Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A few days ago, I got to talk to a good friend of mine, Justin Claribell. Justin is a Jesuit who will be ordained to the priesthood this week. We talked about how excited he was.. but also talked about everything going on in the world...covid, of course, but also the protests and Black Lives Matter. As Justin always does, he schooled me on a few things.
He taught me a term I had never heard before which is...virtue signaling. Has anyone here heard of this?
Virtue signaling is defined as "the action or practice of publicly expressing opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one's good character or the moral correctness of one's position on a particular issue." This is a charitable definition. Urban dictionary, which is a very reputable academic source, says virtue signaling is "to take a conspicuous but essentially useless action ostensibly to support a good cause but actually to show off how much more moral you are than everybody else."
And so really this ...virtue signaling... could be defined as posting something on your facebook or Instagram or maybe even putting a bumper sticker on the back of your car to let people know what you believe in... but also to attract others to you that have the same virtues.
The more I thought about it ... the more I saw it ...all over the place. Whether its standing in front of a church holding a Bible, kneeling with kente clothes for a photo op, or whether or not you're posting on social media to show how woke you are... virtue signaling is a real thing.... And I think what it is at its worse... is throwing out seeds but not for the sake of growth....not for the sake of creation...but rather for the sake of attention....for the sake of recognition.
So, just imagine this sower in the story as caring more about what the action of sowing the seed does for him or her than actually wanting to get the seed out there....get the seeds to grow. This would be a very different story... and we wouldn't hear about what happens with the seeds.
But that's not the story. In fact, the sower disappears from the story if you pay attention. After throwing the seeds everywhere....recklessly...without virtue signaling...without checking to see who is watching.....without knowing whether or not throwing the seeds proved how good a person the sower is....all we have is the seeds.
And what are those seeds? And what is the hope of what they grow into?
Those seeds and the hope of their growth is... straight from scripture...
Creation, revelation to the children of God, to be set free from slavery of corruption, to share in the glorious freedom of God.
That sounds so hopeful ... and like so much pressure. I can just imagine that sower throwing the seeds...with great expectation as it says in the first reading.....with great humility...but in fear and trembling...because we know that some of those seeds will not sprout... and some of those seeds will grow a little but then die...
And that's how spreading of message goes...that's how creation and revelation and freedom from slavery and corruption and freedom for God goes... it doesn't always go well.
Last week, Fr. Ike mentioned that saying Black Lives Matter right now is fashionable ...in some ways it's a sure shot...like throwing a seed in a place you know beyond a doubt that it'll grow...or like throwing a seed in a place you know someone will take a picture and then say "good job."

But we should remember that saying Black Lives Matter was not something you heard very often in catholic churches until very recently... I didn't say it until recently (that's just the truth) and there are still catholic churches all over the country that equate saying that phrase with anarchy or being unpatriotic or not catholic...or worse. It's possible they're virtue signaling...but maybe we're virtue signaling too. Maybe this whole homily is virtue signaling.
The challenge here is just to care about the seeds and their growth more than who is watching...
The challenge is also to enter into that space of great expectation...and doubt... and fear and trembling of the sower the moment the seed is thrown.
..and for a lot of us, we can choose whether or not to enter into that fear and trembling... because we already enjoy the fruits of freedom and creation in our own lives. That's what privilege looks like and feels like... its having the ability to choose to enter into that anxiety and doubt...it's the ability to choose whether or not we can say Black Lives Matter ...or stand in solidarity with those who suffer... it's the ability to virtue signal in the first place.
Because we know there are many in this world, in our country, in our church that don't choose to enter into that fear and trembling...they're just born into it.
But they hope ANYWAY ...they long ... and they throw seeds ...not just to communicate to others what they believe ...but for their own sense of freedom and creation ...and that of their families and loved ones...and communities.
And so I have to ask...just going along with the story... Who gets to decide when the seed has sprouted? Who gets to decide when the seeds of creation and revelation and freedom from slavery and freedom for God have sprouted? Because someone who looks like me... (and just for the record the priests who are preaching from the pulpit that saying Black Lives Matter is anti-catholic look like me 99% of the time)...those who look like me could say ...the seeds of freedom have sprouted. No further sowing needed.
But there are plenty of people, who don't look like me, that say the opposite. Those voices say we still need to sow further... Jesus is still rolling up his sleeves to do the work and asking us to join him. The Holy Spirit is still telling us, "1 can't breathe. Help me breathe." Those voices are still saying those seeds have not sprouted... or rather, not everyone is reaping the fruits of those seeds.
So, my brothers and sisters, let us enter into that space of the anxiety, anticipation, fear and trembling of the sower the moment he throws the seed... but that space of great hope as well.