Homily For Friday Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 28th July, 2023

Readings: Ex.20:1-17, Ps. 19; Matt. 13:18-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

DO NOT LET THE THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD TURN YOUR HEART INTO A ROCKY GROUND

 

A critical observation of the structure of our society, one will easily notice how people are struggling with the things of this life, our passion, our determination and willingness are deep rooted in the worldly things. For we are so much attached to the things of this passing world that we pay little or no attention to things that edifice the soul. We work so hard to fill our hearts with the rocks and thorns of life that we have no room for the Word of God to blossom in our hearts.

 

This unhealthy and ugly attitudes is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today as he explains the parable of the sower, pointing out our different dispositions towards the Word of God in relation to our interior life. Here, Jesus describe different kinds of obstacles to God's Word, for there are four obstacles that can distract us from making our hearts a fertile soil. These obstacles include: shallow mindedness, hardened heart, worldly desires and finally, trails and persecutions.

 

Today, because of our uncontrolled desire for things of this world, most people fall in some, if not in all of these obstacles. For a lot of people do hear and talk about the Word of God, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth will always choke the word we hear and it yields nothing, because it has no root to sustain it in our hearts.

 

Also, we often hardened our hearts by following the dictates of your own stubborn attitude thereby making our hearts a rocky ground where God’s Word not bear much fruit. Thus, we are called to examine whether our soul is like dry rocky ground or have been choked by the thorns of this life. For it is time to regularly seek to nourish our soul and prepare it to receive the Holy Word of God, So that we can create a fertile disposition within our heart in order to let the Word bear fruit in our soul.

 

Dear friends, as the Lord gave us the ten commandments as we have it in our first reading, how are we receiving it and applying it in our daily life. Remember, our hearts are the fields in which the Word of God is spread today. But to which do our hearts belong: the path way, the rocky ground, the thorns or the good soil of faith and hope. Whichever one, we are called to dispose our hearts more so that God’s Word may find root in us.

 

Therefore, we should detach ourselves as much as we can from the things of this passing world and never let our hearts fall apart when we encounter challenges, temptations and difficulties of life nor give up when uncertainties and doubts sets in. We should never give up our faith nor turn to other sources for temporal comfort, thereby abandoning God and lose our soul to the devil.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, the world is full of hidden rocks and thorns which are seriously making your Holy Word unfruitful in our hearts, give us the grace to truly detach ourselves from them in order to faithfully embrace your Word in our souls and bear great fruits of love, peace, joy and fulfillment. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.