The parables of Christ are not secret codes but calls to conversion

"The Sower (Sower with Setting Sun)" (1888) by Vincent van Gogh

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, July 13, 2014 | Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Isa 55:10-11
• Psa 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14
• Rom 8:18-23
• Mt 13:1-23

The well-known parable of the seed and the sower is the first of seven parables in Matthew 13. These are known as the “Sermon of Parables” (Mt 13:1-53), and this sermon, as a whole, is the third great sermon recorded in the first Gospel, the previous two being the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7) and the Mission Sermon (Mt 10:5-42).

There are about forty parables in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (the Fourth Gospel contains no parables), and each expresses some truth about the mystery of the Kingdom of God, which is the heart of Jesus’ preaching. They impart, Jesus told the disciples, “the secrets of the kingdom of heaven”, and are meant to enlighten those who hear with faith, while frustrating those without faith, “because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand”.

Yet the parables are not secret codes for a certain select, but are challenging calls to conversion. Parables, explains Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, “are means used by God’s mercy to reach the obtuse and hard-hearted, to give them something they can grasp that will perhaps initiate in them a process of conversion.” They reveal by concealing, and in doing so they test our humility and our willingness to really hear and know the Word of God.

The first four parables in Matthew 13 (vs. 1-43) focus on how the kingdom grows and the transforming power of God’s Word that brings about such supernatural growth. The final three parables (vs. 44-50), are concerned with the complete and radical choice demanded by the reality of the kingdom, which requires a full commitment of the heart, soul, and mind.

Today’s reading from the prophet Isaiah describes how the goodness of God is evident in the rain and snow that waters the earth, thus providing the means of natural life—seed and bread—for everyone. Likewise, the word of God goes forth to all men and it “shall not return to me void”. So the word of God is likened to a seed; similarly, Jesus made a direct connection between the seed and the “word of the kingdom”. The seed that is sowed is not just a collection of words about the kingdom, but is the Word sent by the Father to dwell among men. This is, of course, the Incarnation, the coming the Logos, or Word, into the world (cf. Jn 1:9-18).

This seed is also the entire body of the teachings of the Incarnate Word, as well as the “good news” of his saving death and resurrection, by which the Kingdom is established and revealed. “In the word, in the works, and in the presence of Christ, this kingdom was clearly open to the view of men”, states the Second Vatican Council’s dogmatic constitution on the Church, “The Word of the Lord is compared to a seed which is sown in a field; those who hear the Word with faith and become part of the little flock of Christ, have received the Kingdom itself. Then, by its own power the seed sprouts and grows until harvest time”.

The constitution further notes, “While it slowly grows, the Church strains toward the completed Kingdom and, with all its strength, hopes and desires to be united in glory with its King” (par 5).

This parable of the seed and sower describes the slow growth and the straining of the Church here on earth. The path is the world, which is fallen and fractured, containing every sort of distraction and temptation. It contains much rocky ground and many thorns. Creation, as St. Paul observed, “is made subject to futility”, desiring to “be set free from slavery to corruption”.

But the world is also a place of authentic choice and of new life for those who are receptive to the seed. Those who truly hear, Jesus said, will be healed; they are, in the words of St. Paul, partakers in the “glorious freedom of the children of God”.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the July 10, 2011, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Vultus Christi

Saint Henry, Emperor and Benedictine Oblate

Sunday, 13 July 2014 08:00

While Keeping Vigil

Benedictine Oblates living and working in the world have two holy patrons: Saint Francesca of Rome whom we celebrated in March, and today’s Saint Henry. One of the things related about Saint Henry is that, on arriving in any town, he would spend his entire first night there in a vigil of prayer in a church dedicated to the Holy Mother of God. When he arrived in Rome in 1014, he spent the night in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Rome’s Bethlehem. While keeping vigil, he saw the “Sovereign and Eternal Priest-Child Jesus” enter to celebrate the Holy Mysteries. Saints Lawrence and Vincent assisted Our Lord as deacons. A throng of saints filled the basilica; Angels chanted in choir. It is noteworthy that in Henry’s vision Christ the Priest is a Child. One wonders if he was not keeping vigil before the altar of the Crib of the Infant Jesus in Saint Mary Major, a place of grace for countess souls through the ages.

