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

Harvest of life mosaic, detail.  4th century.  Santa Costanza, Rome, Italy

"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 a while.  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 that, after Jesus preached the parable of the Sower, 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:  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 a while.  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."  Jesus gives the explanation of His parable of the Sower to the disciples.  Let us keep in mind that this is the first time He's preached in parables, and it's the first parable that has been given.  He has spent time alone with the disciples explaining why He's begun preaching in parables.  There are those who will "hear" and those who will not, as the crowds who listen to Him have grown large.  There will be those who hear and want to know more, but there will be many who also do not.   Here in His explanation of the parable Jesus speaks of how different people will receive the word, the "seed" He distributes as "sower."  His explanation is clear, but one thing we can note:  Jesus emphasizes persistence, and also the overcoming of obstacles to the fruitfulness of the word within ourselves.  The fertile good ground is the region of the heart.  Jesus speaks of the worldly as that which interferes with the root and flowering of the word:  tribulation and persecution, cares of this world and deceitfulness of riches.

Jesus' emphasis is on persistence, overcoming obstacles.  He knows that there will be many ways in which it will be made difficult for His word to be followed, to take root, to flower, to produce fruit.  He knows there will be many dangers to His ministry -- both in His lifetime and also throughout the centuries to follow.  This parable applies at both a community level -- even a universal level -- and also at an individual level.  Ultimately, He speaks of the ground of the heart common to each person.  We should, in fact, take heart in Jesus' assumption that His word is going to fall in places of struggle and even of hostility.  In the whole of the Gospel, Christ is quite pragmatic in terms of the warnings He gives to the disciples, and to all those who would follow, that this is not going to be an easy journey.  At the very least, in this first parable, He teaches us that there are pitfalls and traps awaiting the faithful.  We might hear the word with great joy, but what about when we face challenges to that faith?  What about when we struggle to make ends meet, or to keep up with the neighbors (or others)?  What about when something unjust happens to us?  Sometimes we might need to sacrifice materially in order to follow our faith -- and that will really take faith to do.  I have had the experience of friends questioning why I would not put material profit first in making decisions -- and it has been surprising to me that I can't sufficiently explain there are other things more important.  Jesus warns us that persecutions will come, and tribulations.  Nothing is left out of this parable for the person who seeks to be a follower of Christ.  But then, He's quite specific about what He's looking for in His followers.  He calls us to persist, and in our persistence, to bear fruit.  This is not an overnight sensation of elation in our faith that gives us all easy answers to every question.  This is something within which we'll struggle and meet our own obstacles.  There are things we'll need time to work out in prayer, hard decisions that are not simple.  But the reward is a particular kind of joy, a medicine for our souls, a kind of truth and fruit to bear which nothing else can replace.  His is the one thing necessary for that place in us that longs for real truth, a genuine need for security in God's love, especially when the transitory nature of so much of life lets us down.  Let us turn to prayer in our struggles, and to those who offer us the truth, and support our choice for what He offers us.  Christ's way is the one that shows us the long road for the long game -- for an outcome that transcends everything else.  Along the way, we learn patience, forbearance, kindness, joy, a peace that passes understanding -- and bear the fruits He wishes.  St. Paul affirms this in Galatians 5:22-23, and so does the full experience of the Church and her faithful.  Let us consider where our lives intersect with that experience and that challenge today, for His truth remains just so.