Homily: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
“Freedom isn’t free” is a well-used phrase here
in the United States. What it refers to
is the cost associated with securing and maintaining the “freedom” that we
enjoy as citizens of this nation. Time
spent by men and women in the armed forces is time spent away from home and
personal pursuits and it can lead to greater sacrifices: sacrifices like one’s
livelihood or even one’s life. Our
“freedom” comes at a cost, this phrase emphasizes, and those who enjoy it
should not take it for granted.
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus draws out a
similar point. As he taught the crowd of
would-be disciples, he spoke to them in parables. Both his teaching and the conclusion of his
teaching give us the impression that, underneath it all, what he is saying is
that “salvation isn’t cheap”. I’ll try
to explain:
First, allow me to clarify that when I say that
Jesus’ teaching in today’s Gospel implies that “salvation isn’t cheap”, I don’t
mean that we somehow have to do something to earn salvation. That would be heresy. We have been redeemed by the sacrifice of
Jesus ALONE, and this salvation is freely given to all who would receive
it. It is the “receiving it”, however,
in which some work must be done.
Therefore, although salvation is free, it isn’t without cost. Make sense?
Okay, let’s look now at the parable.
In many ways, the parable itself describes those
who were there listening to his teaching that day: for many of them were like
the ground that is too trampled, too rocky, or too choked with thorns to bear
fruit from their encounter with the Word of God. In many ways, the parable was not so much for
those gathered in the crowd, but rather to teach Jesus’ closest disciples the
truth about humankind: all will have varying degrees of openness to the Gospel
message. The thing that makes me say
that Jesus is implying the phrase, “salvation isn’t cheap”, however, comes at
the end of the parable, where Jesus says, “Whoever has ears ought to hear”.
Up to that point, as I said, Jesus’ parable was
just a metaphor for the way God’s word would be received by different
persons. There was no moral judgment in
it. When he adds that last line,
however, he adds moral weight to the parable.
With that line, what Jesus effectively said was, “you can choose to
ignore this, but you shouldn’t.” Here we
find the work embedded in the gift of salvation. “To hear” means that you’re ready to take
responsibility for what you’ve heard. If
you choose not to, then you will be culpable for the consequences: the loss of
the gift. Salvation, like the seed
sowed, is given freely; but if you are not receptive to it (that is, if you are
closed off to it or holding onto obstacles to receiving it), then it cannot be
yours. To be ready to receive it,
however, costs something. Thus, only
those who have made themselves ready to receive it, truly have it. Therefore, once again, we see that, while
salvation is truly free, it is not without cost.
The great reminder for us here is this: the only
authentic disciples of Jesus (that is, those who are able to receive the
gift of salvation) are intentional disciples. Jesus explains this when he explains why he
speaks to the crowds in parables. In
effect, he says: “I teach in parables because many of them have closed their
hearts to my word and they refuse to do the work of understanding the
parable. These cannot receive the gift
of salvation. Those who seek to
understand them, however (that is, those who have ears and have chosen to
hear), have shown that their hearts are open to my word, where it may take
root. These may receive the gift of
salvation, because they have intentionally prepared themselves to receive it.”
Friends, a parish registration, a crucifix on
your wall, a bible on your coffee table, or a rosary on your rearview mirror
does not make you a disciple of Jesus.
They may be signs that you are a disciple of Jesus, but they do
not make you one. You become a disciple
of Jesus when you a) recognize that you have ears to hear and b) you choose to
hear what Jesus has to say and thus strive to follow it. More specifically, you are an intentional disciple
of Jesus when you engage actively in his teaching, seeking to understand what
it means and to root out any obstacles to your understanding (all with the help
of the Holy Spirit), so that it might take root in you and grow, changing your
life to be more like Jesus’ and thus producing fruit for the building of his
kingdom. When we refuse to do this,
Jesus teaches us, we risk losing access to salvation altogether.
Friends, we all need work becoming more
intentional disciples of Jesus, but the good news is that grace is abundant and
so the help that we need is abundantly at hand!
We simply need to begin the work with humility and trust: humility in
recognizing that salvation is a gift that we cannot earn on our own, and trust
that God will be with us as we engage this good work.
To this end, I want to challenge you to spend
time this week meditating on this parable from the thirteenth chapter of
Matthew’s gospel. Seek to understand if
any of the obstacles that Jesus mentioned are present in you. Is your heart hardened because many hardships
in the world have trampled it down? Have
you relied on only a “surface level” understanding of God’s word and so often
“wither” when challenges manifest themselves?
Are you so enmeshed with the “thorns” of your favorite sins that you are
held back from producing good fruit? All
three? If so, it’s okay. Talk to Jesus about it and ask him to give
you the light of the Holy Spirit to help you identify the first steps towards
clearing these obstacles from your heart and for the courage to take them. This kind of work is not easy, of course, but
it is certainly pleasing to Jesus: for it is the work of a true disciple. ///
Friends, one look at the TV or social media will
show us that the world desperately needs us to be fruit-producing disciples of
Jesus. Strengthened, therefore, by our
Eucharist, let us embrace this good work and become agents of God’s life-saving
work in the world.
Given at Saint
Charles Borromeo Church: Peru, IN - July 12th, 2026
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