Therefore hear the parable of the sower

"Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

- Matthew 13:18-23

In yesterday's reading, Jesus included the Parable of the Sower as he taught "the great multitudes." Yesterday's reading focused on the understanding of the teaching by parables - what is their purpose? Jesus explained to his disciples why he used parables to teach the crowds.

In today's reading, Jesus gives his explanation of the parable of the sower. Before we discuss the explanation, I think it's important to review some notes about parables. My study bible says, "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)." Personally, I think it's important to understand that these vivid "word-pictures" are not necessarily perfect analogies. They are intended to illustrate, to open up something in the hearts and minds of his listeners, to which they respond whose hearts are open to the spiritual reality conveyed.

So, let us take Jesus' answer and explanation to his disciples for the Parable of the Sower.

The parable went: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them." Jesus explains: "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside." In yesterday's reading, we reviewed what it is to have hearts open to spiritual truth. There must be something in the listener that prompts this desire, this openness. We must have spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear - these are the followers Jesus desires.

The parable continues: "Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away." Jesus' explanation is: "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles." The next step in the parable are those for whom the word has no depth, can take no root. How much do we open our hearts to this? Is there a depth in ourselves that responds, and desires more? When we go through struggles in life, do we give up on this word - and this relationship in our hearts? I think this is a crucial question, because for so many, struggle only intensifies the depth of faith and connection to the Father, to Deity. It is a crucial testing point in some sense, as Jesus indicates here. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has taught, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake." He expects his disciples to endure - see Salt and Light.

The parable: "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them." Jesus explains this part: "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful." The thorns are those things that draw us into a life in which we abandon the word for false gods of material wealth - and their betrayal of that faith. See No one can serve two masters from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has taught there that "no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Jesus has also taught in the Sermon on the Mount that "sufficient for the day is its own trouble" - when he was teaching about over-concern and anxiousness illustrated as the thorns that are the cares of this world that choke the word, so that the hearer is unfruitful. See Solomon in all his glory for this teaching that illustrates this point as well. He has taught us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

Finally, Jesus told, "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundred-fold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear!" And his explanation to the disciples was thus: "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." We are to be fruitful. One recalls the teaching from Genesis, at the act of creation, when God blessed his creatures and told them to "Be fruitful." (See Genesis 1:28.) We must ask ourselves in this context, then, what it is to be fruitful. Clearly Jesus is teaching us about being ministers of the kingdom, those who would pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We are here to be fruitful, to bring the blessings of holiness into the world, and multiply them. We must make a good profit - worthy of the investment of the gift of the seed.

As in yesterday's reading and commentary, we recall to ourselves the teachings we learned in the Sermon on the Mount, which we have just been through (see readings and commentary from Monday, April 26th through Saturday, May 8th, 2010 -- beginning with The Beatitudes and ending with The Narrow Gate). All of Jesus' teachings are consistent, and they build up, one upon the other, for our understanding. Just as he explains the parable of the Sower for his followers, we are given repeatedly consistent teachings - and at the same time more explanation, elaboration, understanding. This is why we read the scriptures. In our depth of reception, we are capable of becoming more fruitful, of building up deeper understanding within ourselves, and moving forward more deeply and truly into our faith. This is a job for those disciples who have spiritual eyes and ears to hear: who are willing to make a connection within themselves that is beyond the mere intellectual, and beyond the surface. What is the reality of its impact in you, this word that is to take seed in our hearts? Do you make room for it? Do you take life beyond the material, and understand how much more there is to all of us in that depth of the heart? Do you make room in the heart for these words to take root, and to become fruitful? This is what he asks of us. Make time for prayer in the secret place. Remember that Jesus speaks in parables for a reason - that it is up to us to make choices deep within ourselves, and it is to that place in us that He appeals with his parables. We remember that "parable" can be translated as "allegory," "riddle" or "proverb." My study bible notes that, "thus, 'to those who are outside, all things come in parables' (Mark 4:11) may be translated 'to those who are outside, all things come in riddles.' " Jesus' quotation of Isaiah in yesterday's reading teaches us that people are responsible for their own receptivity.

Again, we tie in the teachings here to the Sermon on the Mount. What are the fruits of righteousness? How are they related to the depth and understanding of our faith, cultivated in ourselves? How do we multiply its blessings and grow in its fruit? Jesus has told his disciples in yesterday's reading and explanation of this parable: "It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven." Let us recall, also, the words of Isaiah given by Jesus in yesterday's reading: "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." We are called by Jesus to open our spiritual eyes and ears, to grow, to persist, to be awake to mystery and its perceptions in us, and be fruitful and multiply those blessings. It is up to us - our choice.