“A teacher who cannot explain any abstract subject to a child does not
himself thoroughly understand his subject; if he does not attempt to break down
his knowledge to fit the child's mind, he does not understand teaching.” ― Archbishop
Fulton J. Sheen, Life Is Worth Living
Gospel
Text: (MT 13:10-17)
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the
Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not
been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he
will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will
be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables,
because
they look but do not see and hear but do not
listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which
says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be
converted
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous
people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
One of the most frustrating weaknesses of
humankind is our ability to be ignorant and spread ignorance like a plague. In
our media-driven world where the knowledge and facts are readily available, one
would think that ignorance would be hard to come by.
The onslaught of media in all aspects of life
actually makes it more difficult to seek out the truth because of the quantity
of opinions available. There are too many thoughts, too many sources, too many
opinions to find the truth.
They say ignorance is bliss. “If I do not know
what is happening to the Syrian refugees flooding into Europe, I cannot feel
bad for them, I cannot feel guilty for not helping in any small way, and I can
continue living within my world of stability and comfort.”
Ignorance is bliss. If we do not know about the
warfare, about the genocide, about the inhumane acts of terrorism, we cannot be
stressed about it. We have too many troubles of our own to worry about, why
should we care about someone else’s war?
“I’m tired because my daughter is teething and
requiring a great deal of care and attention.”
“I’m stressed at work because we are taking on
too many projects.” That also means “I’m stressed at work because we’re making
too much money.”
“I’m worried about my kid going into public
school next year, what if s/he starts hearing more about sex, drugs, and
alcohol?”
“I’m anxious because…”
“I’m uncomfortable with…”
“I’m frazzled about…”
The list can go on and on. We all have
“problems” like our kids are growing up too fast, our business is too
profitable, or our friends are too caring about my life and are too nosy.
We are so bogged down with our own lives to
acknowledge the pain of others. Not just the injustice of the Middle East but
even the social problems of our own communities. When was the last time that we
read about bad news and actually thought of the victims, their families, and
what their life might be like now? When was the last time we read bad news and
thought of ways that we could help?
“Well, it’s just too difficult to do those
things, I’m too busy with my own life.”
Lets read a passage from the Gospel noted above
one more time:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be
converted
and I heal them.
There is great turmoil in every society across
the globe. With this great turmoil, Christ is asking us to step up, open our
eyes, open our ears, and love as we are loved.
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