Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B

# The multiplication of the loaves is the name given to two miracles performed by Jesus of Nazareth according to the texts of the Gospels: Matthew, chapter 14, verses 14 to 21, then again 15, 32-38; Mark 6, 34-44, then again Mark 8, 1-9; Luke 9, 12-17; John 6, 5-14. The first multiplication of the loaves took place after the death of John the Baptist at the behest of Herod Antipas, in response to the wishes of his daughter Salome and the healing of the sick.

A second multiplication of the loaves took place later, involving a different number of people. Matthew and Mark are the only evangelists to recount it. Some exegetes thought it was the same event told twice. However, the two miracles did not take place in the same place: in one case there were five thousand people, in the other four thousand. The number of extra baskets of bread was also different. Later Jesus referred to the two miracles, clearly distinguishing them (Matthew 16: 9-11). For the Doctor of the Church John Chrysostom, Jesus, in this miracle, truly posed himself as the creator of heaven and earth.

With this gesture, he encouraged people to pray before eating and wanted to show the importance of sharing. Modern theologians would say that the multiplication of the loaves is a symbol of the Word given by Christ, a word that has nourished people for centuries. For Saint Ephrem, during this miracle Jesus gave generously without counting the cost. He gave so much that twelve baskets remained. The saint also compared Jesus to Moses, who fed the people freed from slavery with manna that fell from heaven.

For Benedict XVI, in the Angelus of 31 July 2011, this messianic gesture is a symbol of fraternal sharing, but also a symbol of the path to be followed by the apostles, namely to transmit the Good News. In the Angelus of 29 July 2012, Benedict XVI emphasised that this multiplication is the beginning of the Eucharist, which continues to this day. According to some theological interpretations, it prefigures the Last Supper, Jesus‘ last meal with his disciples, establishing the rite of the Eucharist in which the bread would be the incarnation of Jesus’ body, given as a sacrifice on the cross to save humanity. For historians, the events evoked by the evangelists with these two reports remain enigmatic, although some hypotheses have been put forward.

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John

At that time, Jesus passed by on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd followed him, because they had seen the signs he performed on the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat there with his disciples. There was the Lake of Tiberias. Jesus looked up and saw that a great crowd was coming to him. He said to Philip : ‘Where can we buy bread for them to eat?’ He said this to test him, because he knew exactly what he would do. Philip replied: ‘Two hundred days’ wages would not be enough to give everyone some bread. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him : ‘There is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what is that for so many people ?’

Jesus said : ‘Let the people sit down.’ There was a lot of grass there. So they sat down, about five thousand people. Then Jesus took the loaves and, after giving thanks, distributed them among the diners ; he also gave them all the fish they wanted. When they had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples : ‘Gather up the leftovers, that nothing may be lost. ‘ They collected and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that were left over for those who took this food.

When the people saw the sign performed by Jesus, they said: ‘This is truly the prophet foretold, the one who is coming into the world’. But Jesus knew that they would take him away to make him their king; so he withdrew back to the mountains alone (Jn 6, 1-15). 

Jesus feeds the crowd

When Jesus had crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he went up the mountain and sat down with his disciples. All his admirers followed him, eager for signs and healings. Seeing the large crowd that had come to him, Jesus felt immense compassion and pity for them, who expected everything from him.  Jesus saw the needs of the people. The miracle he performed was a gesture of love. Jesus said to Philip: ‘Where can we buy bread for them to eat?’. They gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that were left over for those who took this food. When the people saw the sign performed by Jesus, they said : ‘This is truly the prophet foretold, the one who is coming into the world’. But Jesus knew that they would take him away to make him their king; so he withdrew back to the mountains alone (Jn 6, 1-15).

