Readings: Isaiah 55: 10-11; Psalm 65: 10, 11, 12-13, 14 (Lk.8:8); Romans 8: 18-23; Matthew 13: 1-23
Brazil is very much a part of our lives here today, as they have played host to a very entertaining World Cup! Like many of you, I have been riveted to the TV watching teams from around the world compete on the field, giving their all and doing so for the pride of their country. I love that today's final match involved Pope Benedict's Germany and Pope Francis' Argentina. By the way, congratulations to Germany on winning it all! The Cup has brought us controversy and great drama, but don't overlook the commitment and the strength that all the players showed in playing their hearts out until the final whistle. But Brazil has also sent us two other important opportunities to help us focus on today's Gospel message, and hear how it can come alive and take root on our own land.
Back in January, Brazil also hosted another world-wide event... World Youth Day. During that week, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, laid out a vision for what we as church are called to do and be as disciples on a mission, "building the church". Maybe with the World Cup in mind, his homily at the Closing Mass called on all of us, and not just the youth, to train and play on the field of faith, echoing the words of Saint Paul telling us that, “athletes [train and] deny themselves all sorts of things; [and] they do this to win a crown of leaves that withers, but we [compete for] a crown that is imperishable.” (1 Cor 9:25) This "field is a place for sowing seeds. and the field of faith is your own heart, and your [own] life... A life that Jesus wants to enter with his Word, and with his presence, to blossom and grow” [into] the fruits of loving action. With respect to today's the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, Pope Francis offered this "Maybe sometimes we are like the path: we hear the Lord’s word but it changes nothing in our lives because we let ourselves be numbed by all the superficial voices competing for our attention; or we are like the rocky ground: we receive Jesus with enthusiasm, but we falter and, faced with difficulties, we don’t have the courage to swim against the tide; or we are like the thorny ground [surrounded by negativity], negative feelings choke the Lord’s word in us (cf. Mt 13:18-22).” So the message in today’s Gospel is simple and yet very profound… Like the Sower, our challenge is to scatter or share God’s love and His Word everywhere you go. Like the seed, we are to be the source of God’s love, ready to bloom and grow wherever you are planted. But ultimately, our task as disciples is to always allow our hearts to be a good and fertile soil for The Lord to take root in our lives.
So how do we meet these challenges? In 2007, Brazil hosted yet another major meeting; this one bringing together the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean. Their meeting produced what is known as the Aparecida Document, named for the place where they met, The Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Sao Palo, Brazil. The document was a joint effort of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops, meant to offer their local church some direction in understanding discipleship and the Gospel message. They wrote, ”Jesus reveals the type of bond that he offers and that he expects of his own... He... asks of [us], as disciples, [an] intimate union with him, [and] obedience to the Word of the Father, so as to produce fruits of love in abundance." (Aparecida, 132-133) So let us reflect on these three things: Union, Obedience to the Word, and Fruitfulness.
First, we are called to be in UNION with the mission of Jesus Christ. Isaiah reveals this mutual relationship, for as the rain comes down to water the earth, and does not return to the clouds, God says, "my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it." (Is. 55:11). This means that God sends us the grace and the strength, but we must do our part as active participants in this mission on the our field of faith. Today's Psalm sings that The Lord has visited the land and watered it, and has greatly enriched it. "Thus preparing the land: drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods, softening it with showers, blessing its yield." (Ps. 65:10-11)... Notice that ours is a fertile field if we allow God to prepare it, subjecting ourselves to the learning and the training necessary to compete and work so that "the seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest." (Lk. 8:8)
Second, we are called to be OBEDIENT to God’s Word. Obedience… A tough word for us Americans. Don’t confuse it with threatening your freedom and control. Obedience, in this sense, is a commitment to something greater than yourself. The Holy Scripture is more than a training manual, and it is certainly not a self-help book. The Word of God is the story of God’s love for us. It is a divinely inspired insight into our call to love Him back by loving one another. We are given the Word because we can handle it, and like the rain does not return to the clouds, God’s Word is meant to be understood and shared. Parables, like today’s, are not allegories with some super secret message to decipher. No, they are meant to call forth our imagination, challenging us to understand Christ’s simple and profound message by opening ourselves up to the grace of God, because as we hear in today’s Gospel, “knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, [and] blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear." (Matthew 13:11,16-17)
Finally, we have already received the first fruits of our faith, as God has given us His Son Jesus Christ, and Christ has given us His mission as Church, but as Paul says today, we also have a certain “groaning” of anticipation for more. This is why we are called to be FRUITFUL! While Paul celebrates the ultimate fruit of our redemption in Jesus, the Gospel and the Church’s mission also focuses on the fruits of our labor, and our work here and now. Pope Benedict XVI sums this up. “To do all we can with what strength we have, however, is the task which keeps the good servant of Jesus Christ always at work: “The love of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor 5:14).”
So Brazil has brought us more than just a place where soccer teams like those from the homelands of our two living Popes, played hard and competed well on the field to win it all. It is also the place where we've heard a calling to accept the simple and profound challenge to make our hearts and our lives fields of faith with good and fertile soil for The Lord to take root. And finally, Brazil gives us the work of Aparecida, for as others migrate their way northward, crossing many borders along the way, in search of a better life for their families, the message from the Bishops to our south has already arrived, calling on us to RECEIVE the seeds sown by God’s love upon the FERTILE SOIL of our land and our faith, in UNION with Christ and His Mission, guided by the WORD, always producing “FRUITS of love in abundance.” (Aparecida, 132-133)
The message of the Gospel is simple and profound, and the challenge is before us. Take and receive the Word, in communion with the Body of Christ, and follow that urge to share the fruits of your labor with love.
