The parable of the Sower

 Now it came to pass, afterward that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalane, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock, and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop, a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" 

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

'Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.'

"Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.   Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

- Luke 8:1-15

In yesterday's reading, one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him.  And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."  "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sin?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."


 Now it came to pass, afterward that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalane, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  My study bible tells us that "the group that accompanied Jesus as He went about teaching and healing was not limited to the twelve.  A number of women were part of that band as well, and they provided for Jesus from their possessions."

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock, and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop, a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"    Jesus now introduces us to parables.  We can see, in retrospect, the growth of His ministry.  Just a few readings ago, we read of His choosing the twelve after having prayed all night.  In today's reading, we learn of the many women who traveled with His ministry, after having been healed in many ways, and who supported Him from their own means.  Now we are introduced to parables, and it's a sign that His ministry has grown enough that it is time to discern real faith from that which is passing.  All kinds of people have heard of His healing miracles and come to hear Him preach.  He teaches here about the kinds of discipleship He's looking for.

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'"  My study bible tells us that "the mysteries of the kingdom are revealed to the faithful, but hidden from those with unresponsive hearts."  It translates mysteries as "secret or hidden truths."  Jesus is quoting from the words of the prophet Isaiah.

"Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.   Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."  My study bible says that "the explanation of the parable is easily grasped.  But only with the eyes of faith does one see and know that Jesus Himself is truly the Savior." 

It always seems to me when I read this parable that to a certain extent I've experienced all of these phases of faith, or lack of it.  There are times when the word seems to come and disappear out of my heart, times when I'm tempted and forget or seem to have no rootedness in me, times when my cares, or thought of nice things, or pleasures of life seemed to have crowded out my real goal, the one most important thing.  And then there are those times when I can look back and understand my own patience (to my surprise) or at least that I kept something in my heart, and maybe even bore some fruit.  I think the real impact of the parable, as it strikes me today, is the power of the words Jesus teaches:  that what He really wants of us is commitment and patience, a kind of endurance through all things.  At the heart of the parable is the way He teaches with the words of Isaiah:  "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  To really have the word in our hearts requires more than just listening and understanding.  A sort of spiritual sight or hearing, a perception of the heart, is one that can take in our relationship to Christ, one for whom His words create an action in the heart, such as that which was experienced by His disciples on the road to Emmaus, before they realized it was their Master who was speaking to them.    The depth of the mysteries of the Kingdom to which Jesus refers reach within us to places we can't name, they draw us along that road (as in the road to Emmaus) that takes us through all things as we endure, as we find that we just may "bear fruit with patience."  Truly it is a great mystery -- not only this Kingdom but also its effect and relationship within us.  Let us go forward and heed the best thing in our lives, that which is of the heart and the Kingdom.