Why do You speak to them in parables?

 

 On the same day 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.  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 them.  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."

 

- Matthew 13:1–16 

 

We have presently been reading in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know the by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.  Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  

 

 On the same day 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.  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.    Today's lectionary reading jumps from chapter 7, in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount, to chapter 13, in which Jesus is now surrounded by great multitudes who come to hear Him.  Over the course of the next few days, the lectionary readings prepare us for Ascension Day, which is Thursday in the West and the Armenian Apostolic Church, and a week later for the Eastern Orthodox.  On Friday, the day following the celebration of Christ's Ascension, we will resume the lectionary sequence in chapter 7 once again.  Here we are to note by this stage of Christ's ministry, His fame has reached a point that He must preach from a boat while great multitudes are gathered on the shore.  These are not just disciples, as in the Sermon on the Mount, but likely also the curious and those who come because of His reputation for healing as well.  

 

 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 them.  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!"  My study Bible comments that, in the Old Testament, metaphors of sowing and harvesting are common (Psalm 126:5, Jeremiah 31:27-30; Hosea 2:21-23; Joel 3:12-14).  These were a part of daily life, experienced by all people.  Here, Christ reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, the sower in the earth, who had been foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  

 

 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."  My study Bible teaches that the mysteries of the kingdom are not simply obscure concepts or religious truths only for the elite, and  at the same time, neither is the understanding of Christ's parables merely an intellectual process.  Even the disciples find the message hard to understand.  While Jesus taught the same message to all, it notes, it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.  

 

 "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."  Here Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10.  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible notes, this prophecy of Isaiah doesn't mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  This is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture, and reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).  What is meant by He has blinded, my study Bible explains, is that God has permitted their self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  They didn't become blind because God spoke through Isaiah, but rather Isaiah spoke because he foresaw their blindness.  

 

At this point in His ministry, Jesus begins speaking in parables.  His reasoning is clear:  He wants to reach those who truly desire to hear and to see the things of which He speaks, the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and not merely astonishing "earthly" miracles and healings or things which might fall into the category of magic (in people's perception) or unusual power.   He's here to bring His gospel into the world, not simply to practice astonishing feats to gather the curious or those who will follow Him in fear or other motivations which distract from real discipleship and faith.  So the parables form a kind of opening to those who are drawn to Him from the heart.  That is, from hearts that have not grown dull.  When Jesus quotes Isaiah, and speaks about ears that are hard of hearing, and eyes they have closed, He's speaking of spiritual eyes and ears, the attention of the soul and the heart -- that is the real depth of a person. To understand with their hearts and turn, is to repent.  That is, to turn toward Christ, "so that I should heal them."  If we understand these words in the context in which Christ has spoken them, we understand that this is the way He chooses to frame salvation, and the whole of the institution of the Church, as a kind of hospital in which we receive real healing, with Christ as Physician.  In Matthew 9:11-13, Jesus directly refers to Himself as divine Physician.  He says to the complaining Pharisees, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."  This call Jesus speaks of is the call to turn toward Him, to practice repentance in the sense that all repentance is a turning toward Christ, to God.  In this understanding, the whole of the Incarnation and its purpose is for healing, to help us to turn toward God, to become more like God, in whose image and likeness we are created, our true nature.  St. Athanasius of Alexandria writes, "God became man so that man might become god" (On the Incarnation, 54:3).  This was written just prior to the Council of Nicea which formed our earliest Christian Creed, and in which St. Athanasius played such a decisive part.  Because of Christ's Incarnation, we may become more like God, growing in our true nature even toward an eternal union with God, and in this sense, everlasting life (John 3:16).  And with St. Athanasius and his guiding light, we come toward Christ's Ascension, which will be celebrated on Thursday in Western Church (and the Armenian Apostolic Church) and the Eastern Churches the following Thursday.  For in Christ's Ascension, He takes His humanity into heaven, showing us that our own human nature is capable through grace of doing the same.  This process of grace in us is called theosis, or divinization, and it is what our true salvation is all about, how Christ our Physician heals us through a lifetime process in which we constantly turn to Him throughout our lives.  He is the Sower who sows the seeds of salvation for us in His gospel, and as He teaches in this chapter of parables, these grow and shape and produce fruit, and  transform everything, so that even the angels can dwell with us and we are prepared to dwell with Him.  For without these mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, such healing doesn't exist.

