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

 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 d 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 Jesus and His newly-chosen twelve, 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 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 it 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.  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 d 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!"  A new turning point has come in Jesus' ministry, and there is a type of further winnowing of His approach to the public, in a time when there is almost a furor of interest in Him:  He begins to preach in parables.  Parables are "word pictures."  They give a glimpse of truth through what might be termed allegory, or riddle, or proverb.  Such parables fill all of  Scripture; they are images from people's daily life, chosen to illustrate the deeper things of God.  But Jesus is the greatest teller of parables; in both the powerful messages available in the parables and in the simplicity and directness of the images He chooses, He excels beyond anyone else in their telling and their message.  But there's a deeper meaning in this shift in ministry:  Jesus is at the point where He wants those with ears to hear.  He's looking for those with a capacity of faith to desire what He offers, who seek Him out not for show and not for healing or miraculous wonders, but with an internal spiritual hunger for the true food He offers.  My study bible says that parables give us glimpses of God whose thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  Parables will give to each one according to their own spiritual degree of understanding and their internal desire for the things of God.  The Gospels introduce us to the parables of Jesus with the parable of the Sower.

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.'"  St. John Chrysostom comments that Isaiah's prophecy (quoted here by Jesus, see Isaiah 6:9-10) doesn't mean that God causes spiritual blindness in those who'd otherwise have been faithful.  It's a figure of speech common to Scripture which reveals that God gives people up to their own desires (see Romans 1:24, 26).  God permits self-chosen blindness.  We recall from yesterday's reading (above) the crowds that come to see Him, the hostility of the leadership, the panic of His own people.   Among all this, Jesus seeks those who truly desire the fruits of the Kingdom and its reality within and among us.

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 says that Jesus reveals Himself in this parable as the promised Messiah.  He's the sower, foretold by Isaiah (Isaiah 55:10-13).  We note the possible manifestations of faith or lack of it:  there are those for whom the word never remains at all in the heart, those who are immediately glad but the word never takes root, they endure only for a time.   They stumble immediately when there is hostility or adversity to the word.  The thorns are the things that choke the word in us:  they are the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things that enter into the heart and crowd out the word.  To endure in the word is to bear fruit, each according to his or her capacity.

 Jesus' words speak to us about faith, about the mission of faith.  They explain what He is here for, those whom He looks for, the aim of His entire ministry.  He's looking for those who will endure.  The word goes out into the world which is hostile to it.  Jesus expects that we will face adversity to this word within our hearts.  He expects that we will find all kinds of temptations in life -- and desires that crowd out our desire for God or seek to replace it.  The demand for all kinds of things in the world:  the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the many, many other things that seem so good to chase in life will give us plenty to distract us and seek to replace the desire for the word of God within us.  All of these things that Jesus names teaches us about our faith:  that it's not just a one-time acceptance He's looking for.  He's not looking for people to sign up and sign on.  He's not looking for membership or roster rolls.  He's not looking for an "Amen" or a crowd that wants to cheer Him.  There is nothing like that going on here.  Jesus instead is here for serious commitment, for even a lifetime of struggle.  What He wants are those who are willing to go the long haul; whose desire is sincere and genuine, and will not fade away with the advent of other things that take us away from Him.   This is a serious adult business, one that takes in all the problems of this world and is willing to reckon with them for the true prize, the soul that can bear fruit from the word, from the seeds planted in the heart.   Jesus gives no one rose-colored glasses.  He doesn't promise an easy life.  This is anything but a hard sell.  He doesn't even preach in ways that are direct but rather "hidden."  He wants those who really and truly want this and are going to hang on to it throughout the whole of life, and that's where He takes us today -- into that sobering, wise, understanding, and prepared place that acknowledges life as a struggle for what is good and worthy of us.  He's looking for those who will be His friends, and to whom He will be true Friend.   This Lent, let us consider what gets in the way and crowds out the word in us -- and weigh what is of true worth for us to pursue and choose for the long road.