Proper10A, Sullivan Park Care
Center, July 13, 2014, by Sr Annette Fricke, OP
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Outright Refusal
There are certain scriptures that are not as
easily decipherable as others due to the separation of time and culture. The Parable of the Sower is one of them. There were many farmers in Jesus’ day. In our day, that occupation has changed dramatically,
even from when I was a child to this day.
There are people I converse with who have no idea what I mean when I
talk about bucking bales or planting potato cuttings from the back of a plow. Now, the bales are much larger and heavier so
that a machine is necessary to lift them from the fields and transport them to
where they need to go. Many people get
caught up in the method of the sower scattering seed all over the place as a
poor method of farming and forget that this is a parable and is not to be taken
literally. This parable is not about
farming or sowing seed to produce an edible crop. Jesus told this parable to communicate the
difference between those who actually hear and heed the gospel as opposed to
those who allow other people or things in their lives to draw them away from
the gospel and its influence. It has
everything to do with receptive hearts and God who is the giver of the gift of
receptive hearts. Hearing and acting on
the gospel calls on us to consider that what we have in mind may be entirely
different from what God has in mind. It
is as Frantz Fanon has written, “Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong.
When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the
new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely
uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important
to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny
anything that doesn't fit in with the core belief.”[1]
Another reason that I see expressed
in my day-to-day work setting is simply, “I do not want to change.” Nobody ever really says that, but that is the
honest truth. Time and again I see the dietary staff or physical therapy staff
comes up with a “solution” to perceived deficits only to be met with the
resident response of outright refusal. I
also see the aides I work with express the same idea from a seemingly sympathetic
understanding, “Why should the residents have to do anything? Why can’t they do what they want to do?” I see that sentiment in three different
ways. 1) It is their home and they are
paying to stay here. 2) That statement has nothing to do with the resident, but
is a reflection of the staff member’s values. 3) The refusal has nothing to do
with the treatment or lack of treatment, but is a reflection of lack of control
over their lives or simply unresolved grief over the loss of a loved one.
It is my contention that it doesn’t
matter about whether or not it goes against anyone’s core values. A person cannot be forced to change. God can love us with an enormous love that is
overwhelming and over-flowing, but we cannot be forced to love in return. A
person has to want to change before any change can occur. You cannot hit people
over the head with the gospel and expect to get positive results. Nobody wants to have anything beat into them.
Receptivity is the key to allowing the seed of God’s word to grow in us. And no
matter how we respond to God, God’s loving purpose in Jesus Christ is always
for good. Therefore, we should always
seek God’s love to work in us. For that
to happen, we must become the good soil of allowing that to take place in our
hearts and actions.
There is good soil and there is not
so good soil and those who are not so good soil have the potential to be good
soil. However, whether we are good or
bad soil is not so much the point as God is the sower. God sows anywhere and everywhere because God
knows that we all have the potential to become good soil. God sows everywhere because God’s love and
grace is for everyone, even those whose hearts currently reject that love.
What then, as God’s disciples are we to
do? Should we plant only in what we
might know or guess to be good soil? We
know that the answer to that question is a “No” because we have read
ahead. Matthew, in the last chapter
makes it very plain that we are to make disciples of all nations, not just
those we think might be receptive to the word of God. God will surprise us sometimes, because we
are not always able to tell who might be good soil. I am reminded of words
spoken by the Amish in the movie, “Witness” where the grandfather speaks to his
grandson, “Can you see into the heart of a man?” In other words do we know the
good people from the bad people? It isn’t
all that clear. We are not required to make that judgment. As Jesus’ disciples,
we are not called to pick and choose to whom we bring the gospel and we are to
teach all people to observe all that Jesus has commanded us. To those who are
good soil, Jesus says, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for
they hear. Truly I tell 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.”
Read and re-read. Listen and re-listen. Immerse yourself in the word of God and
believe with all your heart. Challenge
your core beliefs to find that which is essential. Be open to what God has to say to you in this
time and in this place because God is speaking to you even here, a place you
may never feel you are at home. But also
hold firm and do not allow others to lead you astray. Lead others also, to Jesus.
God sent Jesus out into the world to
spread the news of God’s love for all people, but people despised the word of
love and chose to take their own paths of lies and deceit. Some people developed hardened hearts that
God’s word was unable to penetrate. Not
only did the seed stay on top of the ground, all the rain that brought
nourishment ran off the smooth surface and into the ditch where some was
carried off to another location. Before
the rain, some of the seed was engulfed by the powerful words and actions of
bullies such as Napoleon or Hitler. Other
seed fell on rocky ground where it quickly sprouted, but without the proper
balance of sun and nutrients and a lack of soil, it became weak and died. Still
other seed began to grow in a place of many thorns. The thorns made it difficult for God to
nourish the plants. The thorns produced more
seeds than the plants so the thorns spread quickly and aggressively crowded out
the plants. Finally, the seed fell into good soil where it flourished. It was nourished by the word of God daily,
was tended and cared for by the disciples, producing more disciples. But
wait. What happened to the seed that was
carried off to another location? God was
there, too. The seed was once again in
search of a home in someone’s heart. God
is knocking at your heart’s door. Will
you let Jesus in or pretend you don’t hear him knocking? Listen! Let anyone with ears listen.
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