FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Oranges Become Bitter North of River Huai

First Reading (Is 55:10-11): God' s Word is always fulfilled
Second Reading (Rom 8:18-23): Creation is longing for redemption
Gospel (Mt 13:1-23): The parable of the sowing of seeds.
Chinese Classics
-“An orange growing in the south of Huai River is an sweet orange, growing in the north of Huai River is a bitter orange.” (1)

‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.’ (Ref Mt13: 1-23)

Then the disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. The reason I speak to them in parables is that “seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.”

Some biblical scholars say that Jesus' original idea was not to be misunderstood. After all he used parables in his teaching in order to be easily comprehended by people. However there are some truths of life that become harder to understand when we have more knowledge about them. This is because we refuse to understand them.

For instance, there are two persons arguing. Eventually one of them realizes that he actually made some mistakes in the first place and he will lose the argument. Will he admit his fault anyway? Not necessarily! This is because we sometimes deny our faults.

When two mothers are arguing about their sons and one of them discovers that her own son in fact did something wrong, will she apologize to the other woman? Sometimes, she might continue her argument in front of her opponent. But when she goes home she will blame her son for almost being a shame to his parents.

When our parents refuse to buy us some name-brand clothes, we become angry. Even when people to us how hard our parents work to earn a living, we still do not understand. It is because we refuse to see the point.

The Jews, Pharisees and Scribes did not like Jesus and thought it was contradictory to their traditions. So even though they realized his teaching was correct they did not accept it. It was because they refused to accept it.

When we reject and dislike someone, we will not understand what he says even though his words are reasonable. Sometimes, the saying “Truth will be truer when debated” is not correct.

Now Jesus, “parable of the sower” includes different kinds of people. The “Word” is like seeds that fall onto different kinds of soil and so have different outcomes. Jesus thought that there were four types of people represented by four kinds of soil.

Some people hear but do not listen attentively. They heed it out of curiosity and listen to it absent-mindedly. The seeds have no chance to grow in these people's lives. They are like seeds that fall on the path and birds easily eat them up.

Other people enthusiastically search for knowledge and like to hear extraordinary things. They are like some teenagers nowadays who follow priests who preach well. They look for attractive catechumenates and a center with well-organized activities for teenagers, etc. They participate with enthusiasm and enjoy the events for the first few times. But their enthusiasm quickly fades away.

When there is no soil or the soil is not deep enough, the seeds fall on rocks. Even if the seeds sprout, the sprouts will dry up quickly under the sun. People who have no persistence to sustain their enthusiasm are like that.

A third kind of person is willing to listen to the Word. and are willing to think about it and believe it. They want to search for life and make the seeds grow. Unfortunately, there are too many thorn bushes that choke the growing plants.

There was a woman who was very zealous faith and went to Mass everyday. She married later and at first her husband shared her faith. Later her husband left the Church and would not allow his wife to carry on with her faith. He did not allow her to place a Bible or crucifix in their home. When she prayed or went to church, he became very angry. She had to fulfill her religious duties in secret.

Fortunately she had profound faith. After five or six years of difficult times her husband changed his mind somewhat and she was able to live her religious life in a more normal way.

The thorn bushes cause many people to fall. The pressure of living and the stress of the environment can sometimes choke our faith.

Of course there are some seeds that fall on good soil. The plants then bear grain. Some bear grain, a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

There is a parable in The Annals of Ngan Tze: “An orange growing in the south of Huai River is an sweet orange, growing in the north of Huai River it is a bitter orange.”(1) The parable compares an orange tree and a bitter orange tree. When the tree is grown at the south of Huai River, the tree is a true orange tree with sweet fruit. But when it is grown north of Huai River, the tree becomes a bitter orange tree. The fruit looks like oranges but they are sour and bitter.

The Word of God is like that. It results in different ways when it is planted in different places.

Our hearts must become good soil and we should allow God's Word to grow there. We must persistent in listening, continue to learn, meditate, and implement Jesus' Word. Then that Word will flourish and bear fruit in our lives.

(1)橘生淮南則為橘，生於淮北則為枳。