God made a promise to bring his people out of
exile in Babylon (Isa 40:1-11; see also Ezek 11:17; Jer 25:11;
29:10; 30:3) and the first reading (Isa 55:10-11) is God reassuring
his people that he will be faithful to that promise. Just as rain
and snow come down from the heavens and do not evaporate without
first watering the earth and making it produce crops, so also God’s
word of promise will not return to him without bringing his people
out of exile. God will be faithful to his word.
On the other hand, the parable of the sower
(Matt 13:1-23) looks at our response to God’s word. It tells us that
being a disciple of Jesus has a cost. Being a disciple of Jesus
makes demands. Sometimes being Jesus’ disciple will be challenging
and unfortunately some are unwilling to make the effort to respond.
Jesus experienced lack of response and generous response and
everything in between.
The seed sown by the edge of the path has no
chance at all to germinate and grow. In the explanation of the
parable in the second half of today’s Gospel, we hear that these are
people who hear the word of God without understanding it and the
devil steals what was sown in their heart. We are not told why they
don’t understand, but we can imagine that they had closed their
hearts to allow the word of God to enter them. Maybe it was because
if they allowed the word of God to enter them, they would have to
change, or they had a block or prejudice of some kind. Jesus
experienced that reaction from the people in his hometown of
Nazareth, and from many of the Pharisees and scribes. Paul
experienced it preaching in Athens when he mentioned Jesus’
resurrection and they said they would like to hear him talk about
that some other time (Acts 17:32). What are the blocks that people
have today to prevent them from allowing the word of the kingdom to
enter their hearts? What blocks do we have?
The seed sown on rocky ground that grows for
just a little while before withering is people who welcome the word
of God until it challenges them and then they abandon it for an
easier life. We see people like that in John 6. They never had a
serious commitment to Jesus in the first place. Jesus said they
followed him merely because he gave them food when he multiplied the
loaves for them (John 6:26). After Jesus preached about the
Eucharist, we read, “As a result of this, many of his disciples
returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.”
(John 6:66) As Jesus said earlier, they only followed him for food,
and when Jesus’ preaching didn’t suit them, they abandoned him. Seed
sown on rocky ground! Paul also experienced this. Demas worked with
Paul to spread the Gospel (Col 4:14; Philemon 24) but gave up later
(2 Tim 4:10). Paul says the reason Demas left was because he was in
love with this present world but Paul gives no further details. At
that time, Paul was in prison for preaching the Gospel. Was Demas
afraid of persecution? We don’t know. Do people nowadays give up on
their commitment to Jesus because of peer pressure? If people make a
serious commitment to Jesus in the first place, they will not give
up because of peer pressure. What about First Holy Communion and
Confirmation? Is any of that seed sown on rocky ground?
The seed sown among thorns grew but the thorny
plant growing around it overcame it and choked it. This is hearing
the word but allowing worldly anxiety or the lure of riches to choke
the word. A rich young man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit
eternal life (Matt 19). Jesus listed the commandments. Yes, Jesus
expects us to keep the commandments! The young man had been keeping
the commandments and Jesus said if he wanted to follow him, he would
have to give away everything he had. At this, the young man went
away sad. We need enough to live but we do not want to be possessed
by our possessions. Those who follow Jesus in religious life do just
what Jesus asked the rich young man; they give up everything. They
take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Everything they need
is provided by their religious community, but they own nothing.
The seed sown on rich soil is those who hear
the word of God and allow it to bear fruit. The example above all in
the Gospels is Our Lady who was totally devoted to Jesus. Next, we
could think of Joseph whose efforts saved Mary and baby Jesus when
their lives were in danger. The apostles are examples of the word
being sown on rich soil and producing fruit, as well as Paul and his
helpers. Those who answer a vocation to the priesthood or religious
life today almost always do so when they are already steady in their
career with a house, a mortgage, and a car. They give that up for
love of Jesus.
The parable of the sower demands more than a
simple response of trust and wait demanded of the exiles in Babylon
by the first reading. It tells us that being a disciple of Jesus
makes demands. Being a disciple means remaining steady in spite of
peer pressure, tribulation and persecution, and not allowing the
word of God to be choked by worldly anxiety or lure of riches. The
parable of the sower puts before us the authentic happiness of an
unyielding commitment to Jesus.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2026
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Fifteenth Sunday Year A
Producing fruit for Jesus 2023
We need spiritual cardiac surgery to be fertile soil for Jesus’ words 2008
May the Word Jesus sows in us produce fruit
Related: Homilies on the Word of God
Second Reading: Homilies on suffering
Stories: Parable of the Sower (a dialogue)