Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

And seeing you will see and not perceive;

For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have closed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

- Matthew 13:10-17

In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave us the parable of the Sower. It is the first time Matthew has given us the idea of parables. So important is this turning point in His ministry, that the Gospel clearly delineates for us what it is to be told a parable, and for Jesus to preach in this way. We began with yesterday's reading, in which the parable is clearly told. Jesus started, "Behold, a sower went out to sow." See yesterday's reading for the parable that Jesus will explain to His disciples in tomorrow's reading. Today, He is asked why He speaks in parables, and offers His disciples an explanation.

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" My study bible gives a good explanation of the concept of parables. Among other things, it notes: "Parables are stories in word-pictures, revealing spiritual truth. The Hebrew and Aramaic words for parable also mean 'allegory,' 'riddle,' or 'proverb.' The Scriptures, especially the gospels, are filled with parables -- images drawn from daily life in the world to represent and communicate the deep things of God. Parables give us glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8-9)."

He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." Jesus' response to His disciples gives us a sense of the depth that He is aiming for by preaching in parables. It's up to the listener to hear with spiritual eyes and ears. Parables may work in all kinds of ways -- there are degrees to which one and another person will find understanding. But they are meant to pique our interest, to delve us into the mysteries of the Kingdom, to invite us to come to understand, and then to find yet new meaning. It's up to the listener to be responsive. Jesus here tells His disciples something about the "salt" and "light" He preached about in the Sermon on the Mount. We are to have a substance with us that helps us to hear. And there is more to this: "whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'" My study bible notes that this quotation from Isaiah is meant to demonstrate that people are responsible for their own receptivity. "As the mission of Isiah in the Old Testament was to open the eyes of Israel to see the acts of God, so the parables of Jesus are given to open the eyes of His hearers to the truth, and to lead them to produce the fruit of righteousness." If we take a look at the quotation from Isaiah, we read with interest that it indicates a refusal for healing -- this is the reason for closed eyes and ears and thus a lack of understanding with the heart. Ultimately, it is Jesus' healing mission that is at the heart of the parable. It gives us a glimpse of the idea that how we respond to His love is at heart a response for healing. At this point in Jesus' ministry, seeing and hearing, healing and salvation, become an affair of the heart of every person.

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." Jesus is opening their eyes to the "greater than Solomon that is here." His presence is a gift of grace, just as all the prophets such as Isaiah were sent through grace to the people of Israel. Now, the momentous reality of the Kingdom is at hand, near to them. My study bible says, "His purpose was not only to reveal truth to those with hearts prepared. He also wished to draw responsive hearts past the entrance and into the very reality of God's Kingdom which He proclaimed and inaugurated."

So, what is it to see and to hear? Through the teaching in parables, Jesus reaches out past preaching as we might understand it and into a depth of mystery. What can we hear? We are invited in. At heart, a depth of a response will be a desire to be healed. For this reason, when we are too certain that our lives are perfectly ordered, too proud in our understanding, too defensive before love itself, we are resisting healing. Over and over again, it is the people who know better, who have already experienced God's grace and love, who are responsible for the gift they have been given. We see it repeatedly in the Gospels, that those who don't necessarily know, who haven't been given such great gifts, are those who turn and are healed, in faith. Let us understand that healing is up to the physician and not the patient. What is it we close our eyes and ears to when we've grown dull of hearing, and can't receive? Every new form of "turning," repentance, "change of mind" is a time to heal. May the gift of God's love be ever opening and revealing what we need to be healed, the mysteries that turn deeper and deeper into participation in this Kingdom.