A sower went out to sow - the parable of the Sower

And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Then he taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it dd not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,

'Seeing they may see and not perceive,

And hearing they may hear and not understand;

Lest they should turn,

And their sins be forgiven them.'"

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

- Mark 4:1-20

On Saturday, we read first of Jesus' great fame, so much that wherever He is, no one can even eat bread in the house for the crowds -- and accompanying this fame are the opinions of others: His family thinks He is out of His mind. The scribes accuse Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, leader of the demons. Jesus asked, "How can Satan cast out Satan?" He taught that He is the "stronger man" who has come to build a kingdom by subduing the "strong man" of this world. He went on to protest and warn against blasphemy against the Spirit, and the work of the Spirit in this world. Finally, His mother and brothers seek Him, but Jesus points to the crowd around Himself, saying, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother." See No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Then he taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it dd not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" In today's reading, Jesus begins His preaching in parables. We are in the fourth chapter of Mark's Gospel, which moves along as a fast clip. Unlike Luke, which is filled with more detail but essentially "based" on Mark's Gospel, Mark shows us into Jesus' ministry, revealing new elements, and yet even including a day in Jesus' life (see the readings that begin with verse 35 of chapter 1). Here we are introduced to parables, with the parable of the Sower. By now we know great multitudes follow Him, and that He has appointed the Twelve who will learn as disciples and then be "sent out" as well to do the work of the ministry. A parable is for the crowds, so that those who respond will seek the depth of the mysteries He has to reveal, and come to be believers and disciples as well. And there is the irony; this is a parable about how we hear, and what the Sower does. He who has ears, let him hear!

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.'" So here, Jesus lets His disciples in on the power of parables. Parables were already an old and established custom in Jewish culture, but as my study bible puts it, "Jesus brought the part of parables to perfection, relating aspects of the Kingdom and speaking of God Himself through vivid stories." Jesus teaches them here, and all of us, that there is a powerful force behind what He does: it is the power of faith at work in each of us, that asks of us a response. Do we want to be drawn in and learn more, or not? It is a true depth of relationship that calls upon us and works within us to invite us in to the mysteries of the Kingdom itself, to dwell there and learn. But it all depends on whether or not we have spiritual eyes and ears, what we cultivate, nurture and value within ourselves. The word for parable in Hebrew and Aramaic may also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb" says my study bible -- and so, it says, "to those who are outside, all things come in parables" may be translated "to those who are outside, all things come in riddles." So, who is the Sower? It is our own heart that will answer, and draw us in. And what is the purpose of His sowing? Where does He sow?

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?" I think it's important that we understand that even His disciples have trouble with this. We are all on a faith journey; in other words, it is a lifetime of faith that produces what the Sower seeks, in which we are drawn more deeply into this Kingdom and the understanding that works through faith. The yield is ongoing.

"The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble." Jesus begins to distinguish the types of the hearers of this word, and the different things that happen as the Kingdom is proclaimed. Some fall away immediately upon hearing, subject to the influence of the "prince of this world" (see yesterday's reading). There is the next type, who receive the word with gladness -- but not with depth in their hearts. They fall away and forget shortly afterward, because "tribulation or persecution" arises for the word's sake. What we are presented with is a world that will be at odds with this word: so an important aspect to the faith is endurance and depth, the ability to come back for more, for further enlightenment and faith in the midst of problems. One way or another, the world will test us. What's interesting is that the Greek words for "tribulation" and "persecution" can also apply to inner tension, to being at odds with the world, in conflict and under internal pressure of difficulties and perhaps resulting choices that need to be made -- even as they most certainly were applied to the state and religious persecutions and tribulation faced by the early Christians. Clearly, however, the implication for each of us, at any time, is clear.

"Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." A third type of hearer does indeed hear the word, but is "choked" by all the worldly things we think we need and must be pursuing instead, and these are clear: "the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things." To become unfruitful is to leave behind the purpose for which we labor, the thing we put our efforts into, in order to pursue other fruits, other things. This much, at least, we can see all around ourselves -- and most of us have to grapple with in a modern world filled with images of what we "should" want, and should be pursuing as the "cares of the world," the desires for "other things" and the wealth that seems to promise so many answers and fulfillment, and yet does not.

"But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." Finally, the fourth: the word sown on good ground, at a depth, for which nothing can deter the progress of working for fruitfulness -- each to his or her own capability and measure. What seems to be important here is an understanding that we may all face each of these challenges; it's not a question of categorizing. But the power is in the pull of the mysteries and the reality of this Kingdom He brings. What do we work for? What pulls us in and draws us further in? Are we going to be deterred? Perhaps even more importantly, how will we make choices when faced with pressures, conflicts and inevitable testing given to us by the world and the desires cultivated all around us? What is our real treasure when we make our choices?

I think really that Jesus is talking about a lifetime of choices in which we constantly have the opportunity to decide where we will go and what we will pursue, what we will put first. There is a great story here about endurance -- not being thrown off the course. And fruitfulness of course depends upon time, not a moment's choice, nor a day's. The message is that perhaps we will all face all of these things that choke or harm the word, that cause people to stumble, but we must persist. It all depends on what we choose, and choose consistently. Repentance, we remember, means essentially turning to God. Do we just accept what the world teaches us, or do we turn elsewhere for the word? Do we find it in our hearts -- where it takes root in good ground? Or does our heart belong elsewhere? Sometimes (and for many people), even difficult choices in relationships with those whom we love may be a part of the tests we face (see yesterday's reading). Let us think about conflicts and choices, and pressures and the difficulties of the world -- and all the "shoulds" that we think we are supposed to value and desire to be "good" in the eyes or images of others. Where is your heart and what does it tell you? It is never easy, and from the looks of what we find in this parable 2,000 years later, it isn't necessarily meant to be. But He wants the ones who will stay with Him, and dwell in this Kingdom: as St. Paul puts it, who will finish the race, or fight the good fight. Where is your choice today, and how will you make it? We always turn back, to Him, no matter where we have been nor how long the journey (and despite the difficulties with which we are all challenged). There are always new things to learn and in which to grow.