Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow

 

 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 and the disciples went into a house, 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 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.  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!"  Today's passage marks another shift in Jesus' ministry, and it also reflects His growing popularity as a preacher.  He begins to preach and teach in parables.  This is significant because, as we read a little further along at the end of today's reading, Jesus is conscious now that a lot depends upon how people are hearing Him speak; that is, upon people's own perceptions and capacity to grasp to truth He's teaching.  Everything does not depend only on the One who delivers the message.  My study bible tells us that the Hebrew and Aramaic words for parable also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb."  These are images drawn from daily life to give us deep truths of God.   But it points out that the truth communicated by Jesus' parables is not evident to all who hear them.  The listener needs spiritual ears to hear, and even then not everyone has the same degree of understanding.  

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.'"  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10.  My study bible comments that, according to St. John Chrysostom, Isaiah's prophecy does not mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  This is rather a figure of speech which is common to Scripture, and indicates God giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).   

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."   Christ reveals Himself through the parable as the promised Messiah.  He is the sower foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13. My study bible remarks that while some might teach that one is permanently saved at the moment a person professes faith (a view which has never been held by the historic Church), in Christ's parable it is clear that it is possible for someone to believe for a while and then fall away.

In the fullness of the parable Jesus offers of Himself as Sower, we can come to understand several things.  First of all, there is no "one size fits all" here.  That is, He fully expects that those in His audience will receive His words (which are the seeds of the Sower) in different ways.  Just like the ground on which seed might be scattered, the condition of the ground makes a difference.  It's not just the quality of the seed that matters.  For a modern Western audience in a country filled with suburban homes, there are those who might understand this very well if they consider their own gardens and lawns.  No matter where we might scatter even the most expensive and best quality seed, the ground it falls on and all the environmental conditions make a difference.  (In an extended consideration of that metaphor, we might also think about cultivation, pruning, mowing, watering, pests, sunshine, rainfall, and so on!)  So each person not only receives and understands (or fails to) through their own capacity, but Christ also gives a kind of timeline of development here.  That is, once a seed is received -- if it is received -- there is a history awaiting, a story that has to unfold.  So much depends upon the conditions of life and how that person responds to those conditions.  Jesus gives a good description of stumbling when tribulation or persecution arises.  Let us note that to stumble is to fail to stay on the right path, to fall down rather than going forward.   He speaks of those ever-with-us thorns, the "cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in" as those things that choke the word in us, and so it fails to grow and produce.  The sowing of the seed is just what the Sower does, but He is counting on and hoping for so much more, which is purely invested in us and how we respond to what we're given and what we have.  Not to give in to the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things is part of the work of producing a harvest, being or becoming abundant, and yielding fruit.  All of these things are with us always, they just come in different forms, and we are clearly expected to discern what those are.  But the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred, are the ones who endure through all things.  They are the ones who continue to protect and to nurture the word so that it can take root and grow within them and through their lives.  And so, what we learn from the parable is that this is expected to be a lifelong journey, and not without its pitfalls, difficulties, and struggles.  And yet, we are called upon to endure.  I know many people right now who feel that life has become a struggle in a more complex way than in the past.  The difficulties of Covid pandemic multiply as we're cut off from friends for longer than we expected, life doesn't really quite go back to normal, lockdowns might increase, and a whole host of other difficulties including fears about loved ones and sadness regarding those who've been harmed and lost those dear to them.  Political instability also seems to be a strange part of this picture, and in some sense that means, also, that the world is affected in any number of ways.  War rages in places, with devastation and terrible loss, all made worse in the time of pandemic.  And yes, there are those who take advantage.  It may help to perceive that things we're talking about and witnessing are elements of the problems of this world that have always been with us.  We might be experiencing them in different ways and new forms that come with the time of technology or other features of our moment in history, but life in this world and the meaning of the parable have not changed.  Jesus still profiles our situation with remarkable insight even in the simplicity of His parable built on the prophecy of Isaiah and the Sower who is the Messiah.  He has planted a seed, and more seeds, and you and I both have ground for it to grow, a struggle for that seed to be nurtured and to produce, and especially to endure, for the story of our faith -- at least when one looks at the Gospels and Jesus' teachings -- is one of endurance.  We hang in there.  Let us do all we can to endure and be persistent when there are obstacles, thorns, stony ground, tribulation, persecution, choking cares and concerns, and any number of things Jesus names here in the parable for us, so that we are prepared to deal with life His way.  We will persist and endure, for there is nothing that is not expected, and there is joy always to celebrate, as we give thanks for what we've been given and for the beauty in life that is good.  Let's not forget that Jesus tells us there will be those who don't hear it and don't understand, also those who fall away.  But His concern is with those with the capacity to stick with it and be productive, and it's time to plant seeds of prayer and faith, even in seemingly unstable times of the world -- and maybe especially then.