Reflections for Sunday, July 16, 2017
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion
Mass Readings:
1st Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11
2nd Reading: Romans 8:18-23
Responsorial: Psalm 65:10-14
Gospel: Matthew 13:1-23
Bearing Fruit in Our Lives through Humble, Faithful, and Repentant Hearts
My word shall not return to me void. (Isaiah 55:11)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the image of seed sown on different kinds of soil to teach his listeners about the fruitfulness of God’s word (Matthew 13:1-23). Every seed has the same potential for growth; it is the type of soil that determines how abundant the yield will be. The prophet Isaiah seems to say the same thing: God’s word, like the seed, always remains fruitful—it will not return void. So it seems that our human response determines the harvest.
Perhaps this explains why some people seem to bear more spiritual fruit than others. The Old Testament story of King Saul and King David offers us a dramatic illustration of this principle (1 Samuel 9–2 Samuel 12).
Saul was chosen by God to rule over Israel, but because of his fear and selfishness, he disobeyed the Lord. He didn’t make a good return to God or bear lasting fruit. As a result, God chose someone else—a man after his own heart—to replace Saul: the shepherd David.
Now, David did what God asked him to do. He fought Israel’s enemies, he rescued the ark of the covenant from the Philistines, and he even danced joyfully before the Lord for all to see.
Of course, we all know that David was far from perfect. He committed adultery and let himself get caught up in a web of deception and murder. But he also repented (Psalm 51). Despite his serious failings, David’s humility allowed God to continue to use him. It wasn’t because he was perfect that David could bear fruit for the Lord; it was because he loved God and tried to follow him with his whole heart.
David and Saul’s story shows that God can work with flawed people who are humble, dedicated, and willing to turn back to him. Through repentant sinners like David—through repentant sinners like us—the seed of God’s word doesn’t return empty; it can bear much fruit.
“Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness. Help your word to bear fruit in my life today.”
Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men:
- In the first reading, the Lord tells us through the metaphor of rain how fruitful his word is: “my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”
- What do these words mean to you?
- How do these words apply to your life?
- The responsorial psalm also speaks of what God has done to produce a fruitful land: “You have visited the land and watered it; greatly have you enriched it. God’s watercourses are filled; you have prepared the grain. Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods, softening it with showers, blessing its yield.”
- In what way is this related to the metaphor of rain in the first reading and the role of God’s word in preparing, “breaking” and “softening” our hearts — and “blessing its yield”?
- Can you give an example when God’s word softened your heart and lead to fruitful changes?
- The letter to the Romans contains these powerful words of St. Paul: “creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.”
- What message is St. Paul trying to convey with these words?
- Where in your life have you experienced the “glorious freedom,” that is, victory over sin?
- In the Parable of the Sower in the Gospel reading, we read once again of the seeds being sowed and the resulting harvest. In particular he describes four different types of soil that the seeds are planted in: “the path,” “rocky ground,” “thorns,” and “rich soil.”
- How would you describe the meaning of each of these soils?
- Which of the soils described in the Parable of the Sower best describes the state of your heart?
- What steps can you take to make your heart a “rich soil” that “hears the word and understand it” and “bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold”?
- In the Gospel, Jesus also speaks of why he speaks in parables, because “they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.”
- What message do you think Jesus was trying to convey with these words?
- What additional steps can you take prior to Mass to prepare your heart and mind to “listen” and “understand” the Sunday Mass readings? What about just prior to hearing the readings during Mass?
- When receiving the Eucharist at Mass, how careful are you to prepare your heart and mind to really see and listen? What additional steps can you take?
- The meditation, using the lessons from the Parable of the Sower, compares the differences in the fruit that was born in the lives of the first kings of Israel, King Saul and King David. The meditation ends with these words: “David and Saul’s story shows that God can work with flawed people who are humble, dedicated, and willing to turn back to him. Through repentant sinners like David—through repentant sinners like us—the seed of God’s word doesn’t return empty; it can bear much fruit.”
- What are some of the reasons that God could not bear much fruit in King Saul’s life but bore enormous fruit in King David’s life?
- Why are the attributes of being “humble, dedicated, and willing to turn back to him” so important in bearing fruit in our lives?
- What do you think is meant by these concluding words, “through repentant sinners like us—the seed of God’s word doesn’t return empty; it can bear much fruit”?
- How would you describe what a “repentant sinner” is? Does that describe you?
- Take some time now to pray for the grace to turn to God for his mercy and to allow the Word of God to bear fruit by transforming your mind and heart. Use the prayer below from the end of the meditation as the starting point.
“Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness. Help your word to bear fruit in my life today.”
