Discern and Be Brave

The 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

Over the long Fourth of July weekend, I was down in Louisville. One of the places we visited was Marengo Cave in nearby southern Indiana. During the cave tour, I learned that back in 1883, a 15-year-old girl named Blanche, and her 11-year-old brother named Orris, discovered a sinkhole in the back woods of a neighbor’s property, and they decided to explore it. Taking just a couple of candles, they slid through the opening—and then found themselves in a breathtaking underground world of passageways, stalactites, stalagmites and all kinds of other wonders of nature. If they hadn’t spotted that hole in the ground, they never would have made their exciting discovery.

In today’s gospel passage, Jesus tells a parable about a sower who scatters seed on the ground. He describes how some of the seed sprang up and died quickly because there was no soil for it to take root in… how some didn’t make it at all because the surrounding tangle of weeds choked it out… and how some grew in abundance—a hundred, sixty or thirtyfold—because the ground was so rich and life-giving.

This parable illustrates some interesting things about God. It shows us that he sows indiscriminately. Just the way the sower scattered his seed all over the place, so God reaches out to all people. It also teaches us that the Lord offers everyone an abundant, extravagant, fruitful life if they are willing to remain in a relationship with him.

It is easy to hear this story and quickly conclude that people fall into one of these three types—either I’m an A or a B or a C—which, in turn, determines how well the word of God will take root in my life. For example, we might meet someone who has a close call in life, decides to clean up their act, starts praying and going to church… but before too long, the fervor dies out and they’re back to their old tricks. Ah. A classic type A, right?

Actually, I think there’s a better, more exciting and more hope-filled message in this parable. Jesus also urges people to have “understanding” or discerning “ears.” The story reminds us how crucial it is to pay attention to what God is like and how he acts. You might picture it this way: even though the ground surface may not be hospitable to seeds because it’s all rocky or covered over with weeds, underneath, the soil is rich all over. It’s our job, then, to find a way to reach the good layer.

Blanche and Orris found the hidden passageway into the cave first, because they were very observant, and second, because they were willing to be brave enough to risk trying something new. Isn’t that a great metaphor for our own approach to life?

Lots of times, our sense of observation is not so great. Instead of being attentive and vigilant as Jesus exhorts us to be, we filter out and exclude people and situations that may not be comfortable for us. If we’re always going over the same, familiar ground with the same, tired eyes, we’ll never find that entranceway in plain view to take us into a glorious new world.

Or, even if we do happen to stumble upon our special new gateway, we may not be bold or energetic enough to try it out. It can be so much easier to stick with the tried and true, and simply hold ourselves in check when it comes to considering a new viewpoint or attitude or approach in life.

As always, it is good to remember that Jesus’ “good news” messages are meant for everybody. He never asks us to do something or be something or even feel something that’s impossible. In other words, we all have everything it takes to find our own way to that rich soil and that life of joyful abundance.

So, then: what must we do to get from here to there?

First, we’ve got to perk up our eyes of understanding and our ears of discernment. Often this just means consciously paying attention to a lot of the stuff we typically do on autopilot. Soon after I began this parish assignment, I got a speeding ticket driving through Homer. I learned that the speed limit is 30 and they mean it. Really mean it. So instead of just driving “reasonably,” now I keep my eye glued to the speedometer.

In the same way, we have familiar ways of looking at people and hearing what they say—or ignoring them or tuning them out. Jesus asks us to turn off those spam filters. We comfortably accept or reject various viewpoints or political judgments about social or economic matters, but again, Jesus reminds us not to be too quick to see things as black or white.

Secondly, besides training ourselves to be more observant, we’ve also got to be courageous enough to be more loving and accepting. Jesus mixed not just with the good people, but also with the outcasts: people with contagious diseases… people who made other people very uncomfortable—like beggars and disabled folks and the mentally-challenged… and of course every other kind of social pariah: thieves, tax collectors, prostitutes and adulterers… you name it. Don’t think for a second that it doesn’t take a lot of guts to buck the tide of society—and even of the church!—to be as loving and welcoming as Jesus was.

But I promise you this: if you are willing to step out in faith as this parable of the sower urges us to, you are most definitely on the path to a life of abundance… to a life where you will be rewarded a hundred, sixty or thirtyfold for your effort.

Begin by praying today for Christ’s light to help you discern… and his faith to help you be valiant and brave. And may you always be blessed on your journey.