The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary, today, the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, challenge us to respond to the work of our ancestors in preparing a path for our participation in the work of preparing our environment to be open to the Way of Jesus to fullness of life.
The reading from the Book of Sirach is a Hymn in Honour of Our Ancestors.
* [44:1–15] The reader is here introduced to those people of Israel, later mentioned by name, who through various achievements and beneficial social activities have acquired great renown (vv. 1–8, 14–15); and also to those who, though forgotten, endure through the fruit of their virtues and through their families because of God’s covenant with them (vv. 9–15). (Sirach, CHAPTER 44 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Prophet Jeremiah proclaims the Restoration of Israel.
* [3:14–18] A remnant of Israel (v. 14) will reunite with Judah (v. 18). The former Israelite community, represented by the ark of the covenant, will be replaced by a universal alliance, symbolized by Jerusalem, the Lord’s throne, to which all nations will be gathered (v. 17). (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)
The response in Jeremiah celebrates gathering Israel.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains the Parable of the Sower.
* [13:18–23] See Mk 4:14–20; Lk 8:11–15. In this explanation of the parable the emphasis is on the various types of soil on which the seed falls, i.e., on the dispositions with which the preaching of Jesus is received. The second and third types particularly are explained in such a way as to support the view held by many scholars that the explanation derives not from Jesus but from early Christian reflection upon apostasy from the faith that was the consequence of persecution and worldliness, respectively. Others, however, hold that the explanation may come basically from Jesus even though it was developed in the light of later Christian experience. The four types of persons envisaged are (1) those who never accept the word of the kingdom (Mt 13:19); (2) those who believe for a while but fall away because of persecution (Mt 13:20–21); (3) those who believe, but in whom the word is choked by worldly anxiety and the seduction of riches (Mt 13:22); (4) those who respond to the word and produce fruit abundantly (Mt 13:23). (Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)
Larry Hopp comments that this parable points out that we will not always be successful; the seeds He sows through us will not always produce the results we can see. We must continue sowing. We are called not to just hear and understand, but also to bear fruit. Jesus is asking us to not only be part of the planting, but also to be part of the joyous harvest. It is only through His agape love that He can orchestrate such a harvest through us.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your truly incredible love and seemingly endless patience. You care about each of us and shower us with your GRACE. Give us your eyes to see and ears to hear the cries of this world. Use each of us as we reach out and touch the lives of those you have placed within our small personal world. Help us to be more like you each and every moment of our lives. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen (Hopp, 2024)
Don Schwager quotes “God's word is like good seed sown in the heart,” by Jerome (347-420 AD).
"'And the one sown upon good ground is he who hears the word, understands it and bears fruit.' Even as on bad ground there were three diverse situations (by the path, upon rocky ground and among thorns), so too on good ground the diversity is of three types: fruit of one hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold. Both in one and the other there is a change that takes place in the will, not in the nature itself. In both the unbelievers and believers it is the heart that receives the seed. 'The wicked one comes,' he says, 'and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.' In the second and third cases, he says, 'That is he who hears the word.' In the explanation of the good ground, he is the one who hears the word. First we must listen, then understand; after understanding, we must bear the fruits of good teaching and yield fruit either one hundredfold, sixtyfold or thirtyfold." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 2.13.23) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 13:18-23 comments that Jesus’ work in us is not done. He wants to make the “soil” of our hearts rich so that we can produce “a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold” (Matthew 13:23). And so he lovingly invites us into his work of reclamation. He wants us to pick up our trowel and join him in his work of tilling.
How? Notice that those in Jesus’ parable who fell away initially heard “the word of the Kingdom,” but they did not understand it or persevere in nourishing the seed of that word (Matthew 13:19). Understanding God’s word and then acting on it are the keys to bearing fruit. Our tilling of the soil requires that we dig deep into the Scriptures. Then, as we pray and listen to the Lord, he will help us discover what his word means for our lives. But it’s not all up to us. We still need Jesus, our “Good Farmer,” to water and fertilize the soil of our hearts with his grace so we can do whatever he asks of us.
Our God is so faithful. Let’s trust him to bring about an abundant harvest!
“Jesus, thank you for the work you are doing in me so that I can bear fruit for your kingdom.” (Meditation on Matthew 13:18-23, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes that our texts referencing Joachim and Anne come from apocryphal books. Jeremiah exhorts the people who may have fallen into a pattern of superstition to focus on the return to Mt. Zion in worship and righteousness. Friar Jude notes that the explanation of the Parable of the Sower emphasizes the need to use our intellect, strength, and possessions to work with the Spirit to prepare the “good soil”.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, emphasizes how inner transformation needs to extend outward to the world. Step 12, Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs, found a way to expose and transform that perpetual adolescence by telling us early on that we must serve others. Supporting others in their healing is not an option, not something we might eventually be “called” to after thirty-five religious retreats and fifty years of church services. It isn’t something we do when we finally get our act together. No; we don’t truly comprehend any spiritual thing until we give it away. Spiritual gifts increase only by “using” them.
The author of the Letter of James always insists on orthopraxy instead of mere verbal orthodoxy: “To listen to the word and not obey it is like looking at your own features in a mirror, and then, after a quick look, going off and immediately forgetting what you look like” (1:23–24). For James, to “actively put it into practice is to be happy in all that one does” (1:25) and “if good works do not accompany faith, it is quite dead” (2:17). James is a unique apostle of the Twelve Step behavioral approach. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)
We are anointed by our Baptism to be a priest, prophet, and leader, energized by our relationship with Jesus, to accept the prompting of the Spirit to prepare the good soil by our actions for the work of God in the plentiful harvest.
References
Hopp, L. (2024, July 26). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/072624.html
Jeremiah, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/3?14
Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/13?18
Meditation on Matthew 13:18-23. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/07/26/1032949/
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Not for Ourselves Alone. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/not-for-ourselves-alone/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jul26
Sirach, CHAPTER 44 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/44
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