Gospel: July 24, 2025
July 24, 2025 (Thursday)
16th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 4 (Green/White)
St. Sharbel Makhluf, priest
Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
Glory and praise forever!
1st Reading: Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b
Gospel: Matthew 13:10-17
Then his disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to these people. For the one who has will be given more; and he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has. That is why I speak to them in parables; because they look and do not see; they hear; but they do not listen or understand. In them, the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled: However much you hear, you do not understand; however much you see, you do not perceive.
For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears hardly hear and their eyes dare not see. If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their heart, they would turn back, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For I tell you, many prophets and righteous people have longed to see the things you see, but they did not see them; and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them.
Reflection:
“Hear, but do not listen or understand.”
Why did Jesus teach in parables? Parables are teaching stories that are rich in imagery, and images communicate far more than direct statements. The parable is therefore deliberately enigmatic. It demands that we chew upon the details of the story to draw out the meaning, a meaning which is ever new. This is why the parables have nourished the life of the Church ever since they were first spoken by our Lord.
The ruminating upon the story gets us involved in a way that mere information can never do. But if a parable needs careful listening and time for reflection, it also needs a context to help the listener understand. The great context of Christ’s parables is the coming of God’s Kingdom and our readiness to be a part of that Kingdom as God’s faithful servants.
Without a fundamental openness to God and without a desire for his Kingdom, “however much you hear, you [will] not understand.” This is the difference between the disciples and the crowd, who “hear, but do not listen or understand.” Fruitful prayer with the parables needs the fundamental desire for God and his Kingdom. This opens our eyes and ears.
