Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
July 16, 2017
Gospel: Mt 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."
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The difficult words
(*)A hundred or sixty or thirtyfold refers to the way that one seed can produce as many as
thirty, or sixty, or even a hundred pieces of fruit or grain or vegetables.
This week’s spotlight
A parable
The word "parable" comes from a Greek word
that means comparison. A parable is a simple story that a person can easily
remember. It tells about everyday life and, at the same time, explains things
that are otherwise a bit complicated, Jesus often tells parables. It is
interesting to look for the important messages within each one about God's love
and about the Kingdom of God.
Sowers, harvesting, seeds,..
In the New Testament, we often hear about sowers,
harvesting, and seeds. The sower knows that it takes time for the sown seeds to
grow and become mature ears of wheat. In his parables, Jesus uses these images
to speak of the word of God and of the Kingdom of God. The word of God is sown
into the hearts of men, women, and children. It begins to grow in secret so
that it may produce much fruit. This is how we are to help Christ build the
Kingdom of God.
Reflection
A parable about the word of God
Do you know what a parable is in the
Gospel? It’s a little story that uses simple ideas from everyday life to
explain things that are hard to understand. Jesus loved to use parables to
teach people about God and how to live the way God wants us to live. In this
Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus compares the word of God to seeds.The seeds, he says,
need to fall on good soil in order to grow and bear fruit. In the same way, the
word of God needs to be heard by people who take the time to receive it and let
it grow inside of them. Jesus is telling us that the word of God is eager to
become alive inside of us. All we have to do is listen! It’s OK if we don’t
always understand everything we hear, as long as we take the time to really
listen with an open heart. We need to make time for this! Just as your family
needs to take time for meals together, every Christian needs to feed daily on
the word of God!
Discussion questions
1.What happens to the seeds that fall on the path?
2.What happens to the seeds that fall on rocky ground?
3.What happens to the seeds that fall on good soil?
4.What does Jesus teach about good soil?
5.How does the parable teach about listening to God's Word?
After
receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. May the Body and Blood of your Son make my
heart into good soil to receive the word of God. Let your word grow within me,
and make me bear good fruit through loving words and deeds.
This week…
Draw pictures of the
parable
Each day this week, starting with Sunday, take time to
draw a scene from the parable in this week's Gospel.
Matching Quiz
Source: usccb.org -
Magnifikid - sermons4kids.com – rclblectionary.com –usccb.org/bible/readings-audio.cfm