Jesus feeds the crowd

Then Jesus had crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he went up the mountain and sat down with his disciples. All his admirers followed him, eager for signs and healings. Seeing the large crowd that had come to him, Jesus felt immense compassion and pity for them, who expected everything from him. Jesus saw the needs of the people. The miracle he performed was a gesture of love. Jesus said to Philip: ’

Where can we buy bread for them to eat? This question is still relevant today. Jesus asks us to look at the most natural needs of the people: to have something to eat! He tells us: simply to eat! Jesus takes us back to our daily life, to our daily bread. To love… It is there, in the ordinary services of our days, that we must love. There, in the crowd, was a boy with five barley loaves and two fish. He had provisions, while the others had nothing to eat. Jesus was struck by the misery of the crowd and performed a miracle.

In front of St Vincent de Paul, Abbé Pierre, Coluche, he launched the Restos du Coeur for the first time. He served the crowd a free meal : bread and fish, and he did not skimp on quantity : the leftovers filled twelve baskets ! Before nourishing the mind and heart, Jesus knows that we must nourish the body. We must never forget this primordial need : give food ! The priority given to the poor by Pope John Paul II is a profoundly evangelical attitude : ‘I give you this bread because I love you’.

In the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus wants us to discover the proclamation of the Eucharist. Thus, in this story, we were close to the feast of the Passover, to the date of the Last Supper and the sacrifice of the cross: Jesus took the bread and gave thanks (this is the word Eucharist) and distributed it as on the evening of Holy Thursday. The order given to Philip to take the bread to feed the crowd, and the presence of the apostles filling twelve baskets with the remaining pieces, is an allusion to the Church being invited to distribute the Bread of Life (the Eucharist) to the people.

‘When you open your hand, you fill and satiate everyone who lives’. (In every Eucharistic celebration we are invited to this same gesture of giving that God can multiply. Do we realise that we are guests at the table of the Lord ? This Gospel story is an invitation to generosity and sharing. But it also tells us that nothing is insignificant and that we must never be discouraged by the weakness of our means. Let us offer our small capacities to the Lord, who will multiply them.

Deacon Michel Houyoux

Links to other Christian sites

frcznicenjhoku : click here to read the paper → Texts – frcanicenjoku | A fine WordPress.com site

Combonoi.org : click here to read the paper → XVII Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B

Video Father Valan Arockiaswamy : click here → https://youtu.be/Z5dglEIv89M

Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B

# The multiplication of the loaves is the name given to two miracles performed by Jesus of Nazareth according to the texts of the Gospels: Matthew, chapter 14, verses 14 to 21, then again 15, 32-38; Mark 6, 34-44, then again Mark 8, 1-9; Luke 9, 12-17; John 6, 5-14. The first multiplication of the loaves took place after the death of John the Baptist at the behest of Herod Antipas, in response to the wishes of his daughter Salome and the healing of the sick.

A second multiplication of the loaves took place later, involving a different number of people. Matthew and Mark are the only evangelists to recount it. Some exegetes thought it was the same event told twice. However, the two miracles did not take place in the same place: in one case there were five thousand people, in the other four thousand. The number of extra baskets of bread was also different. Later Jesus referred to the two miracles, clearly distinguishing them (Matthew 16: 9-11). For the Doctor of the Church John Chrysostom, Jesus, in this miracle, truly posed himself as the creator of heaven and earth.

With this gesture, he encouraged people to pray before eating and wanted to show the importance of sharing. Modern theologians would say that the multiplication of the loaves is a symbol of the Word given by Christ, a word that has nourished people for centuries. For Saint Ephrem, during this miracle Jesus gave generously without counting the cost. He gave so much that twelve baskets remained. The saint also compared Jesus to Moses, who fed the people freed from slavery with manna that fell from heaven.

For Benedict XVI, in the Angelus of 31 July 2011, this messianic gesture is a symbol of fraternal sharing, but also a symbol of the path to be followed by the apostles, namely to transmit the Good News. In the Angelus of 29 July 2012, Benedict XVI emphasised that this multiplication is the beginning of the Eucharist, which continues to this day.  According to some theological interpretations, it prefigures the Last Supper, Jesus‘ last meal with his disciples, establishing the rite of the Eucharist in which the bread would be the incarnation of Jesus’ body, given as a sacrifice on the cross to save humanity. For historians, the events evoked by the evangelists with these two reports remain enigmatic, although some hypotheses have been put forward.