Touched by the Book of the Gospels

Henry’s vision is very much like those of Saint Gertrude the Great: a pulling back of the veil, a glimpse of “what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived” (1 Cor 2:9). After the Gospel, an Angel bearing the book of the Gospels was sent to Henry by the Mother of God. Normally, one kisses the book of the Gospels. Instead the Angel touched Saint Henry’s thigh with it, saying, “Accept this sign of God’s love for your chastity and justice.” From that moment on, Henry limped like Jacob after his night vigil spent wrestling with the angel (cf. Gn 32:24-25). How fascinating — and how consistent with God’s dealings with men — that a mark of weakness should be the sign of a special grace!

The Oblate Emperor

Henry was crowned Emperor in Saint Peter’s Basilica by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014. Henry cherished Benedictine life, spending time in monasteries whenever he could. His greatest joy was to occupy a stall in choir and join the monks in singing the Divine Office. Henry founded monasteries throughout the Empire and endowed them liberally. He became an oblate of the Abbey of Cluny and then asked to make profession as monk at the Abbey of Saint-Vanne. The abbot received him as a monk, and then ordered him, in the name of obedience, to take his place again on the imperial throne.

Set Your Mind on Things That Are Above

Living in virginity with his wife Saint Cunegonda, Saint Henry preserved the heart of a monk. Limping through life, because of his thigh touched by the Angel bearing the Book of the Gospels, Saint Henry represents every man who, while living in the world, is not entirely at home in it. “Set your minds on things that are above,” says the Apostle, “not on things that are on earth” (Col 3:3).

Oblation

In what way was Saint Henry a monk in the midst of the world? He understood that his basic task as a Christian was to contemplate the Face of Christ. The Face of the Child Christ was shown him in that mysterious dream by night in Saint Mary Major. The Child Christ he saw was also the High Priest ascending the altar for the Holy Sacrifice. As an Oblate, Saint Henry surely knew that, in every Mass, his place was on the corporal, close by the bread and the chalice. The Child-Priest, in raising the paten and the chalice heavenward was lifting up Henry’s life, making it an oblation to the Father. He will do the same for us today. We have only to seek His Face and abandon ourselves into His hands.

Regnum Christi

A Seed Destined to Bear Fruit

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

July 13, 2014, Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 13: 1-23

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!" Then the disciples came and asked him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He answered, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that ´seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.´ With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: ´You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people´s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn-- and I would heal them.´ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you; I know that you are always watching over me and guiding me. I trust and hope in you, because I know you will never lead me astray, if only I listen to you and obey you. I love you for being so good and patient with me, and I desire to live each day more faithful to you.

Petition: Open my ears, Lord Jesus, so I can listen to and accept your Word into my heart and so bear abundant fruit for you.

1. Listen! Twice in this Gospel passage, Jesus exhorts the crowds to “Listen!” The fact is, today as then, it is hard for us to stop what we are doing, put aside our prejudices, worries and preoccupations, and really listen to God. But, how else can we hope to know God’s will for us? During his earthly life, Jesus often – as in this passage – spoke in parables. He wants us to make the effort to understand his message and apply it to our lives. That is the first and essential step to make it possible for him to enter our lives through the Word and transform us so we can bear fruit.

2. Blessed Are We: Jesus tells his disciples that they are blessed because they see what they see and hear what they hear. We could feel that we are less blessed, because we don’t see and hear Jesus directly. However, in a way we are more blessed! The disciples in Jesus’ time had to struggle to understand his message. It was a new and difficult teaching, and they were the first to have to interpret, teach and apply this message. We have the benefit of nearly two thousand years of saints and scholars who, with their lives and writings, have explained and applied the Gospel. We have the Holy Spirit that the disciples had not yet received when Jesus spoke these words. We have the presence of Jesus himself in the Eucharist. We should be thankful for all these gifts we have received and allow them to bear fruit in our lives.