 

 

 

 

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 and 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 and 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 reading marks another turning point in Christ's public ministry.  On Monday, we read that Jesus appointed twelve of His disciples to be with Him and also to be sent out on apostolic missions.  This marked a turning point in the sense that Christ's ministry has expanded so that people come from the Jewish populations all around the different nearby regions to hear Him, including the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon.  Here the multitudes have grown so that now Jesus begins teaching in parables.  His words, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" echoes Old Testament Scripture, particularly the prophets (see, for example, Isaiah 6:9-10, Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2; Deuteronomy 29:4).  These words, and the nature of the parables, let us know that Christ is looking for those who will come to Him by faith, and not simply by the impression of His miraculous signs and healings.  Jesus' question suggests we need spiritual eyes and ears to sense the truth in His parables.

 

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.'"  My study Bible comments that parables are stories in word-pictures, which reveal spiritual truth.  The Hebrew and Aramaic words for parable also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb."  The images in the parables are drawn from daily life common to people at that time (and still today) in order to represent and communicate the deep things of God.  My study Bible adds that parables give us glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  So, Christ's statement here, that "to those who are outside, all things come in parables" might also be translated as saying ". . . all things come in riddles." Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10.  According to St. John Chrysostom, this quotation does not mean that God has blinded people or made them deaf to spiritual perception, but that God permits people their self-chosen blindness, and gives people up to their own devices (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."  My study Bible comments that in this parable, the Lord reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, the sower, who was foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  

 

If we look at the details of this simple parable, as explained by Jesus, we find touching and gentle language that is nevertheless right on target in terms of the images Jesus gives us.  He gives us images of the word as seed, snatched by the wayside from the hearts of those who can't retain it, as if Satan is a great black bird that takes up the seeds of help from hapless human beings.   These are those off the path needed for Christ.  Then there is the image of stony ground, which immediately gives us a sense of the difficulties of planting, tilling the soil and working it, finding good ground.  It gives us a sense of that which is hard, and resists the word taking root.  It echoes Christ's repeated words teaching us about "hard heartedness" -- a failure to repent or to open one's heart to truth, a stubborn desire to remain untouched by Christ's words.  Tribulation or persecution will deter any such root from taking place, for then love and commitment are asked for, a sacrifice is asked for, and hard-heartedness does not practice love and often remains simply self-interested.  Then there are the seeds sown among thorns.  How menacing is the idea of thorns and their painful effects; indeed it echoes the crown of thorns placed upon Jesus' head at His Crucifixion.  Jesus speaks of things we are all-too-familiar with in the modern world, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.  These simple words speak of the temptations that are all around us, the need to keep up with "the neighbors" or our social status we seek, the things everybody else seems to be chasing or already have gotten for themselves, and the riches that don't fulfill us but which we find ourselves chasing anyway -- deceiving us into thinking they can fix all problems.  The constant desire for things we don't have is continually stoked through social media and advertising of many kinds; human beings seem to have a constant eye upon what they don't have, or what others have and we decide that we perhaps should want.  There is a social effect termed "mimetic rivalry" that is based on the desire to attain what others seem to have, which may develop from an inspiration to become like them (to mimic them in this sense), but culminate simply in a desire to replace and topple them in one form or another.  This type of social competition can indeed act like thorns that choke out every other priority, subsuming love and loyalty, and most certainly the desire to please God by loving neighbor as oneself.  Indeed, in Jesus' parable, they choke out the very word of God itself.  These vivid images tell us about life.  They may be simple, but they are touching, and deeply meaningful and "on point" for anyone who has experienced all of these things in their own lives.  There is a reason why Christ's words come back and hit so deeply upon anyone who has tried and failed to find satisfaction in a world where "deceit of riches" can let us down, or we can lose ourselves in chasing goals and dreams that really aren't what we truly, deeply need.  Jesus' words remain vivid in impact and meaning.  They hit home, so to speak, and find us where we truly live when we get serious about finding a better path in life.  Repentance becomes a powerful experience perhaps because there are times when we most bitterly feel and come to know the aptness of Christ's descriptions of the things that inhibit the productivity of the word within us.  When we truly seek to cultivate His path, we may come to realize the joy of the productivity He names, perhaps thirtyfold, sixty, or a hundred.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand

