Why do You speak to them in parables?

 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 whosoever 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, we read that on the same day He was spoke (in Monday's reading), 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 and 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."  My study bible explains that the mysteries of the kingdom are not just esoteric concepts or some body of religious truth that is only for the elite.  Additionally, an understanding of Jesus' parables isn't simply an intellectual exercise, either.  It says, "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 faith to receive this mystery, which is the reality of the Kingdom."

"For whosoever 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."  My study bible notes here:  "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."  I think it points again to our discussion in yesterday's reading, in which Jesus gave us the parable of the Sower.  Jesus wants those who will be pulled in through their own receptivity through what is in their hearts.  The one thing I believe we can liken this to is love, a heart calling to another heart.  This itself is mysterious, and it is connected through the workings of the Father.  This isn't perfect knowledge, it's the calling of love, the drawing in to relationship, communion, participation.

"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.'"  This quotation from Isaiah begs us to understand what it is to be healed.  To be truly healed is to be in right relationship to God, to be aware and alert, awake to the love and presence of God and participating with it.  It's an explanation for why He will not offer proofs on demand.  (See Saturday's reading, in which He was asked for a sign, and Monday's in which He spoke of a healed person who becomes seven times worse.)  He wants volunteers; love is not something one compels.

"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."  The disciples follow Him because they have a sense of Him.  It's not that they understand Him perfectly -- far from it, the Gospels see to it that we understand that.  They don't even fully understand the parable.  (Jesus will explain its meaning in tomorrow's reading.)  What they understand is a kind of love and trust that compels them to follow Christ.  It is He who leads the way, and whatever it is they possess within themselves, it is that which leads them to follow and compels them forward.  Jesus does not come into the world with an army.  He doesn't come with extreme wealth.  He doesn't have glamour.  What He has is His Person, His authority which is an internal authority of identity and not the trappings of the world.  He has His Person.  It is in the truth of that Person that people find something compelling.  It is the spiritual desire in them that truly responds to the call of His voice in the heart.  The Incarnation is present before them, and these "simple" people, these "little ones" who are not in the power elite or the well-to-do or the most educated, for the most part, are those who are called to Him.  They have eyes to see and ears to hear.  There is a spiritual response deep in the mystery of what it means to be a human being, and it is this love and loyalty that compels them forward.  In this ministry, God is revealed as a lover of all, who does not compel (force) us to love Him, but acts with equal opportunity for all of us.  Our spirits cooperate with His Spirit, and Son and Father are also at work within us.   As Jesus indicates, from this seed grows more.