3. A Hundredfold: If we do listen to Jesus’ message, both in Scripture and in the many indirect ways he manifests his will to us in our lives, and if we appreciate what a gift this is, we must show our gratitude with the way we live. We have to be the good soil that bears fruit a hundredfold. That means not only growing in our own faith and living in consonance with it, but also multiplying the gift by sharing it with others. We can’t be satisfied with being good and not sinning; in order to be good Christians, we have to spread the message in whatever ways are available to us in our state of life. Every day we should ask ourselves: What have I done today to spread the seeds of the Gospel?

Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Jesus, for all you have given me! I’m sorry for the times I have not given you priority over other things and have not listened to you or shared with others the gifts you’ve given me. Help me to bear abundant fruit!

Resolution: I will spend some time with God today to examine my life and see how I can both listen better and share God’s gifts more with others.

The Lord’s Wordy Fertilizer

Dr. Mark Giszczak

July 13, 2014
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55:10-11

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071314.cfm

Have you ever written a letter to famous person only to receive no response? Or perhaps you have shouted at your team’s baseball player to hit a home run only to watch him strike out. Frequently our words fail. We might wish and shout and sing and stamp our feet, but we don’t always get what we want with our words. They don’t always accomplish the purpose for which they were sent out in the first place. This Sunday’s first reading shows us that while our words might fail, God’s words do not.

Context

The reading, Isaiah 55:10-11, is only two verses extracted from the text of a famous chapter. Isaiah 55 begins with an invitation to “Come every one who thirsts, come to the waters” (Isa 55:1 RSV). The chapter also invites us to “Seek the Lord while he may be found,” (55:6) and reminds us that “my thoughts are not your thoughts” (55:8). Our reading comes in the context of forgiveness. The Lord is responding to his people’s sinfulness, pleading with “the wicked to forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts” in order that the Lord might have mercy on them (55:7). The intentions of human beings might falter and fail, but the Lord’s intention to have mercy will succeed.

Rain and Snow

This reading is one long sentence that gives us an extended metaphorical comparison. Essentially, God’s word is like rain. The first half of the metaphor dwells on the beauty and power of rain and snow. They fall mysteriously from heaven and have a powerful effect on the earth, bringing quenching, vivifying sustenance to all the plants. Our passage points us to the farmer, who is grateful for life-giving rain that causes his seeds to sprout and to the “eater” who gets his food thanks to the rain. We might not all be farmers, but we’re certainly all eaters, so we all have reason to be thankful for rain!

The Lord’s Wordy Fertilizer

While the rain and snow “water the earth” and cause it to be fertile, God’s word goes out and accomplishes his purposes. Now, the Hebrew word for “word” is dabar, which has a broad meaning including “word, matter, thing, sentence.” We could think of it as broadly conveying God’s intention. The text says the word won’t return to God “void, empty” as if his word were a bread basket. It will come back with the goods, not empty-handed. It will accomplish what he intends for it to accomplish.

Eatable Expressions

Isaiah’s connection of bread and word is not accidental. It comes up in the recounting of the manna in the desert: “that man does not live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD” (Deut 8:3 RSV). The word of God, the intentions of God are like food for our souls. This metaphor is especially apt for our Catholic sacramental encounter with God. We encounter the “food of the Word” both in the liturgical reading of Scripture and in the Eucharist. His Word feeds, nourishes and sustains us. It might feel a little weird to “eat words.” We use this expression to express regret about words we have spoken, but in this case, the words of God are like super-nutrients that destroy unhealthy elements like sin and provide our souls with the necessary impetus to grow.