 

 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 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 tings 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, having appointed the Twelve to become His apostles, Jesus and the disciples went into a house.   Then 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 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!"  As in the other Synoptic Gospels, Jesus begin preaching in parables with the parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-3; Luke 8:4-5).  Let us note that He began to teach by the sea because by now there is a great multitude gathered to Him.  It's important to understand this beginning of teaching in parables comes when His ministry draws great crowds to Him.  Jesus' saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" is an echo of the Old Testament prophets; see Isaiah 6:9-10; Ezekiel 3:27; Jeremiah 5:21; Deuteronomy 29:4.

 

 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.' "  The disciples' question is answered first by Jesus not as to explain its meaning, but to give the reason for His preaching in parables.  He responds by a reference to the prophet Isaiah (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 a figure of speech which is common in Scripture and reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).  God has permitted their self-chosen blindness and deafness.  People did not become blind and deaf to the message of Christ because it God spoke through Isaiah, but the prophet spoke because he foresaw their blindness.

 

 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."  In this parable, my study Bible comments, our Lord reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, the sower, who had been foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  My study Bible asks us to note that while some might teach a person is permanently saved at the moment one professes faith (a view which was never held by the historic Church), the teaching of Jesus here is quite clear that it is possible for some to receive the word with gladness, but endure only for a time.

 

 In today's reading we first of all observe that Jesus begins speaking in parables only when His ministry has grown so that by now there is a great multitude which follows Him -- so many people that He must sit in a boat facing the shore to preach.  In the beginning of His ministry, the disciples whom He told to "Follow Me" were those who had already been disciples of St. John the Baptist, and were led by the Baptist to Christ (Mark 1:17; John 1:29).  Here He is before the crowds who have heard of Christ's fame -- and especially of His healing and casting out of demons.  They are drawn to Him not necessarily because they seek discipleship.  What we may conclude from Christ's choice to preach in parables before this multitude then, is that He desires a faith that is not based on coercion or manipulation or the appeal of miraculous occurrences.  Indeed, the faith that He is seeking is one that can perceive with a different set of eyes and ears, one not drawn simply by appearance or public acclaim.  And this dynamic surely plays out in our own lives, and even in every generation.  Moreover, the kind of faith He's looking for is one that will grow in us, and become through this process strong enough to endure through tribulation or persecution.  The sense of rootedness that He speaks of ("they have no root in themselves") is something that is deep within us, not merely on the surface through some sort of material attraction or promise.  Parables work, in some sense, as icons.  They are images drawn from daily life in the world to represent and communicate the deep things of God, as my study Bible puts it.  But, as the quotation from Isaiah indicates, these deep things are not evident to everybody.  What Christ is looking for are those with spiritual ears to hear -- and even then, not all people have the same degree of understanding.  These various possible outcomes conveyed by the parable, which Jesus explains in private to His disciples, are all things, in fact, that we may occasionally experience even as faithful.  We all may be tempted to stumble (for example as did St. Peter; see this reading).  But the rootedness of the faith Christ seeks is that which has endurance, forbearance, patience, and a deep love for the things of God:  those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.  Note that the qualities Christ seeks in the parable all indicate a faithfulness through time.  For how else can we bear fruit, except through the times of our lives and the living out of our faith through all things?  This is an ever-deepening process, one with difficulties, and hard choices, and one subject to temptation.  The material-oriented life we lead in modern times, all the desires which are fed through coercion or persuasion, our impulses to rage, to take what we think we deserve from others, to shortcut or ignore the realities and values of the spiritual life:  these are all with us, and in some ways are perhaps stronger than ever.  But, yet, faith endures, and is the antidote to the easy things we think we can grab -- popular images we consume on social media, the temptation to addictions of all kinds, the lack of vision to persist through hardship and discomfort.  But our lives are made of more than this, and Christ asks for those who can seek it and live that fullness, for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 "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 taught the crowds 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 the, "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 prophesy 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."  Today's passage is self-explanatory.  In some sense it is one of those rare occasions in which Jesus Himself teaches us the meaning of His own words.  This is very important, because it is consistent in the reporting this first parable all the Synoptic Gospels (see also Mark and Luke). 

