Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A (2026) - Fr Matthew Boland, OP

In today’s Gospel, we hear the beginning of chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel, which scholars call the “parabolic” discourse of Jesus (don’t worry, it has nothing to do with mathematics!). It’s the third of five discourses in the Gospel of Matthew, so we are right in the heart of his Gospel. There are seven parables in this chapter. We hear the first, and the longest, today, and we will hear the rest of them over the next two Sundays.

Given that we are entering into Matthew’s parables today and over the next two weeks, it’s worth reflecting briefly on what a parable is. Perhaps we find parables a bit frustrating. What is the point of a parable? Why doesn’t Jesus just tell us what he wants to say?

One way of thinking about this is that a parable communicates a truth that cannot be directly and simply described. In other words, it requires a story. An excellent example is the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke’s Gospel. As we know, there is a law in Scripture, “Love your neighbour.” It is stated clearly enough. But what does it mean? Who is my neighbour? Well, the essence of it can’t be put into a definition or a simple commandment. And so, when someone asks Jesus what it means, what is his response? He tells a story, the story of the Good Samaritan.

Now, in Matthew’s Gospel, one of the great themes is the Kingdom of Heaven. But what is the Kingdom of Heaven? How can we describe it? This is even more difficult, because, as Jesus himself tells us, his Kingdom is not of this world. And so, to teach us about it, what does he do? He tells a story. Or, in this case, he tells seven stories.

We are very fortunate today because Jesus interprets the parable for us. By doing this, he teaches us that this is the correct way to read a parable, that is, we’re meant to read parables in a symbolic fashion. Building upon what he has said, can we fill out the parable a bit more?

The first thing we can say is that the sower represents God. What is he like? He is generous. He is liberal. He is not mean or stingy. If the seed does not grow, it’s not because he is not generous. What is the seed? As Jesus says, it is the Word of the Kingdom. But what is the Word? It is Jesus himself. Remember the beginning of John’s Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And the Word became flesh.”

What is the soil where this seed is planted? It is the human heart. By this we can understand our mind and our most innermost life and being. So, Jesus is the seed planted in the soil of our hearts, so that we might bear fruit in good works leading to eternal life.

Now, this is a beautiful image. But, then, in the parable, the rubber hits the road, so to speak (a feature of many parables). Not all those who receive the seed, the Word, bear fruit. The key to the parable is that the growth of the seed depends on the soil in which it is received. That is, it depends on the condition of our heart.

In his interpretation, Jesus lists a number of things which can impede, or even prevent the growth of the seed. He mentions lack of understanding, that is, lack of knowledge of our faith. He mentions persecutions, which can impede our faith through fear. And he mentions the lure of riches. These are all dangers to our faith we should be aware of.

But there is one impediment he mentions which we do not often speak of: anxiety and worry. These can be thorns which choke the Word in our heart. Now, of course we all have worries, and we need to be solicitous about our life in some sense. But worrying can become a vice, and even choke the growth of this Word.

Jesus warns about this in other parts of the Gospel. Using terminology similar to today’s parable, he says, in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”; and, “Who, by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?” In John’s Gospel, he says to Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.” That is, to sit at the Lord’s feet, like her sister Mary.

We know, furthermore, from experience that a lot of worrying can be a waste of time—many things we worry about never happen. Winston Churchill is said to have once recounted a story about a man who, on his deathbed, said that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened.

So, brothers and sisters, let us sit at the feet of the Lord, and not let the thorns of anxiety and worry choke the Word in our heart. If we do struggle with worrying, let us allow this to push us towards the Lord, and to cast all our worries on him. St Paul tells the Philippians, “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phil 4:6) Even more explicitly, St Peter tells us, in his first letter, “Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.” (1 Pet 5:7) If we follow St Peter and St Paul in this, the Word will flourish in our hearts and we will yield a rich harvest of good works, leading to eternal life.

Fr Matthew Boland, OP is the Master of Students, assigned to St Dominic's Priory, Melbourne.