Power vs. Prospering

Isaiah’s metaphor reveals something about God’s word that the translations tend to obscure. Most translations say in the last phrase that God’s word will “succeed” or “accomplish” that for which God sent it. That’s okay, but the Hebrew word, hitsliach, means to “make prosperous, make successful, cause to thrive.” The difference is that God’s word here acts not as an overpowering force that pushes things around, but as a fertilizer that encourages the growth, the prosperity, the life of that which it encounters. God’s word pours down like rain and helps things that already have an inner dynamism of growth to grow bigger and stronger and healthier. To me, this dimension of God’s word of forgiveness significantly impacts how we understand what he’s doing. His word, which we’ll see in the Parable of the Sower in this Sunday’s gospel, causes true goodness to thrive, to grow, to prosper in us. His word does not come to smack us around, but to bring to fruition all the Christ-likeness he has planted in us.

While not all of our words are effective—sometimes they fall on deaf ears—God’s words, his intentions are. His word is like bread, sustaining us, filling us and giving us the nutrients we need to make the journey of life. And his word is like healthy rain or fertilizer, which causes the seeds of the gospel to blossom in our lives. We might not always feel like the good seed in good soil, but God knows what he’s doing and sends out his word of forgiveness, which is bigger than our sinfulness. We are eaters of bread, but if we become true eaters of his Word, it might just cause us to thrive.

Scripture Speaks: Speaking in Parables

Gayle Somers

In today’s Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus, “Why do You speak in parables?” Good question!

Gospel (Read Mt 13:1-23)

Our Gospel opens with a picturesque scene of Jesus sitting “by the sea” and drawing such a large crowd that He had to get into a boat and go offshore a bit so the people could hear Him. If we were reading Matthew’s Gospel from its beginning, we would see that the reason Jesus had such a big following was that “He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. So His fame spread…” (Mt 4:23-24a). We would notice, too, that the first great teaching by Jesus recorded in this Gospel is the Sermon on the Mount. Here we find several chapters of straight talk about how men ought to live. Noticeable is the lack of any parables. After that, we get many more accounts of Jesus’ miracles. Then, in chapter twelve, we find the beginning of strong opposition to Him. He healed a man on the Sabbath, and “the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how to destroy Him” (Mt 12:14).

Knowing this background adds something to our understanding of today’s Gospel. Here we see Jesus addressing an enormous crowd, but instead of straight talk, He teaches them in a parable, the first of many in this chapter. The disciples are puzzled by the parable—not just its meaning, but why Jesus is now using this new teaching technique. Fortunately, He answers both questions.

First, Jesus tells a simple story of a sower, his seed, and what happens to the seed in different kinds of soil. People who grew their own food and knew the challenges of a good harvest would have easily understood this story. After telling the parable, Jesus marks its significance by announcing, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This was another way of saying, “This is important. Pay attention.” He left it at that! The disciples’ curiosity was aroused. “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus’ answer suggests that the parable was meant to be difficult to understand; why, then, would He use it? Apparently, He sensed something in the crowd that reminded Him of a prophecy from Isaiah: “They look but do not see, and hear but do not listen or understand.” Why had these people followed Jesus to the seashore? Were they looking for the sensationalism of more miracles? Were they looking for a chance to turn Him in to the authorities? Were they simply there to find out why the mob scene had gathered to listen to Him? Jesus decided to speak in a parable to sift out the serious seekers from all the others. A parable requires thought, reflection, and, above all, humility. If one is not able to admit, “I don’t get this,” he will not take the time to pursue its meaning. Serious seekers in the crowd would have decided to keep listening, keep following, keep watching this Jesus. Jesus promised that a person with a desire for understanding would get it, in abundance. Likewise, a person who, upon hearing the simple story, had little curiosity about its deeper meaning would go away with nothing, letting go of the little curiosity he had when he arrived. “For to him who has will more be given, and he will have in abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Now, to those who followed Jesus for the right reason, His disciples, Jesus was glad to explain the meaning of the parable. “Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.” Jesus knew that many righteous people in Israel’s history had longed for the privilege now enjoyed by these disciples. He explained to them that the “seed” is God’s Word. Those who hear it “without understanding it” are those in whom the Word takes no root at all. It is like a seed that simply sits on top of the soil. Birds, the wind, or insects can easily remove it. In the case of God’s Word lying inert in a man, finding no reception at all, it is the evil one who will come to remove it, and there will be no resistance to the theft.

