15th Sunday, Year A - Trust in God's Providence

  

During the drought at the beginning of the year, did you pray for rain? Today’s readings reveal how God is in control of not only providing for our food and water, but especially how He causes the Kingdom of Heaven to grow through His eternal Word.

In the first reading Isaiah compares, the rain and snow watering the seeds to make them grow, to the word of God, that grows and spreads, it is by God’s power that His word will spread and nothing prevents it.

The psalm for today, talks about seed falling on good ground and yielding a fruitful harvest and God is the one who makes it happen, causing the meadows and hills, and fields to be filled with flocks and grain.

The second reading speaks about creation and how it was set free by the redemption of Jesus. God is the creator, but especially He is also the redeemer. By His death and resurrection, He makes all creation new.

In the Gospel Our Lord spoke about the sower sowing seeds and the obstacles for the newly sprouted seeds to grow, which represents the spreading of the Kingdom of God.

Many people today take for granted and don’t even think that God is in control of everything including weather and crops. Some act as though they are solely responsible for his farming success. So many today think man is the center of the universe and can do everything himself. But this is not so. God wants us to depend upon Him and His divine providence. Just as the Lord provided manna and quail in the desert for the Hebrews, so He can and does provide for our food and water. If our words and actions give witness to others, that we depend upon God for everything, we will help Him to spread the Kingdom of Heaven.

Here are some scriptures and an example in the lives of saints, how we should depend upon God and by doing so, we also learn how the kingdom of God grows when the eternal Word is planted in the hearts of people and begins to spread silently through the world by our words and actions, especially by trusting in God’s providence.

Here is just a few of the many scripture verses that refer to the weather:

In the Gospel of Matthew it states, “Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:24-27)

“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45).

In the book of Daniel, the word of God states, “All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever. Every shower and dew, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever. All you winds, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever. Cold and chill, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever. Dew and rain, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever. Frost and chill, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever. Hoarfrost and snow, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever. Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever.” (cf Daniel 3:60-73).

In St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, God said, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people..” (2 Corinthians 7:13)

The Act of Apostles says, “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” (Acts 14:17)

The book of Exodus: “Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.” (Exodus 9:33)

In the Book of Genesis, it states, “Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” (Genesis 7:4)

Isaiah, the prophet, states, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isiah 55:10-11)

The book of Job: “He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside.” (Job 5:10) “God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work… He brings the clouds … to water his earth and show his love.” (Job 37:5-7, 13)

In the letter of St. James it says, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” (James 5:17-18).”

My friends it’s very obvious, that God is the one who makes the sun shine and the clouds roll and the lightning flash and rains and snow fall upon the earth to provide for our needs. In fact, through animals and through people, God helps us to know when the weather will change. Cattle gather in the corner of a pasture. Flies begin to bite. Horses act finicky. Some of us older folks feel it in our bones, because the day before the weather changes, our arthritis flares us. God gives man the wisdom and technology to forecast the weather through instruments and gauges.

Here is true story about how a saint’s prayer can affect the weather. One day, Saint Benedict, the founder of the Benedict order, went to visit his blood sister, Saint Scholastica, a Benedictine nun, in her cloistered monastery. They talked till evening about Jesus and spiritual things. When it was getting dark, as he was about to return to his monastery of monks, she asked him to stay and talk. But, he insisted on leaving. So, she joined her hands together on the table in prayer, and laid her head upon her hands, and began to pray. Suddenly there were brilliant flashes of lightening and thunder, and it began to rain very hard. It rained so hard, her brother was unable to leave. He said, “May God forgive you sister. What have you done?” She answered, “Well, I asked you, and you would not listen; so I asked my God, and He did listen.” “So now go off, if you can, leave me and return to the place where you stay.” When the storm passed in the early morning, he went home. Later that same day, he came to know his sister had died. God answered her prayer for rain, because it was His will the two should talk all night the day before her death.

The Lord God provides everything for us, and He wants us to depend upon Him. Lest we think, we are god and the master of our own living, God desires we turn to Him to acknowledge His sovereignty, and thank Him for His providing for us. We should humbly ask Him for rain for our crops and our livelihood. We can ask God to change the weather, so that an event can happen that would be beneficial for souls, or to protect us from harmful weather.

Today, let us resolve to open our eyes to see the wonders of God’s creation and how He moves the stars, the planets, the sun, and the weather for the purpose of helping mankind to know and love Him, so they can serve Him and be with Him in the next life. And may our prayers, words, and actions silently spread the truth of the Gospel, through our trusting in God’s providential care for us. Let us pray:

“O God, in Whom we live and move, and have our being, grant us rain, in due abundance, that, being sufficiently helped with our temporal needs, we may more confidently seek after eternal gifts. We humbly request that by our trusting in your Divine Providence, You give us the grace to be a witness to the kingdom of Heaven. We thank you for providing rain in the past and the rain you will provide in the future. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”