One thing seems to be certain regarding the importance of this parable, and also the reporting of Jesus' explanation for it:  He is encouraging us to be persistent in our faith.  This parable, and Jesus' explanation, seems to be telling us that we may very well be in for a bumpy ride on our road of faith.  There will be things that can easily get in the way of the Christ's word and its work in us.  Looking at this parable in the past, and especially Christ's explanation, it has seemed that each one of these stages Christ describes of the word being sown could be a part of one's own individual journey of faith at any time.  Sometimes our own lack of understanding brings frustration, and so we might be tempted to dismiss altogether the faith, as we're called to persist in something we might find hard to understand.  There may be other times when a particularly difficult time shows up in our lives, or possibly we find hostility in others to us because of our faith.  That's a great temptation to follow the crowd, and not that word that got planted in our heart.  And then there is the seed that falls among the thorns.  How many of us have been, at times, so consumed with the cares of our lives that we don't find time for our spiritual practice or for prayer?  All kinds of issues can crop up that take our time, our concern, our anxieties and stresses -- and wind up crowding out and choking the word within us.  Those times when we worry about paying bills, caring for children or spouse or another loved one, or maybe even just keeping up with the Joneses and all the demands the world might seem to make upon us.  It gets hard, at times, to remember the one thing that is needed (Luke 10:38-42).  But it seems to me that when I do take the trouble to make that time -- which I don't think I have -- a space seems to open up for prayer and make room for itself.  Prayer and calling upon God, reading the Scriptures, attending or reading a service, or otherwise taking time to pursue my faith seems to actually fulfill Christ's promise in that it makes the rest of the things that stress seem to go easier.  Taking time for the word strengthens me to cope with stresses, putting things in order, and giving me a fresh wind -- often supplying a new angle, a different and needed perspective on a problem.  So let us think today about all of these aspects that Christ says may crowd out the word within us, tempt us to leave it by the wayside or forego its call to us, and find the way to produce the spiritual fruits He asks for.  For it is this word, growing in us, that produces the fruits that are needful, that make our lives renewed with a quality which we can't find otherwise:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 one 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, 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 

 

On Saturday, we read that, after Jesus had appointed the Twelve, they then returned and went into a house.  Then 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 one 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!"  We observe that two important things happen at this stage of Christ's ministry in Mark's Gospel.  Just as the multitudes grow so large in following Him that Jesus has to have a boat kept ready in case the crowd threatens to crush Him, Jesus has appointed twelve from among His disciples who will also become apostles, to be sent out in a future mission.  Secondly, we get today's reading, this beginning of preaching in parables.  Both the appointment of the Twelve, and now this first parable, seem to be signs that Christ wants to call those out of the multitude who will truly be His followers (He who has ears to hear, let him hear!), and that the numbers of those who gather to hear will only grow.  Here, as in the other Synoptic Gospels, Jesus begins with the parable of the Sower.  My study Bible calls parables stories in word-pictures, which reveal spiritual truth.  All of the Scriptures, but especially the Gospels, are filled with parables; they are images drawn from daily life in the world to represent and communicate the things of God.  My study Bible tells us that parables give us glimpses of God whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  

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.'"   As Jesus indicates by quoting Isaiah 6:9-10, a listener must have spiritual ears to hear -- and even then not all have the same degree of understanding.  He isn't using parables to blind the people or to lead them to punishment, my study Bible explains.  Rather, it teaches us that we're responsible for our own lack of receptivity.  If people have grown dull and insensitive, they become unwilling to accept the message of the parables.  Therefore, as my study Bible explains it, the parables of Christ are meant to open the eyes of His hearers to the truth and lead them to produce the fruits of righteousness, in the same way that the prophets like Isaiah had a mission to open the eyes of Israel to see the acts of God.  Parables challenge the hearer and call for faith to perceive the mysteries of Gods' kingdom, my study Bible says. This insight doesn't come through mere intellectual understanding, but rather is a communication of faith in the Person, words, and deeds of Christ.  In John's Gospel, Jesus teaches, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).  Through His parables, as my study Bible puts it, we are meant to be drawn past the door of the Kingdom of heaven, to love and know God, and believe in God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness -- so that we might order our lives according to God's Holy Word.   In John chapter 12, Jesus quotes from this same prophecy of Isaiah, but in the context of the lack of faith, despite all of the marvelous works Christ has done (see John 12:37-41).  So, we're not to understand this as saying that God causes spiritual blindness in those who would otherwise have been faithful.    Rather, again we are to understand from several places in Scripture, that God gives people up to their own devices and self-chosen blindness (see Romans 1:24-26).  It's important to note that to "hear" Christ is to be on the road to healing, and that the emphasis here is once upon on the therapeutic character of this ministry.  Repentance is akin to healing, so that we become the "good ground" for the word.

