The Four Types of People in the Church

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN 

July 12, 2020

In today’s Gospel (Matthew 13:1-23), Jesus uses the image of a sower to describe different responses to the word of God whenever it is preached; that is, how people receive the word of God, how they react to it, and what they do with it. A sower went to his farm to sow seeds. As he spread the seeds, some fell on the path and were quickly eaten up by birds. Some fell on rocky ground, and due to lack of sufficient soil, they sprang up immediately. But when the sun arose, they were scorched and killed for lack of support and foundation. Some seeds fell among thorns, and as the thorns grew up, they choked them to death. But the sower’s effort and industry was not entirely a fruitless one. Some of his seeds did fall on rich soil and thereafter produced bountiful fruits. Now, the sower is the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and his Bride, the Church; the seed is the Word of God, and the soil is each of us, our hearts. It’s about the kind of soil we provide for the seed, God’s word, to either thrive or die. From the parable of the sower, we can identify four types of people that can be found in the Church.

The seed that fell on the path are people who go to church but the church never goes into them or through them. They go to church with their minds and hearts shut against the life-changing word of God. They allow prejudice (i.e. preconception), fear and pride prevent them from hearing the truth. Prejudice makes them to reject anything they don’t want to hear; pride convinces them that they know everything and do not need any further instruction; and fear shuts their ears from hearing anything that condemns the things they love and do. Because the Gospel of Jesus calls for a change of life and lifestyle, these churchgoers are fearful of losing their old lives, which obviously they enjoy. As such, they remain on the pathway and hardly get to the destination of complete union with God. Eventually, they are eaten up by spiritual hawks and are denied the opportunity to bear fruit.

The seed that fell on rocky ground are people who hear the word of God, receive it with great joy, but when tempted, tested or persecuted, they fall away easily. After hearing the gospel of prosperity, breakthrough, and material abundance, they become so excited at what they stand to receive from the Lord, even when they don’t plan to give anything, not even their lives to him. But once it appears that God is delaying to answer, they give up. They want the crown but not the cross. They are addicted to good feeling, and their addiction has convinced them that every form of suffering, even redemptive suffering is unacceptable. To such Christians, every inconvenience, no matter how small, is a reason drop out of church. Their faith in God is so shallow that any itchy feeling is a reason to walk away and go in search of a sharp-sharp miracle working God. When they pray at all, they do so telling God what they want, what he has not done and never thank him for what he has done for them. These Christians pick and choose the passage of the Bible to accept and believe.

The seed that fell among thorns are Christians who are anxious and troubled by many things that they forget the most important of all— knowing, loving and serving the Lord.  They are too busy to go to church, too busy to pray, too busy to read the Bible, too busy to volunteer for anything in the church, too busy to join any ministry and sometimes, too busy for their families. They are so engrossed in the things of this world, so absorbed with their busyness that they have no time for God, the church or anyone else, including themselves. The fleeting things of this world crowd their hearts and finally crowd Jesus out.

But glory be to God! There are some seed that fell on rich soil and produced bountiful harvest. These are Christians who accept the word of God with an open mind. They are not proud to listen and to obey. They don’t assume to know it all. They are attentive to the word of God and accept it even when it condemns what they love to do. They understand that it is not enough to show up in church, that the church must show up in them. In the house of God and in the community, they use their talents, time and treasure in the building up of God’s house and God’s people. They continuously give and never get tired of giving. Like Jesus, the Holy Redeemer, they give without counting the cost, they make sacrifices for others, and lay down their lives for others. Like St. Paul appealed, they are not tired of doing what is good because they believe that at the proper time, they will reap a harvest (Galatians 6:9). Because of their unyielding attachment to Jesus, they constantly bear the fruits of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

Friends, which of these Christian are you?