A sower going out to sow. Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A.

Today’s Gospel is taken from the third of the five major discourses of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, a collection of parables. Today we listen to the Parable of the Sower Going Out to Sow, although a title such as the Parable of the Four Types of Ground better reflects the focus of the parable. Again and again throughout Matthew’s Gospel, the decisive question is not: “Have I heard the word?” The crowds heard the word. The question is: What has become of the word within me? Has it been snatched away? Has it withered? Has it been choked? Or has it borne fruit?