15th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle A	

Is 55: 10-11; Rom 8: 18-23; Mt 13: 1-23

July 9/10, 2011

Nearly everyday during the spring, summer and fall seasons, from the age of 5 to 18 years, I worked the fields. I cannot begin to tell you how many hours I labored in those fields of southern Minnesota, both for my father and for neighboring farmers. Each spring, without fail, I and several others would literally walk every square foot of all those fields, and do so several times.

The first task was to "pick rock." We would scan from right to left looking for rocks that would come to the surface with the spring thaw and toss them into a truck that inched across the field. In prairie country,rocks always came to the surface in the spring,  because the glaciers many years ago brought not only ice, but also stones, rocks and boulders, leaving them scattered on the land. Over thousands of years, they were buried under the rich loam soil. Now, no farmer in his right mind would plant seed in a rocky field. Everyone knew the rocks would prevent a good stand of corn or beans from establishing itself, would compromise plant health, and would wreak havoc on the farmer's machinery, so the rocks each year had to be "picked" to prepare the soil for planting.

The second task required that occasionally the "hard pan" layer of soil had to be broken up. In the old days, the soil was plowed with mold-board plows which resulted in two of the tractor's tires running down in the furrow, compacting a layer of soil about 18 inches below the surface. This "hard pan" had to be broken up occasionally, softened, if a good harvest was to be had. To do this, a deep chisel plowing was needed (if you had such an implement) or you had to plant alfalfa whose roots were deep enough and strong enough to penetrate and break up that rock-hard layer. In a year or two, the soil would be ready for corn or soybeans.

And then there was the third task: to "walk the beans" or to cultivate the corn in the summer months. Every square foot of each field was covered. Before the days of Roundup ready plants, noxious weeds had to be either hoed or pulled out by hand.... cocklebur, thistles, elephant ear, mustard, burdock.... just to name a few. In corn fields, a slow passing over with the cultivator was needed.

No self-respecting farmer would waste money putting good seen on bad soil. The soil had to be prepared. It was hard work. But a well-cared for field would take care of the farmer and produce a wonderful harvest. 

Now, why do I start my homily with a lesson in farming?

We hear today in our first reading that God's Word will not return void, but will achieve its end. It will not retreat until it has been harvested, until it brings life and light into the world.  YET, we also hear in the Gospel the parable of the seed and the soil, and how the seed will bear little or no fruit if it lands on soil that is not well-prepared.

Yes, the Word of God goes forth from the Father and accomplishes its mission to bring life and light to the world. Blest are we who have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that are well-prepared to receive that Word!

But, as you know, some refuse to see, refuse to hear. Some close their eyes, shut their ears and harden their hearts. Why?

What closes eyes, shuts ears, and hardens hearts? Our Lord gives us the answer in his explanation of the parable.

Jesus said that some seed landed on the footpath, on hard soil, where it could not sprout, and birds of prey came and ate it all up. Sometimes our hearts harden to the point where Satan comes in like a bird of prey and eats up the seed of God's Word. There are some in today's world who have been so trodden on, stepped on in life, and so abused, that their hearts harden. Sometimes the oppressed turn to hardness and bitterness and away from love. Sometimes victims refuse the comfort of others. Sometimes the angry rebuff the soft touch of the one who cares. Some  people become rigid and unable to bend and lack prudence and charity. They get caught up in legalisms and are distant from the "spirit of the law." They become, because of the hardness of their hearts, ground for Satan to come swooping in and devour the good seed offered to them.
Jesus also said that sometimes the soil is thin and rocky, and the seeds sprout quickly but die for lack of roots. Sometimes we shut our ears to the Word of God because we lack roots and our lives are rocky. Yes, we may enthusiastically accept the Faith and embrace our religion, but we soon burn out and get disappointed. In our enthusiasm, we forget that God is the Author of all that is good and we begin to think of ourselves as indispensable. "If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do the builders labor." Sometimes we desire to be the center of our good work, and we fall for the temptation to be the celebrity. We run from this to that, always doing something. We run out of gas. We no longer listen to the Word because we are too busy listening to ourselves and to the opinion of  others. And so, we have no depth, no roots because we have no time for reflection, for prayer, for submission to God, for letting go of our plans and listening to God's plan. If you don't think God has a sense of humor, go ahead and tell Him your plan. You will hear Him chuckle. Yes, our ears are shut because we have no time to listen, no time to be obedient to the God who loves us and has his plan for our lives.

	Jesus said that sometimes the seed sprouts but is choked off because of the weeds that sap it of strength. Sometimes we close our eyes to God's Word. We can't see the forest for the trees. We are so easily distracted by the world and all it throws at us. We get caught up in fear and anxiety about our financial future. We become obsessed, miserly, needing to be "in control" of things and unable to see the big picture. We cannot break out of patterns of life that are getting us nowhere except unhappy places. We are driven by outside forces and influences, and we cannot say "No." We lose sight of the eternal Truth because of worldly pursuits, public opinion, comfort and security. We refuse the discipline of weeding, weeding out of our lives all that misleads us and chokes us off.

You know, harvest time was always something we looked forward to, not so much because of all the hours of work in entailed, but because we knew the bins would be full, the cattle would be fed for another winter, the farm loans could be paid. We looked forward to the satisfaction that all the preparatory work that went into those fields would bear fruit. We never regretted the rock picking, the weed pulling and the breaking of the soil to receive the seed. And each year it was the same. Each year required the same work and diligence.

Let us, my friends, with diligence, prepare our hearts, our souls, and our lives for the grace of God abundantly poured out for our benefit. Let us not shirk from every effort needed to remove the rocks and weeds from our lives, to break up the hardness of our hearts, and to receive with gratitude and joy all that God bestows upon us. Let us hear the Word of God and take it in and bear a harvest of a 100- or 60- or 30-fold!