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John

At that time, Jesus passed by on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd followed him, because they had seen the signs he performed on the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat there with his disciples. There was the Lake of Tiberias. Jesus looked up and saw that a great crowd was coming to him. He said to Philip : ‘Where can we buy bread for them to eat?’ He said this to test him, because he knew exactly what he would do.

Philip replied  : ‘Two hundred days’ wages would not be enough to give everyone some bread.  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him : ‘There is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what is that for so many people ? Jesus said : ‘Let the people sit down.’  There was a lot of grass there. So they sat down, about five thousand people. Then Jesus took the loaves and, after giving thanks, distributed them among the diners ; he also gave them all the fish they wanted.

When they had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples : ‘Gather up the leftovers, that nothing may be lost. ‘ They collected and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that were left over for those who took this food. When the people saw the sign performed by Jesus, they said: ‘This is truly the prophet foretold, the one who is coming into the world’. But Jesus knew that they would take him away to make him their king; so he withdrew back to the mountains alone (Jn 6, 1-15).

Jesus feeds the crowd

When Jesus had crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he went up the mountain and sat down with his disciples. All his admirers followed him, eager for signs and healings. Seeing the large crowd that had come to him, Jesus felt immense compassion and pity for them, who expected everything from him. Jesus saw the needs of the people. The miracle he performed was a gesture of love. Jesus said to Philip : ‘Where can we buy bread for them to eat ?’. They gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that were left over for those who took this food.

When the people saw the sign performed by Jesus, they said : ‘This is truly the prophet foretold, the one who is coming into the world’. But Jesus knew that they would take him away to make him their king; so he withdrew back to the mountains alone (Jn 6, 1-15).

Jesus feeds the crowd

 Then Jesus had crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he went up the mountain and sat down with his disciples. All his admirers followed him, eager for signs and healings. Seeing the large crowd that had come to him, Jesus felt immense compassion and pity for them, who expected everything from him. Jesus saw the needs of the people. The miracle he performed was a gesture of love. Jesus said to Philip: ’  Yhe can we buy bread for them to eat? This question is still relevant today.

Jesus asks us to look at the most natural needs of the people: to have something to eat ! He tells us: simply to eat! Jesus takes us back to our daily life, to our daily bread. To love… It is there, in the ordinary services of our days, that we must love. There, in the crowd, was a boy with five barley loaves and two fish. He had provisions, while the others had nothing to eat. Jesus was struck by the misery of the crowd and performed a miracle.

In front of St Vincent de Paul, Abbé Pierre, Coluche, he launched the Restos du Coeur for the first time. He served the crowd a free meal : bread and fish, and he did not skimp on quantity : the leftovers filled twelve baskets !   Before nourishing the mind and heart, Jesus knows that we must nourish the body. We must never forget this primordial need : give food ! The priority given to the poor by Pope John Paul II is a profoundly evangelical attitude : ‘I give you this bread because I love you’.

In the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus wants us to discover the proclamation of the Eucharist. Thus, in this story, we were close to the feast of the Passover, to the date of the Last Supper and the sacrifice of the cross: Jesus took the bread and gave thanks (this is the word Eucharist) and distributed it as on the evening of Holy Thursday.  The order given to Philip to take the bread to feed the crowd, and the presence of the apostles filling twelve baskets with the remaining pieces, is an allusion to the Church being invited to distribute the Bread of Life (the Eucharist) to the people.

‘When you open your hand, you fill and satiate everyone who lives’. (In every Eucharistic celebration we are invited to this same gesture of giving that God can multiply. Do we realise that we are guests at the table of the Lord ? This Gospel story is an invitation to generosity and sharing. But it also tells us that nothing is insignificant and that we must never be discouraged by the weakness of our means. Let us offer our small capacities to the Lord, who will multiply them.

