A sower went out to sow

 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 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!"

- Matthew 13:1-9

In yesterday's reading, Jesus concluded words addressed to some Pharisees, who had claimed that He cast out demons by the power of the ruler of demons. (See the readings of Friday and Saturday in which Jesus warned that we'll give an account of even every idle word, and taught to make the "inner" tree good so that it bears good fruit.)  Jesus continued, "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it be with this wicked generation."  While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He 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."

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 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!"  Here in the middle of Matthew's Gospel, we begin chapter 13 with the Parable of the Sower.  It's a parable that is central to Jesus' ministry, because the sower is Jesus.  He portrays Himself in this "word picture" as the Christ, the Messiah, who is the sower in the earth, as foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  Throughout the Old Testament Scripture, metaphors of sowing and harvesting appear, images of daily life (see Psalms 126:5; Jeremiah 31:27-30; Hosea 2:21-23; Josel 3:12-14).

In recent readings, the split between Jesus and the religious leadership has become very clear.  When the Pharisees demanded a sign from Jesus of "proof" that He's the Messiah, He scathingly retorted that the only sign this "evil and adulterous generous" would receive was the sign of Jonah, who was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights -- so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.  He continued, " The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."  Citing outsiders, foreigners, who give tremendous examples of great faith -- known from the spiritual history of Israel as told by Scripture -- Jesus tells the Pharisees, the experts in the Law, that they will be judged by such.   After that was added Jesus words, that His "brother and sister and mother" are "whoever does the will of My Father in heaven."  This parable of the Sower gives us an image of Christ, the Word Himself, who sows His word in the world.  It teaches us in hidden meanings, revealed by these images, of what it is to hear the word and truly receive it, and bear fruit of it.  In tomorrow's reading, and in the reading following that, Jesus will elaborate for His disciples and teach them meanings of this parable.  But for now, the word goes out in pictures, from which our faith has to draw out an understanding, and by which we are drawn in to faith as well.  Such is the working of His parables.  This one, about sowing the world, is given at just the time when there is a turning point in the ministry, and the word will be given to the outsiders who will not fail to respond.  It's the beginning of a direction, if we have ears to hear, that Christ's "sister and brother and mother" will come out of all the world.  This is also the beginning of Jesus' great preaching style of the use of parables themselves:  meanings hidden in images for those who may come to faith, wherever they may be found.  In the image of the Sower, we are given a point of reference for what continues today, even here on the world wide web, that goes out to all the world.  The multitudes who pack the seaside to hear Him speak -- like "all the fish in the sea" and the sands on the shore -- tell us about this mission and where it is headed, where it is still going on.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!