The Parable of the Sower

On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came devoured them. 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. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

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."

- Matthew 13:1-16

Over the past two weeks, the lectionary gave us the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapters 6 and 7. We began with The Beatitudes, in which Jesus taught the blessings of the life of discipleship. Next He taught the value of such lives, in You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Then He began to teach about the Law, saying "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." He then expanded His teaching on several statutes in Mosaic Law; the first against murder: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder;'" then, against adultery: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery;'" and finally regulating vengeance: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'" His expansion includes the inner life of the heart, not merely outward acts. Next He began to discuss spiritual practice (in almsgiving, prayer and fasting) - forbidding hypocrisy and again emphasizing the inner life, in "Do not be like the hypocrites." During the discussion of prayer, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, teaching Our Father in heaven. He then taught that we cannot serve both God and mammon, that we need to make a clear choice in No man can serve two masters. Then He began to teach about how we look at life and what we value. Over-worry and anxiety over the material things we need in life are not for the life of discipleship. He said to observe the birds, and the wild lilies -- none of these work to sow, harvest and store, or spin, endlessly worrying about the future, yet they are cared for by the Father. The Father knows what we have need of, we are to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." He said, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."Next, Jesus taught about the life of discipleship and its righteousness in congregation. He taught us not to judge or condemn, and repeated His teachings on reciprocity: "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." He once again repeated His warnings against hypocrisy in this context. We are to be aware of who we are, our own flaws and faults, before we can helpfully correct anyone else. "First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." He then warned against giving pearls to swine, or giving what is holy to dogs: we are not to seek to create discipleship in those who do not value it, cannot appreciate it, may in fact despise it. And all things are open to those who do want these pearls, disciples in sincerity and faith who are always to be asking, seeking, and knocking: "for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Summing up the Law and Prophets, He taught once again the reciprocal principle, active in our lives as disciples: "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." And finally, Jesus taught about the specific, dedicated nature of discipleship and its life: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." He warned us about leadership in His Church: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. . . . Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them." He concluded: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." In today's reading, the lectionary skips forward, to Matthew chapter 13, and Jesus' use of parables.

On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. The material we've skipped over (which we'll return to in a short time) includes many healings as well as the choosing of the twelve apostles. Jesus encourages them to fearless witness and teaches about persecution to come. We read of the rejection of Jesus in some communities and also imprisonment of John the Baptist, as well as Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees. There is even misunderstanding among his family. Today's reading begins after Jesus has stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." The verses with which we begin today's reading tell us that despite confrontation, rejection, division and misunderstanding, as well as conflict with religious authorities, Jesus' ministry has reached a wide audience. So many people come to see Him and hear Him, that He must sit in a boat and preach to "great multitudes" assembled on the shore. One can only wonder at the power of His voice and His oratorical capabilities. We so often picture Christ as soft-spoken, but the setting of this scene tells us of His vigor and strength in preaching. The setting, although unusual, is in the teaching tradition of a rabbi, seated, while disciples stand and listen.

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came devoured them. 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. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Jesus introduces us to parables in this teaching. His ministry has grown so large that He is becoming selective in His preaching; that is, He speaks in parables. My study bible 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 (Isaiah 55: 8,9)." Here, Jesus begins with the first great parable, that of the Sower. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" is an expression given us to indicate the need for our own capability of discernment. As disciples, Jesus seeks those with spiritual eyes and ears of the heart, the ones capable of understanding.

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." My study bible has an essential note here: "The mysteries of the kingdom are not mere esoteric concepts or a body of religious truth only for the elite. Nor is true understanding of the parables simply an intellectual apprehension. Even the disciples find His message hard to understand. Jesus preached and taught the same message to all; but it is the 'babes,' the simple and innocent, who are open to the gospel and have the faith to receive this mystery, which is the reality of the Kingdom." Clearly, to my mind, Jesus is calling us to discernment. Not everybody is going to get this, to understand or receive it with open spiritual ears. The Kingdom is also about an initiation into something; as we receive, so we are received, and we each possess the reality to go ever-deeper, depending on our own receptivity and capability for discernment. A mystery or mysteries indicates that there is much into which we are initiated. Christian life doesn't begin and end with baptism, but is rather a journey into depths, that which is hidden, yet open to all those who may receive. Jesus' emphasis here is on giving: to some it is given, to others it is not. This is the reality of the spiritual life: the ultimate discernment or work is of God, upon whom we rely for all things.

"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." Here is a powerful report regarding spiritual gifts, especially that of discernment and growth in understanding. My study bible speaks of this capability of seeing and hearing as zeal. Zeal, in this context, is a kind of passion for the life of God, a love of the spiritual life and relationship to Creator -- especially that of discipleship. It begins with humility, acceptance, a willingness to be changed, to learn and grow. When we don't exercise this capability, Jesus is saying, we stand to lose even what we have. This relationship is an active and dynamic one, a living one -- just as Jesus will illustrate later on with parables of the Kingdom (such as the mustard seed and the leaven). If we stagnate in this life, if we use it as mere material possession, we stand to lose what we think we have. My study bible puts it this way: "When one has zeal, he will be given more from God. But if he does not use what he has, and fails to participate in the life of the Kingdom, God's gifts will be taken away. This is a hard saying, but true."

"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." The words of Isaiah the prophet are brought back to the people. These words of Isaiah are found in Isaiah chapter 6, in Isaiah's vision of the holy mysteries and the kingdom, from which we receive the thrice holy hymn. In the context of Isaiah's vision, these words come to us from the King, the voice of the Lord, who asks, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Isaiah becomes a messenger, to those who hear and do not understand, see but do not perceive. They are words of warning. They are powerful words about discernment.

Coming after conflict has begun with the temple authorities, and Jesus' warnings of future persecution, the arrest of John the Baptist, and Jesus' rejection in several cities, Isaiah's words echo for us a theme that comes from long past in salvation history. It is up to each one of us to "turn and be healed." Everybody is not going to get this. We are free -- ultimately free -- to reject what God offers. But we are responsible for our choices and our failure to accept that grace. In community, we are also free to do so. Throughout the Old Testament, God's love supersedes rejection by community: the prayers of the faithful do much to save entire populations. But I think that Jesus' words here tell us something important about our choices. Nothing is going to be forced upon us. As human beings, we are endowed with the capability to choose, a responsibility to discern. We are here to learn, to grow -- we are not automatons. We have the power of our hearts and minds and passions. We are capable of becoming like our Creator. It all speaks back to the great theme of the Sermon on the Mount, and its attention to the state of the heart, our inner lives. How seriously do we take discipleship? How active and powerful is this relationship within us, in the place of the heart -- where our spiritual eyes and ears reside? Hearing, do we understand? Seeing, do we perceive? Jesus seems to be saying -- and this is a powerful concept in the context of today's society -- that this isn't necessarily going to be for everyone. Spiritual truth is something we must love and nurture, and within which we grow: or else even the "faithful" will lose what they have. Powerful words: for the powerful force inside the mustard seed, in the leaven with which we may be leavened, the seed He seeks to plant.