Homily for the
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
13 July 2014
13 July 2014
“Whoever has ears
ought to hear.”
These
words of the Lord continue to echo throughout the ages. These are wise words;
they are words that continue to guide us. However, they are also words which
the Devil has used throughout the course of history to attempt to sabotage the
plans of God.
And
we – as individuals and as a society – have bought into the lie.
From
“Just do it,” to “I’m lovin’ it;” from “Have it your way” to “Because I’m worth
it,” our culture and society are trying – and in many ways succeeding – in
getting us to listen. They want us to listen to how they believe we can please
ourselves. Our society, after all, is “all about me.” “I need those
things in life which will make ME happy, and, at times, I don’t care who
stands in my way to get it.” We are hearing something, alright. We are hearing
what the world wants us to hear.
In
doing so, we fail to hear Christ.
In
doing so, we harden our hearts to the Word God speaks to us.
My
brothers and sisters, when we keep our attention focused on what the world
wants to feed us, the soil of our hearts and souls become malnourished. We
allow the junk that the world feeds us to deplete the soil of our lives of any
nutrients, and the soil hardens so much that nothing can penetrate it.
The
longer we allow the ground of our hearts to be hardened, the longer we refuse
to till the soil of the soul, the more difficult it becomes for the Lord to sow
the seed of His Word within us.
As
we allow the world to grab our attention, we satisfy the desires and longings
of our hearts with things that are passing, those things which the world
esteems will soothe our restlessness. And while allowing this to occur, we
harden our hearts. We do not allow the Lord to till the soil where He wants to
plant His seed. Therefore, we reject His love; we reject His peace.
My
friends, if we are called to sow the seeds of the Gospel in our environments,
how can we do so if our hearts and souls have never been sown themselves? If we
harden our hearts to the soft rain of God’s mercy, then how can we till the
soil of the hearts of our family and friends, enabling them to experience God’s
mercy?
If
you have ears, listen to the voice of the Lord!
If
you have ears, listen to the Word of God!
If
you have ears, listen, so as to proclaim the Gospel!
Dear
brothers and sisters in Christ, stop listening to the voices, the messages, and
the lies of the world! Stop the hardening of your hearts by indulging in the
false messages of our society! Allow Christ’s word to be sown in your hearts!
Allow God, through His mercy, to soften your hearts, so that He may till it by
His love and peace!
The
word of the Lord never returns to Him void, as we heard in our First Reading.
The word of the Lord is never “null and void” in a world which truly yearns for
His Good News. The word of the Lord only becomes void, dry, and arid if we
choose it to be so. And the more that we choose to believe the empty statements
of the world, the more difficult it becomes to believe the Truth which comes
forth from the mouth of God.
Our
ears, as well as our hearts, souls, eyes, minds and wills, need to be attuned
to the voice of God, so that we may hear His Word. We must be open to the hand
of God tilling the soil of our hearts and souls so that the seed of His word
may be planted within us, and, when brought to full bloom, may be able to be
shared and spread to those in the many environments of our lives.
May
our ears be open to listen to God’s word, our hearts be open to receive His
word, and our lives be fruitful in the proclamation of the Good News.
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Enjoy the journey . . .
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