always brings salvation to God’s people. In John's Gospel, however, the “word of God” is Jesus himself who dies on the cross to redeem humanity from sin and death.

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus explains the meaning of the parable. The seed that falls on the path cannot bear fruit because the birds devour it before it can sprout. It is like busybodies who don't focus on God's word but get carri9ed away by life’s trivialities. Rocky ground doesn't yield a harvest because it is hard and shallow. It represents those who initially want to serve God but then lose heart when trials of death, duplicity, and hardship come. The thorny ground also fails to bear fruit because the thorns choke the young plants. It represents those who allow power, prestige, and pleasure to suffocate God's inspiration within their hearts. To bear abundant fruit, we must free ourselves from everything that prevents us from making a priority of loving God and neighbor.

Now let us consider the challenging part of today's Gospel. Jesus says that he speaks in parables because there are people who have eyes but do not see, and ears but do not hear or understand. These are the people who have rejected his basic message of “repent and believe.”  Their hearts resist loving others and forgiving those who have offended them. For them, the parables remain little more than foolish riddles.

Pope Francis used to observe that there is a crucial difference between sinners and the corrupt. He said that there is hope for sinners to repent but the corrupt have become so hardened that they no longer recognize their need for conversion. This group certainly includes assassins and pimps, but it can also include people who have become so rigid that, although they attend Mass, they do not want to hear about mercy and love.

All of us should ask ourselves if we have tendencies like those of this latter group. If we discover that our hearts have become hardened to loving others, if we find ourselves being increasingly self-absorbed, then we must repent without delay. The Lord never stops loving us. He is always ready to soften our hearts, to help us love others, and to enable us to bear abundant fruit for His Kingdom.