Hear the parable of the sower

 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for awhile.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

- Matthew 13:18-23

Yesterday we read about the beginning of Jesus' preaching in parables:   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 then.  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.  For whoever 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."

 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: . . . "  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave us the parable of the Sower, and in private His disciples asked Him about the parable.   This is our introduction to parables.  It is the first time that He begins preaching using them.  Parables were already widely known in Jewish culture and tradition, and around the Middle East.  But Jesus' use of parables are an extraordinary example of His word.  They are designed to use the greatest simplicity, with stories drawn from everyday life (especially in an agrarian society for this one) which are meant to draw in those who may see and hear with faith.  And we note that in private He explains to His disciples as they ask Him questions.  Today He explains the parable of the Sower, which we can read above, from yesterday's reading.

"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside."    Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."  We remember that Jesus has chosen to begin using parables to preach to the large crowds who now gather to Him.  In a way, the parables mirror what we are told in this parable:  they sort of out those who receive His word in faith from those who do not.  Jesus explains that as the Sower, He comes spreading His word in a world that is not going to be perfectly receptive.  There is an enemy here, waiting to snatch away this word.

"But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for awhile.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles."  Here is the next thing we understand about the world and the word.  There are those who will receive His word with joy.  But like a planted crop, it must take root, and fails to do so again because of the conditions of the world and the lack of depth of rootedness faith in the person.  In the world, He will teach, as His followers we will have tribulation (John 16:33)  and we will have persecution (Mark 10:30).  Jesus does not offer us a life in which we do not face the realities of the world, but a life in which we nevertheless experience the blessedness and joy of the life of the Kingdom.

"Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful."  Here is more about the conditions of the world in which we are to live our lives in faith.  We're told that the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are present to us.  From this understanding, it's clear that the faith of the Kingdom does not offer us a utopian dream, but rather a way of life through a difficult world.   We're also given to understand that Jesus seeks for us to be fruitful.  But His fruitfulness is not the same as the production of riches, which He describes as deceitful.

"But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."  Each who hears the word and understands it bears fruit and produces."  We note that each produces according to potential; we are not meant to be the same people with the same output.  But that we do bear spiritual fruit is the desire of the Sower, the favored outcome of faith and good ground.

All of the conditions that Jesus names in which the word struggles for rootedness and fruitfulness are things that remain present to each one of us.  They are things with which we will contend in our lives.  We fail to understand, or we feel a fleeting joy that passes quickly.  Tribulation and persecution are temptations to give it all up, and all too often that is the result of seed "on stony places."  In Scripture, a "stony" or "hard" heart is frequently an expression denoting a lack of understanding or receptivity.   We live with the thorns or cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches -- things that look good to chase after but which really don't give back all the effort, the heart and soul, one may put into them.  We note how these things "choke" the word, they crowd it out and strangle it within us if we let them.  All of these experiences may belong to each one of us.  But the central point we can take away from this parable is one Jesus will emphasize, particularly when He begins to tell the apostles about the time when He will no longer be with them.  We learn from the parable the importance of endurance.  We live to try again, to continue, to start our devotion to His word and His faith once more.  This is the way to the spiritual productivity that He seeks.  Jesus does not offer us a perfect world, nor some utopian dream of an ideal perfect life.  He doesn't offer us wealth as the panacea we might seek for our struggles and problems, but rather warns that riches are deceitful.  The cares of this world are not to overrun and dominate our lives.  We're supposed to focus on something else, a different way of life.  Over the course of the past couple of weeks, we have been reading the Sermon on the Mount.  We have skipped over several chapters to read the parable of the Sower, in preparation for Ascension Day.  But it is in the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus teaches us about the blessed life He asks  of us, and teaches the fruitfulness meant as the response to His word.  The blessedness He offers is ours even though we face persecution or tribulation in or because of our faith.  What Jesus offers is the challenge of a life well-lived, a good life, something to have faith in and worthy of the sacrifice it takes to live it.  Its blessings are transcendent and not dependent upon external conditions.  Its fruitfulness remains within a communion in which others may share.  Its true place is within us and among us, where two or three are gathered in His name, or where we pray to our Father in secret.  It is a substance that remains with us and within us, a joy given not as the world gives, a peace that passes understanding.   This is what we seek first, all else may be added unto it.  But this illumines our view of the world and gives us our place in it, how we relate to everything and everyone else.  All from the place of the word, the seed He plants within us, and the good ground it needs to bear real fruit.