{"id":1405,"date":"2014-07-13T13:07:20","date_gmt":"2014-07-13T17:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=1405"},"modified":"2014-07-13T13:07:20","modified_gmt":"2014-07-13T17:07:20","slug":"15th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/15th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"

15th<\/sup> Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A<\/a>
\nIsaiah 55:10-11
\nRomans 8:18-23
\nMatthew 13:1-23
\nJuly 13, 2014<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jesus drew large crowds whenever he arrived in a town.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 People must have known about him.\u00a0 The only way they could have known about Jesus is because people were talking about him.\u00a0 God did not send an email blast to everyone in a town to announce Jesus\u2019 was speaking.\u00a0 News about Jesus spread by word of mouth.<\/p>\n

Now we don\u2019t what people were saying about Jesus to others.\u00a0 One would think they must have been telling people about the miracles Jesus did.\u00a0 After all, people came to Jesus looking for miracles.\u00a0 Hopefully people also talked about what Jesus said<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Now these people were just meeting Jesus themselves so they may not have known much about him.\u00a0 That\u2019s ok.\u00a0 The first step in sharing the faith is not a theological discourse.\u00a0 It must begin with simply talking about our experience of Jesus.\u00a0 This is the seed of faith that we can all share.<\/p>\n

Today we hear Jesus tell the story of the Parable of the Sower.\u00a0 Often when we hear this parable discussion focuses on which category of seed do we fall into?\u00a0 Are we like the seed and the rocky ground, hearing about our faith but not doing with it or do we bear fruit in our faith thirty or sixty or a hundred fold?<\/p>\n

Today I would like to look at this parable from a different angle.\u00a0 How might we be like the sower?<\/p>\n

Ask yourself what you can do to spread the seeds of faith.<\/p>\n

Often we might what to say evangelization is a job for others but I would say that almost everyone here has at least one way that you must be a sower of seeds of faith.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s called parenthood.<\/p>\n

Every<\/em> <\/strong>parent is called to instruct their child in faith.\u00a0 It begins in having the child baptized but the parents duty is not done there.\u00a0 Children need to be in church (Jesus says let the little ones come to me).\u00a0 Sometimes there are people who say little children don\u2019t belong in church until they know how to behave.\u00a0 I say the only way they will learn how to behave in church is to be in church.<\/p>\n

The parents\u2019 responsibility does not end in just bringing the child to church.\u00a0 Pray with them at home too.\u00a0 Teach them what you know, show them faith is important.\u00a0 When they reach school age, bring them to religion classes or our parish school.<\/p>\n

So, again, parents are to be sowers of faith with their children but parents are not the only ones to sow faith.\u00a0 We must all help sow faith.<\/p>\n

We live in a world of thorns.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t easy to hear and to truly listen about faith in Jesus.\u00a0 There are lots of distractions and temptations.\u00a0 Some people are not interested.\u00a0 We cannot and should not force faith on them.\u00a0 It is their choice and we are not responsible for their choice.<\/p>\n

But we are responsible for our own actions.\u00a0 If we do our best to learn about our faith for ourselves and<\/em> <\/strong>do our best to share our faith, then God will not hold us responsible for the choices that others make.\u00a0 However, if we do nothing to share our faith with others, then God will judge us accordingly.<\/p>\n

Faith is not a gift to be hidden under a bushel basket.\u00a0 It is a gift to be shared with all.\u00a0 Go and sow seeds of faith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 55:10-11 Romans 8:18-23 Matthew 13:1-23 July 13, 2014   Jesus drew large crowds whenever he arrived in a town.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 People must have known about him.\u00a0 The only way they could have known about Jesus is because people were talking about him.\u00a0 God did not send an …<\/p>\n

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