Deacon Michel Houyoux

Links to other Christian sites

Qumran : click here to read the article → Texts – XVII Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B)

Paolo Scquizzato : click here to read the article →OMELIA XVII Sunday of Ordinary Time. Year B

Video Father Valan Arockiaswamy : click here → https://youtu.be/Z5dglEIv89

Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B

# The multiplication of the loaves is the name given to two miracles performed by Jesus of Nazareth according to the texts of the Gospels: Matthew, chapter 14, verses 14 to 21, then again 15, 32-38; Mark 6, 34-44, then again Mark 8, 1-9; Luke 9, 12-17; John 6, 5-14. The first multiplication of the loaves took place after the death of John the Baptist at the behest of Herod Antipas, in response to the wishes of his daughter Salome and the healing of the sick.

A second multiplication of the loaves took place later, involving a different number of people. Matthew and Mark are the only evangelists to recount it. Some exegetes thought it was the same event told twice. However, the two miracles did not take place in the same place: in one case there were five thousand people, in the other four thousand. The number of extra baskets of bread was also different. Later Jesus referred to the two miracles, clearly distinguishing them (Matthew 16: 9-11). For the Doctor of the Church John Chrysostom, Jesus, in this miracle, truly posed himself as the creator of heaven and earth.

With this gesture, he encouraged people to pray before eating and wanted to show the importance of sharing. Modern theologians would say that the multiplication of the loaves is a symbol of the Word given by Christ, a word that has nourished people for centuries. For Saint Ephrem, during this miracle Jesus gave generously without counting the cost. He gave so much that twelve baskets remained. The saint also compared Jesus to Moses, who fed the people freed from slavery with manna that fell from heaven.

For Benedict XVI, in the Angelus of 31 July 2011, this messianic gesture is a symbol of fraternal sharing, but also a symbol of the path to be followed by the apostles, namely to transmit the Good News. In the Angelus of 29 July 2012, Benedict XVI emphasised that this multiplication is the beginning of the Eucharist, which continues to this day.

According to some theological interpretations, it prefigures the Last Supper, Jesus‘ last meal with his disciples, establishing the rite of the Eucharist in which the bread would be the incarnation of Jesus’ body, given as a sacrifice on the cross to save humanity. For historians, the events evoked by the evangelists with these two reports remain enigmatic, although some hypotheses have been put forward

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John

 At that time, Jesus passed by on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd followed him, because they had seen the signs he performed on the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat there with his disciples. There was the Lake of Tiberias. Jesus looked up and saw that a great crowd was coming to him. He said to Philip : ‘Where can we buy bread for them to eat ?’

He said this to test him, because he knew exactly what he would do. Philip replied: ‘Two hundred days’ wages would not be enough to give everyone some bread. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him : ‘There is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what is that for so many people ? ’, Jesus said : ‘Let the people sit down.’ There was a lot of grass there. So they sat down, about five thousand people. Then Jesus took the loaves and, after giving thanks, distributed them among the diners; he also gave them all the fish they wanted. When they had eaten their fill, he said to his disciples: ‘Gather up the leftovers, that nothing may be lost.

They gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that were left over for those who took this food. When the people saw the sign performed by Jesus, they said: ‘This is truly the prophet foretold, the one who is coming into the world’. But Jesus knew that they would take him away to make him their king; so he withdrew back to the mountains alone (Jn 6, 1-15).

Jesus feeds the crowd

When Jesus had crossed to the other side of Lake Tiberias, he went up the mountain and sat down with his disciples. All his admirers followed him, eager for signs and healings. Seeing the large crowd that had come to him, Jesus felt immense compassion and pity for them, who expected everything from him. Jesus saw the needs of the people. The miracle he performed was a gesture of love. Jesus said to Philip : ‘Where can we buy bread for them to eat ?’. They gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that were left over for those who took this food.

When the people saw the sign performed by Jesus, they said : ‘This is truly the prophet foretold, the one who is coming into the world’. But Jesus knew that they would take him away to make him their king; so he withdrew back to the mountains alone (Jn 6, 1-15).

