Photo by Jodie Righos on Unsplash
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
One day a schoolteacher went into a classroom to teach. Each student had just come in from some other activity and quite a few were not ready or in any mood to pay attention. Some had just gotten out of gym and had barely calmed down from their dodgeball game, a few still reliving their triumphs, the rest still plotting revenge for next time. Some struggled to stay awake, wandering in a galaxy far, far away, oblivious of anything within immediate proximity, battling valiantly to cling to one dimension or another. They surrendered eventually and had to rely on their classmates’ note-taking skills later. Some came from taking a History test. Those who did well were pumped up and attentive. Those who didn’t spent the next hour worried about the answers they got wrong. And those who weren’t worried didn’t see much sense focusing in this class either. Some were looking forward to lunch and time catching up with friends and making plans for the upcoming weekend. Consequently, whatever schoolwork they needed to do wasn’t done very well. They had other more pressing concerns. Some understood the sacrifice of setting aside their distractions to focus on the day’s lesson. Sometimes they struggled, but most took careful notes and asked well thought-out questions. They were convinced that sticking with the task at hand paid off in the end. They had plans for success in life, and they were well-aware that the future is built piece by piece each day with dedication, careful attention, hard work, and sacrifice.
Each teacher taught their class many valuable lessons that day, above and beyond the equations and theorems of mathematical systems, the subtleties of English prose and poetry, and the immutable principles of physics and chemistry. Above and beyond these academic requirements of the state curriculum, teachers impart lessons in patience, perseverance, kindness, and hospitality. That is perhaps why more students remember teachers who were patient with them, who encouraged, welcomed, and inspired them. The equations and theorems of mathematical systems, the subtleties of English prose and poetry, the immutable principles of physics and chemistry are seldom retained past graduation, despite our attempts to convince ourselves otherwise. But the lessons of compassion, character, and integrity are not so easily forgotten. They are diligently cultivated and carefully imparted to eager and impressionable minds.
Just as a good teacher teaches above and beyond any given subject matter in the classroom, so does God in our daily lives, conveying valuable knowledge on loving and living, while we fidget and daydream, and worry that mom and dad might intercept our report cards before we get home. God showers countless opportunities on us each day that we might awake to his presence amid our chaos, that we might avail of his strength to shore us up in our weakness, that God might calm the raging storms of sin and sadness in our hearts with his gift of peace. But for the same reason that a good teacher repeats yesterday’s lesson before moving on to something new, just as a great teacher conducts a comprehensive review before the final exam, revisiting questions and problems encountered long ago, just as a master teacher digs deep to unearth evidence of brain activity and reflective thinking, patiently hoping that some moisture has penetrated the tough crust of each student’s mind to nourish the life within the soul, so does God never tire of opening his bountiful store of blessing upon our eager hearts and outstretched hands, revealing beauty and wonder to us each day, inviting us to perceive and internalize the subtle lessons embedded in the passing of the seasons and the blossoming of youth into maturity, while patiently awaiting the moment we finally recognize the hand of blessing to be God’s own.
“Jesus’ disciples asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’
“He said in reply, ‘Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them.’”
The Divine Sower casts a great abundance of seeds upon the fertile soil of our hearts each day. Each day, the gentle rains descend to draw life out of those seeds as neighbors and loved ones extend welcome and kindness to us. But not every seed takes root. Some are duds to begin with. And some just take longer to germinate. Still those that do take root get no guarantee of survival just because they manage to break through the hardened ground. That is why it is important that many seeds be sown each day because God who is merciful will not be outdone in generosity. It is also rather unthinkable that God would not desire all who hear to understand, and all who look to see, as the prophet Isaiah would have us believe. Instead God is patient as well, never begrudging the slow or stubborn learner, mindful of our limitations, generous beyond measure. In time God is confident, the seed will sprout. And when it does, a bountiful harvest awaits. In time God is confident, those who hear will listen, and those who look will see, and those who perceive will understand. It is the nature of all living things to slowly come to maturity. And God more than anyone else is very much aware of that.
One Sunday morning, a preacher went up to proclaim the gospel and preach God’s word. Each person in the assembly was in the middle of his or her own swirling vortex of cares and anxieties, weighed down by arguments with those they love, worries about relationships, concerns about money, what needs doing to live on, how to spend what little they have, why they were running late for church, why they had to leave early, worrisome news from distant friends and relatives, petty irritations brought on because people live in each other’s business every day, or just a general reluctance to participate in life because its color or sound or feel do not match one’s mood. Out in the assembly that day, there was an immense assortment of lame excuses, frazzled emotions, battered egos, unrealistic expectations, immature hopes, and impossible dreams. And in one sweeping gesture of God’s mighty hand, God casts his Word upon fertile minds and hearts like a handful of seeds upon the waiting earth. Even God knows not to count his chickens before they hatch, or to dream of a harvest before the green shoots push their way toward the sun. Even God knows only to hope and dream and to wait in patience, because despite the duds some seeds will eventually take root and come to maturity and produce an abundant harvest. Whoever has ears ought to hear.
Rolo B Castillo © 2023