CT - Catholic Telegraph

God’s word and human collaboration

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Isaiah 55:10-11. [Lectionary 103, July 10, 2005]

This Sunday’s short Old Testament reading is from the last chapter of the second main part of Isaiah, the part called the Book of Consolation. These chapters of Isaiah (chapters 40 to 55) were proclaimed by a member of the "school" of Isaiah to the exiles in Babylon to offer them hope and encouragement in their time of trial.

This particular chapter is highly lyrical and seems to be a favorite for the church’s liturgy. Portions of its first eleven verses are used no fewer than nine times in the Mass readings for the liturgical year.

The two verses that constitute this Sunday’s overture reading are about the word of God. Just as the rain and snow always and unerringly do their task of making the earth productive, so also God’s word always achieves the purpose for which it was sent.

There are several important lessons about God’s word in these short verses.

The first is that God’s word it not merely content. It doesn’t just say something. God’s word is also event. It does something. God’s word is always effective, bringing about a result. Those who heard these words proclaimed by their author would no doubt recall that all of creation is the result of God’s word: "In the beginning ... God said ..."

Secondly, just as human beings do not cause rain and snow and their outcomes to happen, so also human beings are not the cause either of God’s word or of the effect that God’s word produces. God is the primary agent of the productivity and fertility of the earth. God is also the primary agent of all the blessings that result from His word. It all happens — the rains that produce food and the blessings that produce human well-being — through God’s will, not through human effort.

Thirdly, although God’s word is effective and comes through God’s initiative, it nonetheless involves some degree of human effort to produce the fullness of its results. The rain waters the earth and makes it fruitful and helps it to produce seed, but the farmer still needs to plant the seed in order to have the grain to make his bread. Similarly, God’s word requires some degree of human collaborative effort if it is to bring the fullness of what God intends.

Finally, these words from Isaiah suggest that there is a cycle of generosity in the operation of God’s word. It comes forth from the mouth of God. It reaches its goal. Then, having achieved its purpose, it somehow returns to God, presumably to return again to carry forward the next stages of God’s providence for us. God’s word is not a once in a lifetime contact, but an ongoing process.

This reading was chosen to serve as an introduction to the Gospel reading. The Gospel reading is the parable of the sower and the seed. This parable seems to have been important in the early church because it (and its explanation by Jesus) is preserved in each of the first three Gospels. It spoke to a question that must have been in the heart of many members of the early church: if what we believe is God’s word, how is it that the results seem so sparse?

The parable indicates that there is nothing wrong with the seed, that God’s word is not without power. If the results are not what we might expect, the fault is not the lifelessness of the seed, but the inhospitable earth into which it falls. When the seed, God’s word, does fall on receptive ground, the results are nothing less than miraculous.

The Gospel parable offers us the same teaching as the reading from Isaiah. God’s word is powerful. It is offered through God’s initiative. It requires appropriate response from us. It involves an ongoing cycle of growth and fruitfulness.

Like the Book of Isaiah and the teaching of Jesus, the church also offers us God’s word. It has preserved for us the Sacred Scriptures. It expresses the work and will of God in the sacraments. It continues the teaching mission that Jesus fulfilled in His preaching and His parables. The church’s action and teaching comes with the power of God. What the church offers is true and wholesome and holy. But it can be resisted. People cannot be forced against their will to pay any attention to what the church says. They cannot be compelled to accept what the church offers. But that doesn’t make the church’s proclamation any less true or any less the word of God.

For reflection and discussion

How have I experienced the power of God’s word?

Where do I perceive resistance to God’s word?



			Welcome to the online edition of The Catholic Telegraph, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Serving 500,000 Catholics in the southwest Ohio counties of: Adams, Auglaize, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby and Warren.

	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk God’s word and human collaboration Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Isaiah 55:10-11. [Lectionary 103, July 10, 2005] This Sunday’s short Old Testament reading is from the last chapter of the second main part of Isaiah, the part called the Book of Consolation. These chapters of Isaiah (chapters 40 to 55) were proclaimed by a member of the "school" of Isaiah to the exiles in Babylon to offer them hope and encouragement in their time of trial. This particular chapter is highly lyrical and seems to be a favorite for the church’s liturgy. Portions of its first eleven verses are used no fewer than nine times in the Mass readings for the liturgical year. The two verses that constitute this Sunday’s overture reading are about the word of God. Just as the rain and snow always and unerringly do their task of making the earth productive, so also God’s word always achieves the purpose for which it was sent. There are several important lessons about God’s word in these short verses. The first is that God’s word it not merely content. It doesn’t just say something. God’s word is also event. It does something. God’s word is always effective, bringing about a result. Those who heard these words proclaimed by their author would no doubt recall that all of creation is the result of God’s word: "In the beginning ... God said ..." Secondly, just as human beings do not cause rain and snow and their outcomes to happen, so also human beings are not the cause either of God’s word or of the effect that God’s word produces. God is the primary agent of the productivity and fertility of the earth. God is also the primary agent of all the blessings that result from His word. It all happens — the rains that produce food and the blessings that produce human well-being — through God’s will, not through human effort. Thirdly, although God’s word is effective and comes through God’s initiative, it nonetheless involves some degree of human effort to produce the fullness of its results. The rain waters the earth and makes it fruitful and helps it to produce seed, but the farmer still needs to plant the seed in order to have the grain to make his bread. Similarly, God’s word requires some degree of human collaborative effort if it is to bring the fullness of what God intends. Finally, these words from Isaiah suggest that there is a cycle of generosity in the operation of God’s word. It comes forth from the mouth of God. It reaches its goal. Then, having achieved its purpose, it somehow returns to God, presumably to return again to carry forward the next stages of God’s providence for us. God’s word is not a once in a lifetime contact, but an ongoing process. This reading was chosen to serve as an introduction to the Gospel reading. The Gospel reading is the parable of the sower and the seed. This parable seems to have been important in the early church because it (and its explanation by Jesus) is preserved in each of the first three Gospels. It spoke to a question that must have been in the heart of many members of the early church: if what we believe is God’s word, how is it that the results seem so sparse? The parable indicates that there is nothing wrong with the seed, that God’s word is not without power. If the results are not what we might expect, the fault is not the lifelessness of the seed, but the inhospitable earth into which it falls. When the seed, God’s word, does fall on receptive ground, the results are nothing less than miraculous. The Gospel parable offers us the same teaching as the reading from Isaiah. God’s word is powerful. It is offered through God’s initiative. It requires appropriate response from us. It involves an ongoing cycle of growth and fruitfulness. Like the Book of Isaiah and the teaching of Jesus, the church also offers us God’s word. It has preserved for us the Sacred Scriptures. It expresses the work and will of God in the sacraments. It continues the teaching mission that Jesus fulfilled in His preaching and His parables. The church’s action and teaching comes with the power of God. What the church offers is true and wholesome and holy. But it can be resisted. People cannot be forced against their will to pay any attention to what the church says. They cannot be compelled to accept what the church offers. But that doesn’t make the church’s proclamation any less true or any less the word of God. For reflection and discussion** How have I experienced the power of God’s word? Where do I perceive resistance to God’s word?

	[Return to top of page ] Copyright (c) 2004 The Catholic Telegraph