Proper 10 (15) – Year A
July 12, 2026
Gospel Lectionary Text
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
13:2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
13:3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.
13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.
13:5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.
13:6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.
13:7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
13:8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
13:9 Let anyone with ears listen!"
13:18 "Hear then the parable of the sower.
13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path.
13:20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
13:21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.
13:22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.
13:23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
Context
Welcome to the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. In our Gospel, Jesus tells a story about a farmer who seems wildly irresponsible. The biblical word for this is “prodigal,” which means wasteful. He throws seed everywhere — on paths, rocks, thorns, good soil. No efficiency or strategy. Just reckless abundance.
We usually turn this into a morality play about being “better soil.” But that misses the point. In Jesus’ world, the seed is scattered before the ploughing. Which means the soil isn’t fixed. In fact, it’s about to be disrupted and reworked. The path gets broken open. The rocks get exposed. The thorns get dragged.
So maybe the question isn’t: What kind of soil are we? Maybe the question is: How much disruption can we tolerate? Because this seed, this Word, is not gentle advice. It comes to undo the systems we rely on: our need for control, our carefully managed identities, our ways of staying safe. It refuses to stay on the surface. It insists on getting underneath everything.
And here’s the catch: if we resist the ploughing, we’ll interpret the whole thing as a threat. We’ll double down on the path. Cling to the rocks. Defend the thorns. But if we let it happen — if we allow ourselves to be turned over from within — we may find ourselves caught up in something we didn’t choose but is now vital to our very existence.
Because the seed was never the problem. It was always enough. The question is whether we are willing to be undone so that something new can actually grow.
Question
If the seed is already abundant and being scattered freely, what might it mean for you to stop trying to fix the soil and instead become more available to the process?
Reflections
Good Soil
By Joel Aguilar |
The good news of the Kingdom is what God has done for all of us. The more we’re able to see God’s goodness, the more we can produce the life-giving fruit that feeds a hungry world. The fruit is our loving openness to others in community — a reflection of the radically inclusive God who...
The Bad Sower
By Lina Thompson |
I look for God's activity in my life through the very mundane things that occur each day. Today was one of those days. I looked down at my cell phone when it rang. It was a number that I was familiar with. Whenever this number pops up, I have to make a few quick decisions:...
Riddles of Grace
By Joel Van Dyke |
"The shortest distance between a human being and the truth is a story."
Dazzled
By Kris Rocke |
Imagine that it's 1633 and you are hearing for the first time that the sun does not revolve around the earth.
Praying Eucharistically - Weekly Homily by James Alison:
Understanding the Bible anew through the Mimetic Theory of René Girard.
Poetry
Tell all the truth but tell it slant
by Emily Dickinson
Tell all the truth but tell it slant —
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind —
Prayer
Coming soon.