When the seed actually begins to take root and puts down an anchor in the soil, it still faces challenges. If the soil is rocky, the root will be compromised. This represents one who “hears the word and receives it at once with joy.” However, difficulties from the outside (tribulation, persecution) make him “fall away.” He has no endurance; he bears no fruit. If the seed is sown among thorns, its life can get choked off; it also is fruitless. Here, although the Word takes root in a man’s heart, difficulties from the inside (anxiety, love of riches) make the Word sterile. Rich soil (not rocky, no weeds) will yield a wonderful harvest. This represents the one who hears and understands the Word, and his perseverance means abundant fruit.

This parable is simple enough to grasp. It presents a clear picture of the Church’s teaching on our need to cooperate with the grace God gladly gives to all men. Fruitfulness is not automatic. We will need to clear the rocks from the soil of our hearts and keep it free from weeds. If we are honest, we know that sometimes we do this with energy, sometimes not. Fortunately, God wills to keep sowing His seed in our lives, year in and year out. He does this through His Church, especially in the Mass. Over and over we hear Scripture readings, homilies, and the words of the liturgy. Over and over we receive Jesus in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation. The Sower never gives up on us! He’s always looking for rich soil. He always wants our fruitfulness.

Possible response: Lord Jesus, sometimes the soil of my heart has been rocky and weedy. Help me to be good soil for Your Word today.

First Reading (Read Isa 55:10-11)

In this passage, the LORD describes, through the prophet, Isaiah, the power of His Word. These verses come in the second half of the Book of Isaiah, sometimes called “The Book of Comfort.” The first half of the book announces a coming judgment on the covenant unfaithfulness of God’s people. They will undergo chastisement for their sin, but they will also experience restoration by God’s hand. Isaiah calls out, “Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have mercy on him…” (Isa 55:6-7) In our Gospel reading, Jesus is looking for just such people. In the form of a parable, He, too, describes the great power of God’s Word to bring forth fruitfulness, “a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” The Word of God, as Isaiah tells us, is never impotent in the soul of one who seeks the LORD: “My Word shall not return to Me void, but shall do My will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” Think about God speaking the universe into existence in the first chapter of Genesis, beginning with “Let there be light!” Our job is to prepare the soil of our hearts to receive His Word. It is God Who provides the growth.

These verses remind us of the remarkable value of reading Scripture (as you are doing now). Any time we put ourselves in contact with God’s Word, with a willing and generous heart, we “are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor3:18), as St. Paul wondrously wrote. We may not see or feel it, but the transformation is taking place, for God’s Word never returns to Him void. What a beautiful promise!

Possible response: Heavenly Father, thank You for the promise of power in Your Word. Help me seek it like the pearl of great price.

Psalm (Read Ps 65:10-14)

The psalmist gives us a remarkably beautiful prophetic poem describing God’s work in making His Creation fruitful. He sees the good, wise, and loving hand of God everywhere bringing life to the earth, making all things prosper. This is a wonderful metaphor of the Word of God in action. God is like an artist, painting robust color and meaning into His majestic handiwork. What is Creation’s response to this tender care from God? “The fields are garmented with flocks and the valleys blanketed with grain. They shout and sing for joy.” This is heartbreakingly poignant! The “fields” and the “valleys,” having received the seed of God’s Word, rejoice in their fruitfulness and cannot still their praise: “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.”

Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other lectionary readings. Read it again as your own prayerful response to God’s Word.

