Homily - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday 16th July 2023

Homily

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday 16th July 2023

As I start to write my Homily for this week it is pouring rain outside. Thankfully, I had the state of mind last night to cut the grass before it grew too long.

The tasks in the garden are never-ending. The moment you do one thing there are dozens more to do. On one side, an invasion of ivy creeping over the neighbour’s fence trying to grip hold of my log cabin. On the other side, Horsetail spreads fast. We also have a Passionflower that started to sprout up in various parts of the garden.

June had dry weeks, but the plants still needed to be watered. Thankfully, we have a water butt to collect rainwater for the plants during hot months. Here in Ireland, the rain never seems to be far away.

My elderly mum has for eleven years managed our garden. This is her passion and joy. But as the years go by, she is struggling to do what is required and can feel overwhelmed by the extent of work to be done. More hands are needed. We’ve tried to get some maintenance gardeners, but this hasn’t worked. Everyone is under pressure and often the garden is not the top priority.

When my father was alive, he had an allotment. If you had set up a timelapse camera over a couple of years, you would have seen a wave flowing from the shed straight down to the bottom of the plots as each season had its planting, growth, and harvest period. Then a little time for rest so the soil could be rejuvenated.

In summer, our garden in Ireland gets decked out with fold-up chairs, a table, and a large umbrella that shield from the sun. Family and friends gather to chat, drink wine and taste cakes. There would always be joy and laughter.

Isaiah tells how God pours rain from heaven, allowing the seed to grow. After the harvest, flour can be milled, and bread can be baked. The rain’s purpose is to yield fruit from the seed. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus asks those assembled to imagine a Sower sowing seed which fell in different places. Some at the edge of a path, on a patch of rocks, also amongst the thorns and others on rich soil. Birds ate the seed by the path, and the sun-scorched those on the rocks. The seeds amongst the weeds grew but were strangled. Only those in the rich soil yielded a harvest.

Our world today, through the media, presents many stories that carry our imagination away as the evil one does with the seeds near the path. Others hear what God has to say, and initially rejoice but when things get tough abandon their faith. Everyone can get confused by the pressures put upon them through hard work but getting less money, not covering the monthly bills. Others are encouraged by self-help books to better themselves or to seek wealth through various schemes.

Today we see many workers on strike because they struggle to make ends meet. Many have several jobs and still struggle. The media is used to encourage audiences to see how many suffer because of reduced services, playing on our self-interests to encourage the strikers back to work. Yet, the system is broken in every part of society and people are getting angry, as crisis after crisis wears us all down in the hope of accepting the status quo.

Many people struggle with anxiety and depression, regardless of their area of work or lack of. Young families move away from their grandparents to seek work, with both parents trying to manage work and their young children, often without the support they need. Others find themselves overwhelmed by the pressures of life they cannot see when they could possibly have children. The family is gradually being corroded. Some have given up everything for material riches and success but with nothing we came into the world and with nothing l we leave it.

Yet, where the rain from Heaven falls on rich soil, where the seed of the Word is allowed to grow, those people put their trust in God, aware that although this life can be hard, they are waiting for the Glory of God’s son to be revealed.

St Paul tells us this life is like the act of giving birth, forcing us to groan as we inwardly wait to be set free as the first fruits of the Spirit. We are not alone when we trust in God, and follow his will, not our own. We are sent here into this life with a mission. If we accept the Word of God and take it into our hearts, we will carry out God’s will and return to him having been successful in what we were sent here to do. To sow the seeds of the Lord so everyone can hear and believe in Him.

Amen.