15th Sunday Ordinary Time - Fr. Leo
The seed in today’s parable from Matthew, is the gift of faith. The seed that falls on rich soil and produces much fruit, is faith that is understood and nurtured in the heart. This is the faith Jesus desires us to have.
To come to that kind of a deep relationship of oneness with Christ, requires us to seek understanding of the Word. Just as we cannot become best friends with someone we rarely interact with, because we would never really get to know them, nor they us, we can not come to know the Lord unless we spend time with the Lord.
There are three things our “time” with God should include. The first is lectio divina, or divine reading. In reading a passage of scripture and letting it speak to us, our curiosity will lead us to a deeper understandings of what we read. It is then that reading the scripture becomes prayer. Spiritual reading can be helpful here as well. I love reading books that take apart the scriptures and reveal things to me I’ve never seen. In fact, we can never exhaust the wonder and awe we discover in the Holy Scriptures.
Secondly, we need to just be with God in contemplation. Simply relaxing in God’s presence and moving beyond thoughts and feelings. It is then that the silent word of God speaks to our deepest self and we are transformed. The Transfiguration of Christ becomes our transformation by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Thirdly, we need to celebrate the Eucharist together as a community. We are nourished by God’s presence in the Eucharist and its grace comes alive when we share the one bread and cup, the symbol of sharing our own body and blood with others. In that giving and receiving, our oneness in God becomes real.
This is why the Church encourages weekly attendance at Sunday Eucharist and other days during the year. I know we have become lax in that, but if we want our seed planted in rich soil, how can we not desire and attend at least on Sunday? Today, we choose what kind of soil we want to be to the seed of Faith God desires to nurture in us.