He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

 

 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; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on 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 the 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.   These women mentioned here by Luke would prove to be faithful to Christ until the end (23:49, 55).  They were the first to receive and to proclaim the news of Christ's Resurrection (24:1-10).  In the Scriptures, my study bible says, seven frequently symbolizes totality and completeness, here 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; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on 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."  Jesus begins speaking in parables here in Luke's Gospel.  As in the Gospel of Matthew, He begins with the parable of the Sower.  Note that regarding this "new" mode of preaching in parables, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9.   On today's entire passage, my study bible comments that, as the sower in the parable, Christ fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 55:10-13.  It says that while some suggest that a person is permanently saved from the moment there is a profession of faith -- and this is a view that was never held by the historic Church -- the teaching of Jesus is clear from the parable that some may believe for a while and then fall away.  When Jesus speaks of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, He isn't speaking about obscure intellectual concepts, but rather the presence of the kingdom of God which cannot be defined.  My study bible says that a person's unwillingness to understand Christ's parables is due to a rejection of His Kingdom.  St. John Chrysostom teaches, "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, God does not overthrow their free will."  To do so would have been not only to "no advantage for them, but an even greater condemnation."

With this step in His ministry, where Christ has preached extensively throughout Galilee, and now there are greater crowds which are gathered to Him (a great multitude), He begins to teach in parables.  Jesus says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" bringing to mind Isaiah's language regarding a particular capacity to hear the words of the prophet, the call of the Lord.  As my study bible suggests, there is a kind of talent (if we can put it that way) or capacity which lies within each of us, but it may be dormant due to lack of use or lack of care.  The parables are designed to provoke a response from those whose capacity for hearing is not shut out or stopped up, for those in the crowds who really desire what Christ offers.  Of course, in the Gospel, we reach Christ's private explanation to His disciples.  Perhaps what is most striking about Jesus' explanations -- regarding those by the wayside who hear, but then the devil snatches the word out of their hearts, or those on the rock who  receive the word with joy, but have no root and so fall away in a time of temptation, or the ones falling among thorns are those choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and so bring no fruit to maturity --  is just that all of these things can be part of the struggle with faith at any time.  That is, these different failings of faith can be part of the journey at any time -- they may come to trip us up.  They are not, as they might appear, three separate groups of people, but rather different times of hearing the word, different possibilities that come up.  We can at any time find ourselves choked with the cares of the world.  Or possibly there is the evil one at work who desires that we might not be saved.  We might spend too much time obsessing about riches or pleasures to heed what Christ would sow in the heart, or our own shallowness renders us unrooted and easily swayed off course.  But to bear good spiritual fruit, He is clear, takes a consistent sort of rootedness, and, we can infer, a way to constantly make certain that our soil is in good shape -- healthy and weeded, properly watered, nurtured with all that it needs, with stones plucked out and possibly new topsoil when necessary, and all the things we can understand about what it takes to make things grow and to produce good fruit.  Each of these things can be clear metaphors for different times of our lives, and there is good reason why so many of Christ's parables focus on common themes of farming that were known to all people.  Anyone with a garden who has tried to coax good growth can also understand -- even that there are times to prune back what hasn't worked, so our "tree" has more energy it can devote to flowers and fruitfulness.  There are any number of ways that Christ would offer to us through this parable to understand a picture of what it means to be on our own journey of faith, cultivating our garden, growing whatever it is that He has given us to grow and to tend.  But it all takes focus, purpose, care, and a steady devotion to the things we really need to pursue.  It requires a constant state of attention, and nurturing as well through the Word and the influence of the Spirit, the tending of the heart.  Let us note in this context the passage on the faithful women, who travel with His ministry from Galilee, "nurturing" through their own means this growth, and will stay steady, faithful, supportive throughout -- and play such a vitally important role in the Resurrection.  They give us an important picture of the journey of faith:  of constant support, vigilance, and simply staying by rooted where they are supposed to be, indispensable to the fullness of Easter.  Let us pay attention, and be like them, the ones who hear the good news.

Therefore 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 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

In yesterday's reading, Jesus included the Parable of the Sower as he taught "the great multitudes." Yesterday's reading focused on the understanding of the teaching by parables - what is their purpose? Jesus explained to his disciples why he used parables to teach the crowds.

