The sower sows the word

 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, 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

Yesterday, we read that after Jesus had selected His twelve disciples, they went into a house.  Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His 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 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 around in a circle at those who sat 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.   Once again Mark's gospel makes it clear to us just how popular Jesus' ministry is, how many people are coming to hear Him preach.  Again, I imagine this is a rare thing at this time, a kind of phenomenon, in a time and place so lacking in the types of communications available to us!  But the word about Jesus spreads everywhere; so much so that he can't even remain on the land with the crowds of people.

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!"  In yesterday's reading, we received the first parable Mark gives us, regarding a kingdom divided against itself (see yesterday's reading above).  Here, we are given the central parable which Jesus tells about Himself and His ministry.  My study bible tells us that 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).  Parables, like this one, give each hearer according to what they're capable of receiving, and allow for growth in understanding.   Jesus is quoting Isaiah when He says, "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.'"  My study bible tells us that John Chrysostom interprets Isaiah's prophecy as not meaning that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise be faithful.  (Jesus quotes here from Isaiah 6:9-10.)  My study bible says that it demonstrates that people are responsible for their own lack of receptivity:  having grown dull and insensitive, they are unwilling to accept the message of the parables.  As the mission of Isaiah in the Old Testament was to open the eyes of Israel to see the acts of God, so the parables of Jesus are intended to open the eyes of His hearers to the truth and lead them to produce the fruit of righteousness.   This isn't about an intellectual understanding; rather, as my study bible puts it, "spiritual enlightenment is essentially a communication of faith in the Person, words, and deeds of the Lord Jesus Christ."

 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."  My study bible tells us that as the sower in this parable, Jesus fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 55:10-13.  It says that while some might teach a person is permanently saved the moment he professes faith (a view not held by the historic Church), the teaching of Jesus is clear that it is possible to believe for a while and then fall away.  What we see from the explanation of the parable is just that:  the great emphasis on the continuation of faith through all obstacles, whether those obstacles be persecutions and difficulties, the cares of the world, or the lure of riches and other types of desires.  Jesus gives us a sense that this word taking root in us is a process, something that continues through all our lives.  The process is expected to bear fruit, spiritual blessings that come through a life in which faith is challenged, and triumphs over the many challenges we'll find.  It's the persistence in faith itself that's emphasized here; a life lived in which our faith teaches us how to go through all things.

Jesus gives a number of ways in which our experiences of life can interfere with our faith, in the ways He gives that people somehow lose the seed, or the growth of the seed that is His word, the word.  Those who lose it immediately are in circumstances where the evil one snatches it away before it can take any rest in the heart at all.  We can see this as a person who hears some truly "good" news, only to be immediately told how silly it would be to believe anything that sounds that good and so the word is lost.  Then there are those for whom any kind of temptation easily persuades them away from this word; there's no rootedness at all.  There are greater challenges:  human beings are subject to thorns -- choking them with cares, worries, possessions and pleasures that don't really serve the blossoming or fruitfulness of this word, but rather strangle persistence in faith by an overwhelming kind of pull or influence.  But the good ground is an open heart, one that is open to truth, a passion for God or "the good."  If you think about it, this comes also with an experience of grace that is transforming, enlightening -- but also to those who are capable of appreciating that grace.  I've been choked with cares at times, thinking nothing was working out, I couldn't please anybody, even those whom I loved.  But the grace of God, that word inside, taught me something more about love, that there's a true grace and value that has to do with humility, when we're stripped down to that place where we have to choose the good, even though it's so hard to do against the pressures we can be subject to.  It's in that time that we decide that God's grace -- perhaps a very tiny and small voice within us that grows into a passion, that seed that transcends the world -- is worth the sacrifice of the rest, and living with the consequences.  Sometimes there is that place where no matter what, we cling to what we know is truly good, even if it feels like a great windstorm is fiercely turning friend to foe, or even if it's possible that those of our own household are in some sense enemies.  To bear fruit with patience means that our faith, our persistence in dwelling in and nurturing that word as it dwells in and nurtures us, becomes the road through life, despite life's cares and temptations, its delusions and passions, everything that sounds like a good idea but isn't, and the times when we have to stand up to great pressure -- both from within ourselves and from without.  The time for Christ is always, and it clearly takes patience to remember that and to persist in it through a lifetime.  Let us remember that He Himself is the Word, the Logos -- which also means "reason."  He is the One who spoke life into existence, the One Who is, and it is by His word that we truly have life and not just a semblance of one.   Note here that it is not up to us to convince those who don't want to be convinced; the word becomes our integrity, our patience, our transcendence, and in that comes the teaching we're given to share by Him.  Those who can't hear, who don't have spiritual ears, will not -- and we're guaranteed that this is a choice that belongs to each, deep in the heart.  Even those who bear fruit will each have their own yield!  Let us remember what is ours to be and to do.