Jesus feeds the crowd

When Jesus had crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he went up the mountain and sat down with his disciples. All his admirers followed him, eager for signs and healings. Seeing the large crowd that had come to him, Jesus felt immense compassion and pity for them, who expected everything from him. Jesus saw the needs of the people. The miracle he performed was a gesture of love. Jesus said to Philip:

Where can we buy bread for them to eat ? This question is still relevant today. Jesus asks us to look at the most natural needs of people: to have something to eat! He tells us: simply to eat! Jesus takes us back to our daily life, to our daily bread. To love… It is there, in the ordinary services of our days, that we must love. There, in the crowd, was a boy with five barley loaves and two fish. He had provisions, while the others had nothing to eat. Jesus was struck by the misery of the crowd and performed a miracle.

In front of St Vincent de Paul, Abbé Pierre, and Coluche, he launched the Restos du Coeur for the first time. He served the crowd a free meal: bread and fish, and he did not skimp on quantity: the leftovers filled twelve baskets ! Before nourishing the mind and heart, Jesus knows that we must nourish the body. We must never forget this primordial need: give food! The priority given to the poor by Pope John Paul II is a profoundly evangelical attitude : ‘I give you this bread because I love you’. 

In the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus wants us to discover the proclamation of the Eucharist. Thus, in this story, we were close to the feast of the Passover, the date of the Last Supper and the sacrifice of the cross: Jesus took the bread and gave thanks (this is the word Eucharist) and distributed it as on the evening of Holy Thursday. The order given to Philip to take the bread to feed the crowd, and the presence of the apostles filling twelve baskets with the remaining pieces, are an allusion to the Church being invited to distribute the Bread of Life (the Eucharist) to the people.

‘When you open your hand, fill and satiate everyone who lives’. (In every Eucharistic celebration we are invited to this same gesture of giving that God can multiply. Do we realise that we are guests at the table of the Lord? This Gospel story is an invitation to generosity and sharing. But it also tells us that nothing is insignificant and that we must never be discouraged by the weakness of our means. Let us offer our small capacities to the Lord, who will multiply them.

Deacon Michel Houyoux

Links to other Christian sites

 frcanicenjoku : click here to read the paper → Homily for the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

Loyola Press : click here to read the paper → Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

 Video Good Soil : click here → https://youtu.be/pS32gCk9BV8

Samedi de la seizième semaine du Temps Ordinaire- Année Paire

 

 # Les paraboles du Nouveau Testament se trouvent dans les trois évangiles synoptiques. Il s’agit de récits allégoriques faits par Jésus de Nazareth et présentant un enseignement moral et religieux. On en dénombre une cinquantaine. Suivant un procédé ancré dans la tradition juive, ces récits entendent présenter des vérités au travers d’éléments de la vie quotidienne ou d’observation de la nature mais s’éloignent chez Jésus de la forme simplement pédagogique d’interprétation de la Loi par les rabbins pour évoquer le Règne de Dieu et les changements qui s’accomplissent au moment de sa venue. 

La parabole du semeur est une parabole évangélique racontée dans les trois Évangiles synoptiques: Matthieu XIII, 1-23 ; Marc IV, 1-20 , Luc VIII, 4-15 (ainsi que dans l’Évangile apocryphe selon Thomas. Le semeur, qui représente Jésus, jette les graines dont certaines tombent sur le bord du chemin, sur les roches et dans des buissons d’épines, et la semence est donc perdue; en revanche lorsqu’elles tombent dans de la bonne terre, elles produisent du fruit jusqu’au centuple.

Selon saint Jean Chrysostome, Jésus vint sur terre pour renaitre laboureur, La terre représente les âmes où Jésus lance la semence sans distinguer le pauvre du riche, le savant de l’ignorant ,l’âme ardente de celle qui est paresseuse. Saint Jean Chrysostome répondit à ceux qui s’étonnèrent de ce qu’un semeur jeta ses graines ailleurs que dans de la bonne terre, car cela prouve que les changements sont possibles. Il ne faut pas comparer la semence matérielle, mais la comparer à la Parole divine qui apporte la conversion: si les changements ne sont point arrivés dans toutes les âmes, ce n’est pas la faute du laboureur, mais de ceux qui n’ont pas voulu se changer. Il a accompli avec un soin entier ce qui dépendait de lui.