In today's reading, Jesus gives his explanation of the parable of the sower. Before we discuss the explanation, I think it's important to review some notes about parables. My study bible says, "Parables are stories in word-pictures, revealing spiritual truth. The Hebrew and Aramaic words for parable also mean 'allegory, 'riddle,' or 'proverb.' The Scriptures, especially the gospels, are filled with parables -- images drawn from daily life in the world to represent and communicate the deep things of God. Parables give us glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8,9)." Personally, I think it's important to understand that these vivid "word-pictures" are not necessarily perfect analogies. They are intended to illustrate, to open up something in the hearts and minds of his listeners, to which they respond whose hearts are open to the spiritual reality conveyed.

So, let us take Jesus' answer and explanation to his disciples for the Parable of the Sower.

The parable went: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them." Jesus explains: "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." In yesterday's reading, we reviewed what it is to have hearts open to spiritual truth. There must be something in the listener that prompts this desire, this openness. We must have spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear - these are the followers Jesus desires.

The parable continues: "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." Jesus' explanation is: "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." The next step in the parable are those for whom the word has no depth, can take no root. How much do we open our hearts to this? Is there a depth in ourselves that responds, and desires more? When we go through struggles in life, do we give up on this word - and this relationship in our hearts? I think this is a crucial question, because for so many, struggle only intensifies the depth of faith and connection to the Father, to Deity. It is a crucial testing point in some sense, as Jesus indicates here. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has taught, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake." He expects his disciples to endure - see Salt and Light.

The parable: "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them." Jesus explains this part: "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." The thorns are those things that draw us into a life in which we abandon the word for false gods of material wealth - and their betrayal of that faith. See No one can serve two masters from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has taught there that "no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Jesus has also taught in the Sermon on the Mount that "sufficient for the day is its own trouble" - when he was teaching about over-concern and anxiousness illustrated as the thorns that are the cares of this world that choke the word, so that the hearer is unfruitful. See Solomon in all his glory for this teaching that illustrates this point as well. He has taught us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

Finally, Jesus told, "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundred-fold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear!" And his explanation to the disciples was thus: "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 are to be fruitful. One recalls the teaching from Genesis, at the act of creation, when God blessed his creatures and told them to "Be fruitful." (See Genesis 1:28.) We must ask ourselves in this context, then, what it is to be fruitful. Clearly Jesus is teaching us about being ministers of the kingdom, those who would pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We are here to be fruitful, to bring the blessings of holiness into the world, and multiply them. We must make a good profit - worthy of the investment of the gift of the seed.

As in yesterday's reading and commentary, we recall to ourselves the teachings we learned in the Sermon on the Mount, which we have just been through (see readings and commentary from Monday, April 26th through Saturday, May 8th, 2010 -- beginning with The Beatitudes and ending with The Narrow Gate). All of Jesus' teachings are consistent, and they build up, one upon the other, for our understanding. Just as he explains the parable of the Sower for his followers, we are given repeatedly consistent teachings - and at the same time more explanation, elaboration, understanding. This is why we read the scriptures. In our depth of reception, we are capable of becoming more fruitful, of building up deeper understanding within ourselves, and moving forward more deeply and truly into our faith. This is a job for those disciples who have spiritual eyes and ears to hear: who are willing to make a connection within themselves that is beyond the mere intellectual, and beyond the surface. What is the reality of its impact in you, this word that is to take seed in our hearts? Do you make room for it? Do you take life beyond the material, and understand how much more there is to all of us in that depth of the heart? Do you make room in the heart for these words to take root, and to become fruitful? This is what he asks of us. Make time for prayer in the secret place. Remember that Jesus speaks in parables for a reason - that it is up to us to make choices deep within ourselves, and it is to that place in us that He appeals with his parables. We remember that "parable" can be translated as "allegory," "riddle" or "proverb." My study bible notes that, "thus, 'to those who are outside, all things come in parables' (Mark 4:11) may be translated 'to those who are outside, all things come in riddles.' " Jesus' quotation of Isaiah in yesterday's reading teaches us that people are responsible for their own receptivity.

Again, we tie in the teachings here to the Sermon on the Mount. What are the fruits of righteousness? How are they related to the depth and understanding of our faith, cultivated in ourselves? How do we multiply its blessings and grow in its fruit? Jesus has told his disciples in yesterday's reading and explanation of this parable: "It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven." Let us recall, also, the words of Isaiah given by Jesus in yesterday's reading: "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." We are called by Jesus to open our spiritual eyes and ears, to grow, to persist, to be awake to mystery and its perceptions in us, and be fruitful and multiply those blessings. It is up to us - our choice.