Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church

 Lectionary: 319

But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven."

The Lord alludes in his parable about the broadcasting farmer and his remarkably fertile field, to Isaiah's great vision (Is 6) when he saw the God of Heaven and Earth sitting upon his throne in the Temple of Jerusalem, and heard the LORD's call, "Whom shall I send?" 

When the overwhelmed prophet found the courage to speak in the august presence he said, "Here I am! Send me!" But he immediately learned that he had not volunteered for an easy job or a respected position. His vision would be ignored when he spoke of it, and his warnings unheeded. 

The Lord's remarks, "they may see and not perceive; and listen but not understand, allude to Isaiah, and to even older passages in Psalm 115:5-8

They have mouths but do not speak,

eyes but do not see.

They have ears but do not hear,

noses but do not smell.

They have hands but do not feel,

feet but do not walk;

they produce no sound from their throats.

Their makers will be like them,

and anyone who trusts in them.

The Psalmist and his congregation mocked the pagans who created idols of clay, wood, stone, and steel, and then carried them about on raised platforms for the crowds to see, admire, and adore.  

Isaiah describes the making of these idols, again mocking the process and their craftsman:

To whom can you liken God?
With what likeness can you confront him?
An idol? An artisan casts it,
the smith plates it with gold,
fits it with silver chains.
Is mulberry wood the offering?
A skilled artisan picks out
a wood that will not rot,
Seeks to set up for himself
an idol that will not totter.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Was it not told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the founding of the earth?
The one who is enthroned above the vault of the earth,
its inhabitants like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a veil
and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

It is easy to suppose God loves everybody and that it doesn't matter which church you attend, which religion you prefer, or which God you worship. But that's not what the Bible says. Clearly, choices have consequences and bad choices lead to bad acts and severe judgment. 

The faithful, perhaps, should not openly mock idolaters. We must make every effort by example and persuasion to help them abandon foolishness. They should see that we worship the Truth which God has revealed to us. Sincerity is a poor excuse for believing falsehoods; it does not undo the evil consequences of lies. Sincerity can neither explain nor atone for bad ideas and worse attitudes. 

We have been warned and we give warning: Fools suffer the fate of their idols,

Then shall they know that I am the LORD,
when their slain shall lie amid their idols,
all about their altars, on every high hill and mountaintop,
beneath every green tree and leafy oak,
wherever they offered appeasing odors to any of their gods. Ezekiel 6:13