Captured Fire: The Sunday Homilies, Cycle A by Krempa S. Joseph

Author:Krempa, S. Joseph [Krempa, S. Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: ST PAULS / Alba House
Published: 2010-10-14T04:00:00+00:00

ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Exodus 19:2-6 Romans 5:6-11 Matthew 9:36-10:8

AHUGE CROWD FOLLOWED Jesus. Some may have looked out at that huge and yearning crowd and saw the injustice that made them that way; others may have looked at that crowd and seen people troubled by sins of all sorts; others may have looked at all those people and saw a population spiritually abandoned by their leaders; some may have looked out and seen these people as the victims of Roman oppression. But Jesus looked out and saw a potential harvest. The laborers may be few but the harvest can still be abundant.

We can see a similar scene today. People can look out at so many in our world who are morally at sea, adrift without any spirituality to guide their life. Some people can look at our world and only complain, criticize and condemn. Others can look at our world and, like the Lord, see the potential for a great harvest. How do we prepare for the harvest? There are three phases.

The first phase is the planting of the seeds. If we want a renewed morality in our world, we need to start planting seeds. If we want to see the rebirth of community in our world, we need to start planting seeds. If we want to restore respect for human life, we need to start planting seeds. If we want to rebuild family life, we need to start planting seeds. If we want to see people changed by the Gospel, we need to start planting seeds. Planting seeds may not be glamorous but there is no harvest without it.

We must not only pray for a harvest but plant the seeds of that harvest. Are we planting seeds for the future? We plant seeds of a different future, seeds of a harvest by contributing to a scholarship for students, supporting groups that promote truths in which we believe, donating to support groups that help families, using moments of personal conversation to speak about the Lord or to defend the sanctity of life, to speak well of people who are criticized, to introduce civility into our public discourse. The planting happens in many ways. We all can be the laborers for the Lord by planting the seeds of a harvest.

The second phase toward the harvest is the nurturing, the growing of the seeds that have been sown. The seeds are there but we need to nurture, care for and encourage growth. Untended, seeds can die. Maybe we need to spend more time and energy encouraging the spiritual growth we see around us in young people or in fellow Christians of any age. We can be so quick to criticize shortcomings. We can forget the importance of bolstering virtue, morality, good will, generosity and faith when we find it.

Some people say we live in a culture of constant complaint. We can hasten the harvest of which the Lord speaks if we publicize the good we see and reinforce people in their commitment to Christ, by doing what we can to help the seeds in others grow strong and full.

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