 

 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, 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."  Here, Christ reveals Himself as the promised Messiah.  He is the Sower, who has been foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  The primary importance of this identity is such that this parable is always offered first before the others.

 

My study Bible also notes on this parable that contrary to certain teachings 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 Jesus is clear that it is possible to believe for a while and then fall away.  Even the word sown in their hearts may be taken away, and others who receive it with gladness may endure only for a time.  Moreover, we observe that the cares of this world, and the desires for other things, can choke this word sown in the heart.  This is not a case of lack of belief, but rather that it becomes unfruitful.  And this is something in particular to watch, for Christ does not expect us simply to believe and then not live our faith.  It is this condition of lack of spiritual fruit that He declares to be one in which the word of God is choked by thorns so that it yielded no crop.  So, according to the parable and Christ's teachings here, the word of God only reaches its fullness when it bears spiritual fruit, produces a crop that pleases God.  We need to live our faith, not merely hold particular ideas about its truth.  I was recently listening to a  podcast in which a priest pointed out that people are perfectly capable of holding particular beliefs, but nonetheless acting against them or otherwise not in accordance with them.   If this weren't perfectly possible, he said, there would be no such thing as hypocrisy.  Jesus Himself alludes to this many times, perhaps most powerfully in His grand critique of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23.  His greatest criticism is of their hypocrisy.  In Matthew 15, Jesus quotes from Isaiah again:  "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (see Matthew 15:8-9; Isaiah 29:13).  In each of these instances Christ isn't asking simply for faith so much as He's demanding a faith that lives through our choices and actions in the world.  Jesus makes this clear also in the conclusion of the parable, when He explains, "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."    These statements of praise for an abundance of spiritual fruit borne from good ground make it clear that what Christ desires is a kind of expression of active faith in the world, something that is produced from our faith.  That is, from living our faith.  If we take a close look at the parable of Judgment, that of the Sheep and Goats in Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46), we'll see that the sheep and goats are separated not on the basis of faith, but on the basis of the expression of faith, either in what they have done or haven't done.  These expressions of faith come in the form of compassion and mercy, akin to the character of Christ, and the nature of the grace which we receive from God and creates communion with God.  As such, we can see the true living of our faith as an expression which seals, creates, and expands that communion.  This is very important, because the very nature of our faith reveals our God, and "what manner of spirit" we are of (see John 9:49-56).  This is Christ's only definition of "good ground" in the parable, the ground that produces the spiritual fruit in abundance, to greater or lesser degrees possible for each one.  So let us consider for today what "spiritual fruit are.  In the parable of the Sheep and the Goats, judgment is based on acts of compassion extended to those who belong to Christ, as part of the communion of Christ, and in particular to the "least of these My brethren," in Christ's words.  St. Paul names the following as fruits of the Spirit:  "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (see Galatians 5:22-23).  These apparently surpass obedience to a law, for "against such there is no law."  Let us also pay attention to the communion in Christ created by such acts, as the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches (Luke 10:25-37).  As that particular parable also illustrates, and Jesus makes clear in the parable of Judgment, it is acts of compassion that benefit the "least of these" we should keep in mind, for this is what Christ stresses for us.  Each of these factors:  kindness, charity, mercy, compassion, humility in serving "the least" in the ways we can, the fruit of the Spirit named by St. Paul, and all the ways in which we build and secure the communion of Christ among us reveals who we are, and how we live our faith.  Let us be the good ground for Christ's word. 

