Gospel
Mt 13:1-23 or 13:1-9
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The disciples approached him and said,
“Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted,
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
“Hear then the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one
who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,
and the evil one comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
Gospel
When we hear “the Word of God” we often think of the Bible. Indeed, the Bible is the “speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit.”1 Since the Bible is a way by which we can hear God speak, we should read it. The Bible gives us nourishment and strength because it is the Word of God.13 It makes more sense to read the Bible and receive advice from the one who created us rather than from late night TV talk show hosts, our friends, or the internet. Now, back to this particular Gospel. Let’s look at how we receive the Word of God from our Church.
In this Gospel, Jesus answers the disciples by saying that “knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom heaven has been granted to you.” Notice that Jesus says “granted”. That means that the disciples did not FIGURE OUT the faith and the meaning of the parables on their own. There understanding had been GIVEN to them. And why would Jesus give knowledge to these particular men? Is it because they were holy? No! The Bible tells us that they were sinners who struggled with their faith. They even fell asleep, leaving Jesus to be captured and condemned. Jesus did not give “knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” to them because they were already holy. Jesus can give it to whomever he chooses. He often chooses sinners, the unskilled, and people of low intelligence to do his will. His apostles are examples of this and so are we.
Jesus said to the disciples, “whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me.”2 In other words, Jesus gave them authority and the knowledge to teach the Word of God. Jesus was fully aware that he had given the disciples knowledge of the faith and he entrusted it to them. All of this, he did intentionally and with purpose. Last week’s gospel said that “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” This reminds us that it is impossible to know God without the Father’s revelation or the consent of the Son. Jesus did give his consent and along with it the knowledge and ability to preach the Word of God in its entirety. That’s why Jesus says in this gospel that “blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” A lot of holy people for many years wanted to know the Word of God, but they couldn’t until “the Word became flesh”. In other words, it was impossible to know the Word of God entirely until the Word himself (Jesus) came into the world.
It Takes Revelation
You can see that it’s true that NO ONE knows Jesus except the Father when you look at John the Baptist. Jesus said that “among those born of women, there has been none greater than John the Baptist.”3 That may be the highest compliment any man has received in the history of mankind because it came from Jesus! Yet despite how “great” John the Baptist was, even HE didn‘t recognize who Jesus was! In Matthew 11:2, John sends messengers to Jesus asking if he is the Messiah. So clearly, John didn’t know who Jesus was. Only Peter knew who Jesus was and he didn’t figure that out on his own either. Rather, Jesus said to Peter, “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” So it is true that “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” It takes the consent and the power of God to know God. So, who does God reveal himself to?
The Word of God and the Church
Most people think of the Bible when they hear “the Word of God” and again, the Bible truly is God’s word. Yet, most protestants believe that the Bible is the ONLY source of authority. That is flat wrong and illogical. After all, did Peter and Paul have the New Testament to guide them with authority? No! The new testament had not been written yet. So Peter and Paul DID NOT rely on the Bible as the sole source of authority. They had to rely on God’s continuous revelation (transmission of truth)to them. Paul is the author of most of the books of the New Testament. But he could only write because he depended on Peter’s leadership and the continuous revelations that Peter received from God. God gave Peter a vision (a transmission of truth) and only because of this transmission did Paul learn from Peter that God desired the salvation of everyone and not just the Jews.4 In another instance, Paul wasn’t sure whether the gentiles had to be circumcised or not, so he went to meet with Peter and the others. After a lot of debating, Peter (the disciple who recognized Jesus) stood up and told everyone that the “yoke” of circumcision was unnecessary for salvation. With that, “the whole assembly fell silent”.5 It is clear in the book of Acts that Peter was the leader of early church. So it was through the apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit, with Peter as the head that shared the FULL truth of the Word of God to the early church through continuous “living transmission” from God. This continues to this day through the successor of Saint Peter and the successors of the first bishops like Paul and others. Getting the Word of God from our Church leaders has been something we’ve relied on since the time of Jesus. This is the way Jesus wanted it set up because he gave Peter the power to "bind and loose".