Back in January, Brazil also hosted another world-wide event... World Youth Day. During that week, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, laid out a vision for what we as church are called to do and be as disciples on a mission, "building the church". Maybe with the World Cup in mind, his homily at the Closing Mass called on all of us, and not just the youth, to train and play on the field of faith, echoing the words of Saint Paul telling us that, “athletes [train and] deny themselves all sorts of things; [and] they do this to win a crown of leaves that withers, but we [compete for] a crown that is imperishable.” (1 Cor 9:25) This "field is a place for sowing seeds. and the field of faith is your own heart, and your [own] life... A life that Jesus wants to enter with his Word, and with his presence, to blossom and grow” [into] the fruits of loving action. With respect to today's the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, Pope Francis offered this "Maybe sometimes we are like the path: we hear the Lord’s word but it changes nothing in our lives because we let ourselves be numbed by all the superficial voices competing for our attention; or we are like the rocky ground: we receive Jesus with enthusiasm, but we falter and, faced with difficulties, we don’t have the courage to swim against the tide; or we are like the thorny ground [surrounded by negativity], negative feelings choke the Lord’s word in us (cf. Mt 13:18-22).” So the message in today’s Gospel is simple and yet very profound… Like the Sower, our challenge is to scatter or share God’s love and His Word everywhere you go. Like the seed, we are to be the source of God’s love, ready to bloom and grow wherever you are planted. But ultimately, our task as disciples is to always allow our hearts to be a good and fertile soil for The Lord to take root in our lives.
So how do we meet these challenges? In 2007, Brazil hosted yet another major meeting; this one bringing together the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean. Their meeting produced what is known as the Aparecida Document, named for the place where they met, The Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Sao Palo, Brazil. The document was a joint effort of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops, meant to offer their local church some direction in understanding discipleship and the Gospel message. They wrote, ”Jesus reveals the type of bond that he offers and that he expects of his own... He... asks of [us], as disciples, [an] intimate union with him, [and] obedience to the Word of the Father, so as to produce fruits of love in abundance." (Aparecida, 132-133) So let us reflect on these three things: Union, Obedience to the Word, and Fruitfulness.
First, we are called to be in UNION with the mission of Jesus Christ. Isaiah reveals this mutual relationship, for as the rain comes down to water the earth, and does not return to the clouds, God says, "my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it." (Is. 55:11). This means that God sends us the grace and the strength, but we must do our part as active participants in this mission on the our field of faith. Today's Psalm sings that The Lord has visited the land and watered it, and has greatly enriched it. "Thus preparing the land: drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods, softening it with showers, blessing its yield." (Ps. 65:10-11)... Notice that ours is a fertile field if we allow God to prepare it, subjecting ourselves to the learning and the training necessary to compete and work so that "the seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest." (Lk. 8:8)
Second, we are called to be OBEDIENT to God’s Word. Obedience… A tough word for us Americans. Don’t confuse it with threatening your freedom and control. Obedience, in this sense, is a commitment to something greater than yourself. The Holy Scripture is more than a training manual, and it is certainly not a self-help book. The Word of God is the story of God’s love for us. It is a divinely inspired insight into our call to love Him back by loving one another. We are given the Word because we can handle it, and like the rain does not return to the clouds, God’s Word is meant to be understood and shared. Parables, like today’s, are not allegories with some super secret message to decipher. No, they are meant to call forth our imagination, challenging us to understand Christ’s simple and profound message by opening ourselves up to the grace of God, because as we hear in today’s Gospel, “knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, [and] blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear." (Matthew 13:11,16-17)
Finally, we have already received the first fruits of our faith, as God has given us His Son Jesus Christ, and Christ has given us His mission as Church, but as Paul says today, we also have a certain “groaning” of anticipation for more. This is why we are called to be FRUITFUL! While Paul celebrates the ultimate fruit of our redemption in Jesus, the Gospel and the Church’s mission also focuses on the fruits of our labor, and our work here and now. Pope Benedict XVI sums this up. “To do all we can with what strength we have, however, is the task which keeps the good servant of Jesus Christ always at work: “The love of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor 5:14).”
So Brazil has brought us more than just a place where soccer teams like those from the homelands of our two living Popes, played hard and competed well on the field to win it all. It is also the place where we've heard a calling to accept the simple and profound challenge to make our hearts and our lives fields of faith with good and fertile soil for The Lord to take root. And finally, Brazil gives us the work of Aparecida, for as others migrate their way northward, crossing many borders along the way, in search of a better life for their families, the message from the Bishops to our south has already arrived, calling on us to RECEIVE the seeds sown by God’s love upon the FERTILE SOIL of our land and our faith, in UNION with Christ and His Mission, guided by the WORD, always producing “FRUITS of love in abundance.” (Aparecida, 132-133)
The message of the Gospel is simple and profound, and the challenge is before us. Take and receive the Word, in communion with the Body of Christ, and follow that urge to share the fruits of your labor with love.
Obrigado Brasil!
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