 Cette parabole illustre la nécessité du changement et de la responsabilité. La parabole ne dit pas que la semence s’est desséchée à cause du trop grand soleil, mais parce qu’elle n’a pas de racine. De même pour la semence tombée dans les buissons d’épines, la faute ne revient pas aux buissons (qui symbolisent la vie mondaine elle a trait des richesses, mais à celui qui les laisse croître.

Si on coupe les tiges des buissons, on peut s’en servir utilement et laisser la bonne terre s’installer. C’est ainsi que Jésus ne parla pas des richesses en général, mais de la duperie. des richesses. Et Matthieu d’ajouter:  » N’accusons pas les choses en elles-mêmes, mais l’abus que nous en faisons et la corruption de notre esprit. Il estima que cette parabole marque trois étapes de l’évolution spirituelle, l La bonne terre étant promise à tous, si l’on renonce à l’ esclavage des plaisirs, pour l’exercice de la vertu, seul gage de la liberté. Matthieu termine en citant comme exemple les excès de la goinfrerie.

De l’Évangile de Jésus Christ selon Matthieu

En ce temps-là, Jésus proposa aux foules une autre parabole : « Le royaume des Cieux est comparable à un homme qui a semé du bon grain dans son champ. Or, pendant que les gens dormaient, son ennemi survint ; il sema de l’ivraie au milieu du blé et s’en alla.  Quand la tige poussa et produisit l’épi, alors l’ivraie apparut aussi. Les serviteurs du maître vinrent lui dire : “Seigneur, n’est-ce pas du bon grain que tu as semé dans ton champ ? D’où vient donc qu’il y a de l’ivraie ?”      Il leur dit : “C’est un ennemi qui a fait cela.”

Les serviteurs lui disent : “Veux-tu donc que nous allions l’enlever ?” Il répond :“Non, en enlevant l’ivraie, vous risquez d’arracher le blé en même temps. Laissez-les pousser ensemble jusqu’à la moisson ; et, au temps de la moisson, je dirai aux moissonneurs : Enlevez d’abord l’ivraie, liez-la en bottes pour la brûler ; quant au blé, ramassez-le pour le rentrer dans mon grenier.” » (Mt 13, 24-30)

La fondation du royaume : Parabole du semeur

Ce jour-là était celui où Jésus avait prononcé des discours et où il fut interrompu par la visite de sa famille. Tel est aussi l’ordre du récit de Marc.  Luc plaça ces faits dans une autre suite, et rapporta la parabole du semeur sans indiquer le temps et le lieu où elle fut prononcée. La maison d’où il sortit fut celle où il était quand ses parents vinrent à lui. Quelle scène et quel culte ! Pour cathédrale, la voûte étincelante d’un ciel d’Orient ; pour auditoire, ces grandes foules, debout, couvrant au loin le rivage ; une barque de pêcheur servit de chaire, le prédicateur fut Jésus !

« La parabole a deux parties, le corps et l’âme : le corps est le récit de l’histoire qu’on a imaginée, et l’âme, le sens moral ou mystique caché sous les paroles ou le récit. » (Littré)  Dans le Nouveau Testament le mot de paraboles ne s’applique pas seulement à ces récits allégoriques prolongés qu’employait si souvent Jésus, mais aussi à toute comparaison ou image dessinée à illustrer la pensée. la  différence notable qu’il y a entre la parabole et un autre genre analogue d’enseignement, la fable. 

Dans celle-ci le récit fictif n’est pas nécessairement emprunté au domaine du possible et du vrai, elle fait penser et parler les animaux, les plantes. Jamais Jésus ne se permit rien de pareil dans ses paraboles. Tout dans son récit fut tellement naturel et vrai, que souvent on se demande si c’est un fait réel ou une fiction. Ainsi, le semeur, le bon Samaritain, l’enfant prodigue,… Et ces histoires sont, au point de vue de la forme, d’une telle beauté, d’une si grande perfection, qu’on s’arrêterait beaucoup plus à les admirer à cet égard, si les imposantes vérités religieuses qu’elles renferment ne s’emparaient de toute notre attention. 

