HOMILY OF FRIDAY IN THE 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
Exodus 20:1-17, Matthew 13:18-23
THEME: HEART FERTILE FOR GOD’S WORD
We live in a world where varying ideas or information fly in the air. Our media space is replete with information capable of making or unmaking us. The political space is crowded with policies capable of crimpling our spiritual sensitivity. Borrowing the words of Helen Baylor, “Living in a modern world is not an easy thing to do. Imagination rules the heart.”
In today’s gospel, Jesus describes the way the devil can pilfer or suppress the word of God, as well as how the anxieties and concerns of life can stifle its impact within our hearts. We must take care of what we watch and censure what we listen to, lest our life is turned to a parched land.
We need a clear mind and pure heart to process God’s words in a manner useful for our salvation. We need perfect trust and reliance on him in our difficult moments. Unless his word has deep root in us, we would always follow whatever fags that come our ways.
May the word of God dwell in us in all its riches. Amen.
