But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience

 

 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on the rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'" 

 

"Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

 

- Luke 8:1-15 

 

Yesterday we read that one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him.  And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."  "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  And those who sat at table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."

 

 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.   My study Bible comments that these women were faithful to Christ to the end (Luke 23:49, 55), and were the first to receive and proclaim the news of His Resurrection (Luke 24:1-10).  In the Scriptures, the number seven often symbolizes totality and completeness, indicating that Mary called Magdalene had been thoroughly given over to darkness before her healing.  

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on the rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  This is the seminal parable of the Sower; it is the foundation for the rest of the parables, and begins Jesus' teaching in parables also in Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 13).   One significance to this beginning of speaking in parables is that the multitudes are great enough now so that all kinds of people come to hear Him from curiosity, even those who will not become His disciples.  "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  is a call to those whose hearts are ready to receive His word hidden in the parable for themselves. 

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that  'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'"  My study Bible explains that mysteries are not obscure intellectual concepts, but the presence of the Kingdom of God which cannot be defined.  A person's unwillingness to understand Christ's parables is due to a rejection of His Kingdom.  St. John Chrysostom writes, "If the blindness were natural, it would have been proper for God to open their eyes, but because it was a voluntary and self-chosen blindness, He does not overthrow their free will."  To do so would have been not only to "no advantage for them, but an even greater condemnation."

"Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."   My study Bible comments that, as the sower in the parable, Christ fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 55:10-13.  It notes that while come might teach that a person is permanently saved at the moment one professes faith -- a view which was never held by the historic Church -- the teaching of Christ is clear, that it is possible to believe for a while and then fall away.  

When we look at the prophecy found in Isaiah 55:10-13, we read that "My word . . . that goes forth from My mouth . . . shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."  Jesus as the Sower is sowing seeds with His word, hoping to plant them within us, within the crowds -- not necessarily so that He sees and immediately reaps all the fruit from those seeds, but rather confident that as the seed goes out, so it shall find good ground, and begin to grow its own harvest.  When we read this parable, it should be informing us that this process will continue as long as there are human beings to hear the word, and others to carry it out to the world, for it is still at work among us, and still going out to prosper and to flourish.  We note that Jesus isn't saying that everybody will be a fruitful recipient of His word.  He wants "those who have ears to hear."   That is, those who are pulled in to the compelling gravity of the mysteries of the kingdom of God -- that intangible secret hidden in plain sight, found in the Church and in the testimonies of the faithful, of those who discern that love and know they need it, and return it to Christ.  Note also how fruitfulness, once it's begun, doesn't really have a limit, but the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.  Note that the words used here are that we bear fruit "with patience."  This is not simply an overnight process, but one of a lifetime's work and discipleship.  We need to be patient with God and patient with ourselves; these seeds -- Christ's word -- are the gift that keeps on giving, keeps asking us for new growth, for more weeding out of what gets in the way, removal of the stones that prevent roots from growing deep, pulling out the thorns that choke the harvest with their cares, riches and pleasures of life which crowd out the focus of the heart where the word takes root and bears fruit.  I find that each one of places upon which the seed could fall which Christ describes can stand in for something we go through in life, but the good ground also depends on our work for it, our cultivation of receptivity and willingness in discipleship.  Time goes on, and the word continually goes out, and this will not stop until the job is complete, which Jesus has indicated will be the end of the age.  We don't know when that will be, for it is not up to us -- but what we should take to heart every day is the work of His word going out, its great harvest in us and among us, and our part in that.  When we seem to lose our way, or are choked with cares and worries, when the world baffles us, we take up this job and know what we are to be about.