The Sower & the Generosity of God July 10, 2011

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary TimeHomilyWe often hear about

how there is not enough to go around. Some people are stingy with their resources because they are sure that if they give what they can, they will run out. Every few weeks we read in the newspaper of some person who has been hoarding some treasure: old newspapers or tin cans. There are many who hoard money or power. When we work out of fear and a sense of scarcity this is what we get. Today's Gospel is about abundance. God doesn't measure how many places in heaven He can afford to fill. He is generous. We see this in the parable of the sower. The Sower (God), whom Jesus describes, doesn't calculate where each seed goes. He throws the seed everywhere: on the road, in the bushes, in the rocks, on barren soil, as well as on good soil. He spreads his saving message to all of us. It seems as if he has an unlimited number of seeds and doesn't count the cost. We see the same generosity as the vineyard owner gives all a full days wage, whether they earned it or not. He works from a generous sense of abundance rather than from a guarded sense of scarcity. God is equally generous in his forgiveness. We see this in the parable of the prodigal son. In this parable the Father invites his son home after his son has squandered half of his estate. We see the same generosity in Jesus, Himself, as the asks the Father for forgiveness for his executioner, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." This is our invitation: to model God's sense of abundance with a heart so large that we overcome our instinctual fear that has us believe that because things seem scarce, we need to hold back in

our generosity. Jesus assures us that the measure we measure out is the measure that we ourselves will receive in return: time, kindness, ourselves. When we breath out air, with help from the plant kingdom, we reinhale our own breath. This is a broad truth for life in general. If we breath out miserliness, we will re-inhale miserliness; if we breathe out pettiness, we breath in pettiness. If we breath out bitterness, that bitterness will be in the air that we breathe in. If we follow God's lead and breathe out generosity and forgiveness, we will breathe in the air of generosity and forgiveness. We reinhale what we exhale. There is a saying that we reap what we sow. I've never heard of a generous person who doesn't say that they have received more than they have given. However, to be generous we must first trust in God's abundance and generosity. We are all in the process of growth. As a Catholic, we know that we never reach that plateau of being the great Catholic. We are all works in progress. In the last few weeks I've talked about growing in our spiritual life, by daily prayer. It's important to grow in generosity as well. No matter where we are there is someone who needs our help. It might be just a smile or a friendly word. As we are generous, we see opportunities for more generosity and our hearts grow. The life of our community, whether it is here or the parish you return to depends on our generosity. Today, we remind ourselves that Jesus gives of Himself to us in a real way through the Eucharist. Christ is the example of generosity. We need to follow.