Readings 071926.cfm
Blessed be God.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit—
fill us with joy,
set our hearts ablaze
with Your presence.
Last week, my daughter picked up two of her children from day camp.
She brought them a homemade snack—
nothing extravagant,
just a simple act of love.
8 year old Lillie took a bite and said,
“This is so good— you’re a great momma.”
And Liam added,
“Yes, Momma, you’re the best.”
He paused…
thought about it…
and then said:
“Well… there is God,
and Jesus,
and Mary…
but Momma,
you’re right behind them.”
In their innocence,
Children reveal what Jesus teaches:
good seed produces good fruit.
My friends—
children do not analyze fruit.
They taste it.
They experience it.
They name it.
Everyday, ordinary ove becomes a catechism.
Patience becomes a parable.
Generosity becomes a Gospel.
This—
this right here—
is the heart of today’s message.
Wisdom scripture tells us:
Those who are just and kind;
have given Your children good ground for hope.
In the Gospel,
Jesus shares the parable a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
But while everyone slept,
an enemy came
and scattered weeds—
false wheat,
poison that looks almost identical
to the real thing.
You cannot tell the difference
until the fruit appears.
Wheat turns golden.
The weed turns black.
So the master says:
“Wait until the harvest.
Let’s see the fruit.”
That is the wisdom of God.
He sees the field of our lives.
He knows the seeds planted in us—
some good,
some harmful,
some planted by His hand,
some planted by the enemy.
And God, in His patience, says:
“Let it grow.
Let the fruit reveal the truth.”
Looking back across my forty-five of work
The fields of my different jobs
The way I tend the fields was simple
Communicate—communicate—communicate.
Grow your skills.
Learn something new every day.
Apply what you have learned
and share it
so that others can flourish.
Then when, as my wife like to say “I saw Jesus”
I realized—this is also the way of faith.
Faith grows when we pray—pray—pray.
Faith grows by intentionality.
Faith grows by a lived life.
Faith grows when we bring God
into the ordinary moments of our day.
Faith grows when we let the Spirit speak
in our strength
and even in our weakness—
when all we can offer
is a groan.
Even when our prayer feels small,
the Spirit intercedes.
Even when our strength feels thin,
the Spirit carries us.
When our field is mixed
with wheat and weeds,
the Spirit is with us.
God is the One who tends the fields.
Throughout my life,
the Lord has been shepherding me—
not toward what I thought I should be,
but toward being good wheat
in His kingdom.
For me,
that is the life of a Deacon,
a husband,
a father,
a grandfather,
a brother
Friends, faith leads each of us
to a life that communicates God through:
• Prayer — the seed of intimacy with Him.
• Generosity — the seed of His love, His mercy, His understanding.
• Example — the seed of witness.
All these good seeds
grow from the same place:
a heart willing to live faith on purpose.
Imagine a world
where every person lived this way—
a world where kindness was natural,
where faith was visible,
a world abundant
in love for God
and neighbor.
The world will always have weeds.
The enemy will always scatter poison.
But God sees the fruit.
God knows the heart.
And God calls each one of us
to be wheat
that bears good fruit.
This is why the words
of two children matter.
Their praise was not about perfection.
It was about goodness recognized.
Holiness revealed in the ordinary.
Fruit—good fruit—
growing quietly
in a mother’s daily love.
And that—
that is the invitation for all of us:
to live so that others—
can taste the goodness of God
through our lives.
We bear fruit
by our life
and by our example.
Pray for the grace
to live faith intentionally—
to sow good seed,
to pull weeds gently.
Be good.
Be holy.
Sow the Gospel—
by the way we live our lives,
by the way we love one another,
and by the way we forgive.
Praise be to Jesus Christ,
now and forever.
Amen.