The Word of God Continues to Speak
Our Catechism says that we continually receive the Word of God through continuous revealing (divine transmission).6 We call this divine transmission “Tradition” with a capital “T”. Tradition is what we know, not what we do. “[Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit.7 Again, “[Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God. Since the resurrection of Jesus 2000 years ago, God continuously reveals all that we believe to our church leaders. That is, continuous divine revelation has been used by God since the time of Jesus. Remember the example of Peter and Paul.
So God gives us Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Church’s teaching authority to give us the Word of God. What does this tell us about God? It tells us primarily that God loves us immensely and that he is highly practical. He doesn’t just throw a THICK instruction manual at us without sending us someone to explain it. He started the Church with Peter and the apostles. He gave the apostles and Peter all they needed to spread the good news. He asked the apostles to teach what they had learned. “In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church, the apostles left bishops as their successors.”8 So even today, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God offers us the bishops and the successor of Peter, Pope Benedict XVI to guide, teach, and protect us.
Many people object to the infallibility of the Pope’s teachings because he is just a man and thus a sinner. We must remember that Peter was a sinner as well and yet the Father revealed to him the true identity of Jesus and that made Peter a superb leader. It is an honor to have the Pope as our leader. Despite the fact that he is a sinner, his definitive doctrines are infallible thanks to the grace of God.
Sacred Scripture and Tradition as Teammates
It is important to know that the teaching authority (Magisterium) of the Church is not superior to the Word of God.”9 Sacred Scripture and Tradition work TOGETHER to reveal the same truth.10 The Magisterium SERVES the Word of God. The Church’s teaching authority is a gift from God which helps us to penetrate our faith “more deeply with right judgment, and apply it more fully in daily life.”11 In other words, we have serious problems understanding the Bible without someone to explaining it to us. Making mistakes in interpretation can be catastrophic for our faith and relationship with God. For example, an incorrect understanding of salvation has lead some baptized believers to think that good works are unnecessary for salvation and that we are saved by faith alone. This leads some baptized to believe that they can sin all they want and still enter heaven. Another great example is Jesus’ teaching about his body and blood in the Bible. As a service to the Word of God, the teaching authority of the church tells us that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. We Catholics know that center of our faith is the Eucharist because the Eucharist is Jesus. Where would we be without Jesus in the Eucharist? So church’s teaching authority is here because we are dummies and sinners and we need interpretation and protection from ourselves.
In the end, the way that God reveals his Word tells us about him. Namely, it tell us that he loves us and he keeps his promise that he is with us always until the end of the age.12
The Point
- All of the apostles including Peter, understood the Word of God because God has revealed it to them. They are the ONLY worthy teachers because they have received ability and authority directly from God.
- Because Jesus gave authority to them, whoever rejects the bishops and the Pope, rejects Jesus.
- After centuries of prophets, none was greater than John the Baptist, but even he did not know who Jesus was. Only Peter knew because the Father revealed Jesus’ identity to Peter. Thus Peter was the outstanding leader of the early Church and Pope Benedict is his chosen successor.
- We have received the Word of God through divine revelation to church leaders like Peter and Paul since the beginning of the Church. This continues today just the way Jesus wanted.
- Holy Tradition contains the entire Word of God
- God gave us authoritative teachers to protect us and to teach us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- We should read the Catechism and encyclicals by our Pope. http://www.papalencyclicals.net/all.htm
- The teaching authority of the Church is not superior to sacred scripture. It is there to serve sacred scripture.
Real Life
This past week, I went to Gethsemani Abbey in Trappist, KY 40 miles from Louisville to discern God’s will. As soon as I got there, the monks and priests were praying the psalms. As I sang along with the monks, God made it crystal clear to me what his will was for me through the power of his word which was written 2500 years ago (Psalms). I was well over a 1000 miles from El Paso hoping that God would speak to me, and he did through the same book I had with me in El Paso. God’s word is alive and powerful!
I made a video of my trip there. Click below to see it.
1- CCC 81
2- Luke 10:16
3- Matthew 11:11
4- Acts 10:9
5- Acts 15:6-12
6- CCC 78
7- CCC 81
8- CCC 77
9- CCC 86
10- CCC 80
11- CCC 93
12- Matthew 28:20
13- CCC 104
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