15th Sunday Ordinary Time 2020 Reflection
Matthew 13
Our heart is created in the image of the Lord as our whole being is created in His image. It loves good things such as unity and peace. Who wishes for himself division, loneliness, chaos or annihilation? However, we often do what is contrary to our genuine heart. And we fall in the agony of unhappiness. This is what happened to Adam. He was created for happiness. But by his sin, his heart became hardened, and he hid from the Lord – from the source of happiness.
This is why the Lord sent out his angels, prophets, and eventually his only Begotten Son to give us a new heart, so that we may recover the happiness the Lord wanted to share. Throughout the centuries, the Lord spoke his words through them, and finally the Word Himself came to us.
Nevertheless, the word of the Lord cannot enter and change our hearts when they are hardened. Thus, when we know what makes our heart hardened, we can also remove them so that we may recover our genuine heart our Lord gave us. Only then, the word of the Lord can germinate, grow, flower, and bear the fruit of happiness.
First, excessive desires and interests of the created things turn us away from God. This becomes practical idolatry. You just don’t have time to listen to Jesus.
Second, pride and confidence in human power trap us in the human world. Secular humanism refuses divine assistance – rejecting the Holy Spirit. The idea, ‘I can make myself happy’, already failed miserably our first parents Adam and Eve.
Third, resentment, hatred, and mercilessness shut off the message of Christ, which is hope. Everyone has a wounded heart. But if we pour mercilessness and vengefulness over the wounded heart, it becomes even worse and only wants the worst – destruction and annihilation.
Fourth, sins and sinful habits debilitate our hearts. Sins make us fearful of the Lord as Adam hid from the Lord. Vices make our heart crippled to desire and do good things. And when sins are piled up and hardened, people give up on themselves. This is the worst – giving up hope for oneself. These people hate themselves and their life, not to mention hate the world and the Lord – and on the way to self-destruction.
These four things make our heart a wasteland. Nothing can grow there. No genuine happiness there. If someone truly cares about his soul and its destiny, he should daily examine his heart and remove any of these. The word of the Lord is given us without charge, and the Lord grows it with his grace without charge. Then, at least, we would guard his vineyard with watchful eyes.
Tips