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

 

 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 on 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 great 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 calling and appointing the Twelve, Jesus and the disciples went into a house.  Then 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 on 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 great 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!"  As Jesus' ministry has evolved to such proportions that now a great multitude was gathered to Him, He begins to teach in parables.  As in Matthew's Gospel, the parable of the Sower could be considered a "seminal" parable, a central means by which Jesus speaks about Himself and His ministry, a image of Himself.  My study Bible describes parables as stories in word-pictures, which reveal spiritual truth.  The word for parable in both Hebrew and Aramaic can also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb."  Parables are widely used in the Gospels; they are images which are drawn from daily life in the world so as to represent and communicate the deep things of God.  As my study Bible puts it, parables give us glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  

 

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 references Isaiah 6:9-10.  My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom as teaching that Isaiah's prophecy does not mean God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  This is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture that reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).  God has permitted their self-chosen lack of perception or understanding.

 

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."  Jesus reveals Himself through this parable as the promised Messiah, the sower foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.   My study Bible also notes that this parable indicates that while some might teach a person is permanently saved at the moment faith is professed (a view which was never held by the historic Church), the teaching of Jesus is clear that it is possible to receive the word with gladness, but endure only for a time.

 

What is faith?  What is rootedness?  One thing we can observe through Jesus' use and explanation of this parable is that, above all else, what He prizes as described in the parable is endurance.  That is, that we endure in our faith, we persist through all things in the practice of and in clinging to our faith.  This is a powerful truth, and one that we have to come to recognize as essential to the Gospels and to the ministry of Jesus.  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus teaches that His followers "will be hated by all for My name's sake" but "he who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:22).   Mark 13:13 teaches precisely the same thing.  In Matthew's chapter 24, when He speaks of the end times, He repeats this phrase, "But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (verse 13).  In Luke's Gospel, Jesus explains the metaphor of the seed that falls on stony ground by saying that these "believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away" (Luke 8:13).   In the Epistle of James, James uses Luke's language of temptation and endurance:  "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12).  So, we are repeatedly given admonitions about endurance in our faith, and this parable above all teaches us about endurance and the kinds of things we might be called upon to endure in faithfulness.  In today's reading from Mark, Jesus describes various reasons why our endurance in faith might falter:  when Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts; or when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake; or when  the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word.   We're struck by this language that reminds us of the struggles of endurance in marriage, through difficulties, illness, setbacks or changes in financial matters, family struggles, and so on.  It's no accident that Christ calls Himself the Bridegroom, for endurance in our faith is similar to the things one must endure in a lasting marriage:  tribulation (even persecution), temptations, worldly care, the deceitfulness of wealth, desires for other things, and the influence of evil which seeks to destroy loving relations.  But this Bridegroom endures forever, and so we may be rooted in Him through everything else that comes to us in the course of our lives.  Through Him, as in a good marriage, we may draw strength, and faithfulness when we falter, and love that is always there -- for He is worthy of our faith and of our efforts, even tribulation and difficulties, and what He asks of us is our endurance with Him.   For even if all else falls away, His word remains, and He remains with us.

 

 

 

 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

 

 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 

 

On Saturday, we read that after Jesus had appointed His twelve disciples, who would also be apostles, they went into a house.  Then 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: . . ..  Let us note that once again, Jesus teaches by the sea, and that this is because there are so many who come to hear Him -- so much so, that now He sits in a boat off the shore to preach, while His audience is on shore facing the sea.  At this stage in Christ's expansive ministry, He has called the Twelve to Him to appoint them as those who will be disciples ("learners") and apostles ("those sent out").  There is another kind of landmark note in this passage for a new stage in Christ's ministry, and that is that He has now begun to teach in parables.

"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!"  The importance of the parable of the Sower is clear through its prominence as the first parable we're given in the Gospels.  It is clearly significant for Jesus' ministry, which will become more clear as He explains its meaning to His disciples (a few verses further on in today's reading).

 

 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 6:10, which is more fully quoted in John 12:40.  My study Bible notes 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.  It explains that this is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture and reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).  In the fullness of the quotation, it is understood that God permits a self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  This is consistent with the understanding that faith precedes healing, as we can see in Christ's healing miracles.