Au fond, la parabole du Nouveau Testament est une création de Jésus-Christ. Ni les mythes des anciens, ni la fable qu’on lit au chapitre neuf du livre des Juges, ni les maschals du prophète Ézéchiel n’en purent donner l’idée. Ceux qui nient la vraisemblance historique d’un long discours composé d’une série de paraboles, et qui attribuent à Matthieu ce recueil de similitudes prononcées par Jésus en divers temps, ne purent voir dans ces paroles d’introduction, comme dans celles qui servent de conclusion au récit, qu’une invention de Matthieu de même, leur mise en scène., ne serait qu’un cadre fictif donné à ce grand tableau. 

À cette opinion on peut opposer les remarques qui suivent : Matthieu ne prétendit  pas rapporter un discours soutenu, composé de sept paraboles et de l’explication de deux d’entre elles. Il marqua lui-même, une première interruption provoquée par une question des disciples et la réponse de Jésus ; il en marqua une seconde, par une réflexion sur ce genre d’enseignement, et enfin une troisième, avec changement complet de lieu et de temps alors que Jésus n’avait encore prononcé que deux paraboles, sans doute avec des développements et des applications sérieuses à son grand auditoire.

Matthieu, selon sa méthode de grouper les enseignements et les faits homogènes, consigna ces paraboles de moindre étendue que Jésus prononça ailleurs, et auxquelles Luc assigna une autre place dans son récit. Que Jésus fit, au bord de la mer, un discours prolongé dans lequel à plusieurs reprises, sa parole revêtit la forme de la parabole, c’est ce que témoigna le récit de Marc  ; il rapporta quelques-unes de ces paraboles.

L’assemblage de ces sept paraboles présente peu d’invraisemblance historique que le sermon sur la montagne, cette prédication en paraboles fut le prolongement de ce dernier. Le semeur n’eut pas l’intention de jeter aucune partie de sa semence sur un chemin ; mais comme ce chemin longea son champ et qu’il sema abondamment, beaucoup de grains tombèrent le long du chemin. Ces grains n’étant pas recouverts par la terre furent mangés par les oiseaux. Ces endroits rocailleux ne furent pas une partie du champ couverte de pierres, qu’on aurait pu ôter ; mais bien  des contrées montagneuses et arides, des endroits où une légère couche de terre recouvre le roc. 

Là, la semence peut lever, elle leva même aussitôt, poussa en dehors, précisément parce qu’elle ne pouvait pas enfoncer ses racines dans une terre profonde. Mais aux premières ardeurs du soleil du printemps, elle fut brûlée, desséchée parce qu’elle n’avait pas de racines qui pussent la nourrir des sucs de la terre. Pourquoi des épines dans un champ ensemencé ? Si, d’un côté, le champ fut bordé par un chemin, il fut, de l’autre, par une haie vive. Les grains de la semence tombèrent aux abords de la haie, parmi des épines, au moment où elles germèrent encore dans la terre.

La semence leva, mais les épines montèrent avec plus de vigueur encore et l’étouffèrent. La plante du blé ne périt pas, elle substitua, mais elle fut trop épuisée pour produire des épis fertiles. La bonne terre fut une terre rendue fertile par la culture, l’engrais, et le travail régulier Cette productivité, s’élevant jusqu’à cent pour un, était très ordinaire dans les pays de l’Orient.

Diacre Michel Houyoux

Compléments

◊ Diacre Michel Houyoux : cliquez ici pour lire l’article →Catéchèse sur la parabole du semeur (Mt 13, 1-23)

◊ Diacre Michel Houyoux : cliquez ici pour lire l’article →Celui qui reçoit la Parole de Dieu et la comprend, portera beaucoup de fruits.

Liens avec d’autres sites web chrétiens

◊ Familles chrétienne : cliquez ici pour lire l’article →Évangile : « Voici que le semeur sortit pour semer

◊ Prédications- Europe → Samedi de la 16e semaine, année paire – Prédications

Vidéo Père René Luc : cliquez ici → https://youtu.be/crQYlDxW7MY