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 did 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, so that

'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, an 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

Yesterday, we read that after Jesus has chosen the twelve apostles, they went into a house.  Then the crowds gathered again and came to the house, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when Jesus' own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  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.  Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

 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 did 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!"  Something important has happened; it's another turning point here in Jesus' ministry.  The crowds have grown so great around Him that His family thinks He is out of His mind, and notice has come to the central religious authorities in Jerusalem -- so that they accuse Him of working by the power of demons.  He has chosen the Twelve, who will be sent out on a mission to preach the gospel of the Kingdom, graced with His power also to heal and to cast out demons.  And here we begin to receive parables.  The message is not direct, but given in a form that invites thinking, for those in the crowd who will come that far, who really want what He's offering.  Parables were common in Jesus' time, well-known in Jewish culture long before.  A parable can also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb" in the words used in Hebrew and Aramaic.  But Jesus becomes the parable-teacher of all time.  My study bible says that "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)."   Jesus also quotes Isaiah here (He who has ears, let him hear!) to hint for our understanding of what He is doing by preaching in this way.  My study bible says that the truth of Jesus' parables isn't apparent to everyone; "one must have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear, and even then there are degrees of understanding of the parables."

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 . . ."   The mystery, says my study bible, is the reality of the presence of the Kingdom itself, "revealed in Jesus and perceived by faith."    It adds that Jesus' teaching here, to those who are outside, all things come in parables, could also be translated "to those who are outside, all things come in riddles."  It gives everyone a challenge, and teaches us that in some sense, we're responsible for our own spiritual eyes and ears.  It calls us to at least desire this place of personal receptivity.

" . . . so that '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.'"  Jesus quotes again from Isaiah here (6:9-10).  The fulfillment of these verses from Isaiah, my study bible says to us, refers to hardness of heart as the cause of lack of understanding.  "Jesus is not disclosing truth to some while hiding it from others.  He proclaims the Good News of the Kingdom openly to all, but only those who repent and believe can perceive the power of the Kingdom in Him and in their lives."

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?"  A note tells us:  "Discipleship requires both that we have a personal relationship with Christ and that we understand what He teaches."

"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, an 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."  Again, the emphasis in my study bible is on our receptiveness to His teachings, including the parables, or riddles, that teach us something about the Kingdom.  It says, "The gospel of God's Kingdom is powerful; but our heart response determines its fruitfulness in our lives."

The mystery of the parables is emphasized as a hidden kind of nugget in the midst of the story.  But mystery, or something secret or hidden, isn't just about a one-time truth.  A parable is a kind of mystery or riddle that can keep giving us new truths every time we hear it.  It opens a door.  Maybe more importantly, it invites us into relationship by seeking to cultivate our own capacity for receiving, for hearing.  And that is another great mystery of the Kingdom.  Jesus' power is a mystery; it's something beyond us, that comes from places we're not a part of.  However, when Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, in John's Gospel, about baptism or being reborn in Spirit, Jesus calls this a "worldly thing" in contrast to "heavenly things."  In today's reading, Jesus explains the parable of the Sower to His disciples, and so we get the benefit of His teachings, but that doesn't mean that each of us doesn't find meaning in our own lives from hearing this parable again.  I find that at some stage in my life, I fit into each of these categories of the seeds falling here and there.  There are times His word may seem to be lost on me, times when I fight it, or the cares of the world truly choke out everything else that is of value and truth.  One element I find I greatly need in this journey of becoming a good "hearer" or developing "ears to hear" is patience.  We're on this journey for a lifetime, and so these parables or riddles that continually give us new glimpses of the Kingdom, new facets of our own journey on His "road" (another meaning of the Greek word in the Gospels for "way"), is just that:  we may want all the truth right now, mysteries solved and revealed, the fullness of our own spiritual capabilities, but that's not the nature of the Kingdom either.  Rather, we're invited in.  And each moment becomes a new capacity for hearing, for learning (being disciples), for holding our own particular perspective in His light, and finding the glimpses He offers us just now, the Way through our own particular place in life.  Really, the entirety of the Kingdom is a mystery in itself, but it's one that asks us to participate in it, as best we can.  And that's also the nature of the parables:  there are new truths to encounter, new parts of ourselves to uncover and discover in His truth about who we are and how we change or repent in His care.  Each of those seeds are things planted in us, and they don't just take root but they must also produce, crops and fruit, be cared for in each season so that they continue to produce.  We are a part of the project of this Kingdom, and His parable teaches us about where the seeds land and what we do with them, and how wholeheartedly we grow more deeply in this embrace of His love, and the "rootedness" He wishes of us.  So, today is a good day to consider where we are on the journey of the Sower:  Where's our stony ground?  What are the thorns that choke us and choke out His word?  When do the cares of the world crowd out the things of the Kingdom?  How do we make sure we're good soil for the Kingdom, and take care to maintain that richness and future promise?  All of these things are ongoing within us, and ask us to participate and even to understand.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.  Every day, we're called again, every moment.