We bear much fruit when we put God’s words into action

Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor.

A reflection on the daily readings, for Wednesday of the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Perry.

By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor

+ Today’s word is all about speaking and hearing. Or in the first reading about Jeremiah, it is more correct to say it is about speaking and not wanting to hear.

The story of Jeremiah begins!

God speaks to Jeremiah, and is giving to him the call to be a prophet. Clearly, this was a bit of bad news for Jeremiah. Prophets were often scorned and rejected; and in some cases, taken outside the walls of the town and stoned to death. And why wouldn’t they suffer so when they preached doom and gloom to those to whom they have been sent?

But a beautiful part of this story right within the first chapter is the conversation between God and Jeremiah.

God calls Jeremiah into his service as prophet and tells Jeremiah that his destiny was fashioned for him from all eternity, as he stated it —

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”

Jeremiah resisted. Then God insisted. Finally, Jeremiah accepted. The rest is history. But a very important part of that history is how God equipped Jeremiah. This was better than an ordination. He consecrated Jeremiah by “touching” his mouth and literally, therefore, putting his words into Jeremiah’s mouth. And he told Jeremiah the plan or work he was to do would include destroying and rebuilding, or rooting up and replanting.

+ Jesus in today’s Gospel begins his third discourse. He dives into the longest of his parables which we will sit with for three days: the parable of “the sower and the seed.”

This, too, is about speaking or preaching, and listening to or hearing. And just as God spoke to Jeremiah and gave him a calling, Jesus was calling the crowd to hear and deeply listen to his preaching about the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. And Jesus was telling them, and would repeat it often, that the kingdom was now. It was being offered to them to take root and bear fruit in their lives, just as surely as the ground gets invited to receive seeds that can grow and bear fruit.

We will be offered a deeper understanding of this story or parable in the following days; Jesus is almost imploring all to not just hear some sounds of words, but to listen with all their heart. To open to and receive true teaching, then put into action into our lives, is how we can bear much fruit!