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."  My study Bible comments that in this central, important parable, the Lord reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, who is the sower, who had been foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.  

My study Bible has an article on parables that notes several important things we should understand about their use.  It describes parables as "word-pictures" which reveal spiritual truth.  In both Hebrew and Aramaic, the word for parable also means "allegory, "riddle," or "proverb."  All the Scriptures, but especially the Gospels, are filled with parables; that is, images which are drawn from daily life in the world in order to represent and communicate the deep things of God.  It says that parables give us glimpses of God whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  But there is something distinctive and important here, as Jesus Himself points out:  the truth in Christ's parables isn't plain to all who hear them.  It requires spiritual ears and eyes to hear and see; and even then not all will have the same degree of understanding.  In today's reading, Jesus says that "to those who are outside, all things come in parables."  We might translate that as, ". . . all things come in riddles."  The quotation from Isaiah leaves no doubt that people are responsible for their own lack of receptivity, and absolutely thereby affirms that we all are capable of understanding.  It is a matter of choice to grow dull and insensitive to God's message and understanding; at heart there's an unwillingness to accept the message of the parables.  In the language of the ancient world and the understanding of the Church, this faculty for perceiving the things of God is in each one of us and is called the "nous" in Greek.  It is associated with the heart, and the understanding capacity therein.  This form of grasping truths is very closely akin to experience, as it forms through a kind of participation.  My study Bible says that as the mission of Isaiah in the Old Testament was to open the eyes of Israel to see the acts of God, so the parables of Jesus are intended to open the eyes of His hearers to the truth and lead them to produce the fruit of righteousness.  In effect, they challenge all hearers and call for faith to perceive the mysteries of the Kingdom.  This doesn't happen only through an intellectual understanding of the parables.  My study Bible calls spiritual enlightenment essentially a communication of faith in the Person, words, and deeds of Jesus Christ.  Once again, we understand that the use of parables in Jewish culture existed long before Jesus, and we can read this in the Old Testament Scriptures (2 Samuel 12:1-4, 1 Kings 20:35-42, Isaiah 5:1-7).  But Jesus' use of parables is unsurpassed, speaking of aspects of God through vivid, memorable stories.  His purpose, my study Bible tells us, was not only to reveal truth to those with hearts prepared, but in fact to draw responsive hearts past the entrance and into the reality of God's Kingdom which He proclaimed and inaugurated.  Whatever we are to grasp about Christ's parables, let us understand how they point to mystery and the mystical, affirming an important understanding of our faith.  There is a deep connection to the things of God, and to the faith of Christ, through our own capacity for hearing and seeing spiritually -- as Jesus' quotation from Isaiah affirms.  The parables invite us into the Kingdom, as my study Bible says, they invite us in to begin to perceive the things of God, the words of Christ, all that is given to us by our Lord.  In this special kind of perception, we are taught that we are capable of understanding a communion of saints which include the ministering angels (that "great cloud of witnesses" cited by St. Paul in Hebrews 12:1), the realities which Christ has brought into our world, and the truths we are offered through this gift of faith and grace.  The parables, as my study Bible says, are meant to open a door to something, to give us a glimpse of the workings of a Kingdom that not everybody is capable of perceiving.  They are not simple moral tales or aphorisms meant to be sported by anybody for "good living."  They open a door, and the door is Christ (John 10:9-16).  They are meant to teach us about the journey beyond the door, and invite us in to a learning that does not stop but grows through experience.  On that road or way of Christ (John 14:6) we might come to find that the cares of the world that choke us like thorns, the fleeting thoughts of faith that disappear with all the myriad concerns that come to snatch them away, the faith that disappears in fear or crisis -- all of this can be part of the journey along the way. But His word, His seed, keeps giving growth where it takes deep root:  in some thirty-fold, in some sixty, in some a hundred -- or possibly, at various times of our lives, we may experience each of these levels of growth in our own spiritual understanding and capacity for faith and the fruits of that faith.  Jesus opens the door as the crowds grow large, and all kinds of people crowd in to see Him.  But He calls to those who have the ears to hear the things He really offers, which transform our lives and heal us.