Second Reading (Read Rom 8:18-23)

St. Paul gives us a vision of Creation somewhere between the sowing of God’s Word in the hearts of men described in the Gospel and the prophetic paean of praise in the psalm, a joyous picture of the earth bursting with life and fruitfulness. As we know, seeds take time to mature and bear fruit. Before the coming of Christ, as a result of man’s Fall in the Garden, St. Paul says that “Creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the One Who subjected it.” In Eden, a dark shadow fell across man and the earth he was meant to subdue and govern. The shadow was not to be permanent, however. It fell “in hope that Creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Fairy stories have often featured this kind of “spell” being cast over a kingdom as it waits for Someone to appear and break it. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis describes Narnia, just such a benighted kingdom, as being a place where it was “always winter but never Christmas.” How perfectly that describes the earth’s wait for the Savior to appear in human

history. In Lewis’ story, Aslan, the lion, represents Jesus. When he appears in Narnia, the ice and snow quickly begin to melt and the earth bursts forth into magnificent bloom, as springs and rivers gush again with water. Help has arrived.

That is precisely what happened in the Incarnation. God’s Word—Jesus—was planted in the earth in death, but He rose victorious to bring new life to the dark, chilled world. Ever since, God has been sowing that Word into the rich soil of men’s hearts. Has that brought the total overthrow of the blight of “futility” in the world? St. Paul says not yet, BUT we ourselves, although we wait for the fulfillment of the psalmist’s vision, are the “firstfruits of the Spirit.” The “firstfruits” of a harvest are exactly that—the first growth of the hoped-for harvest that gives confidence for what is to follow. We who have the Spirit of Christ in us are the early evidence of the earth’s complete transformation yet to come. Don’t we all, with St. Paul, “groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies”? When Jesus returns to draw history to a close, the work of redemption will finally be complete. Meanwhile, the fruitfulness we experience now—the changes in us that we know can only be from God—give hope to all Creation that the spell of sin and death has been broken. The harvest is secure. Rejoice!

Possible response: Lord Jesus, help me have the patient perseverance it takes to wait for the fullness of redemption, both for myself and all Creation. Thank You for the gift of Your Spirit, Who makes the harvest sure.

Archdiocese of Washington

Why would God sow seeds he knows will bear little or no fruit? A further reflection on the Parable of the Sower.

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

We heard the parable of the Sower at Yesterday’s Sumday Mass. Someone asked me a question: Since the sower is the Son of Man, Jesus himself, why would the Lord, who knows everything ahead of time, sow seed he knew would not bear fruit?

First, let’s review the text:

“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” (Matt 13:1-9)

So the question presents, Why then would God waste any seed on rocky or thin soil, or the path?

Perhaps a series of possible “answers” is all we can venture. I place “answers” in quotes since we are in fact touching on some mysteries here of which we can only speculate. So, here are some “answers.”

I. God is extravagant - it is not just seed He scatters liberally, it is everything. There are hundreds of billions of stars in over 100 billion galaxies, most of these seemingly devoid of life as we understand it. Between these 100 billion galaxies are huge amounts of what seems to be empty space. On this planet, where one species of bird would do, there are thousands of species, tens of thousands of different sorts of insects, a vast array of different sorts of trees, mammals, fish etc. “Extravagant” barely covers it. The word “extravagant” means “to go, or wander beyond.” And God has gone vastly beyond anything we can imagine. But God is love, and love is extravagant. The image of him sowing seeds, almost in a careless way is thus consistent with the usual way of God.

This of course is less an answer to the question before us than a deepening of the question. The answer, if there is one, is caught up in the mystery of love. Love does not say, what is the least I can do? It says “What more can I do?!” If a man loves a woman, he does not look for the cheapest gift on her birthday, rather he looks for an extravagant gift. God is Love and God is extravagant.

II. Even if the failed seed represents those who ultimately reject him, God loves that seed anyway. Remember, as Jesus goes on to explain, the seeds that fail to bear fruit, are symbols of those who allow riches, worldly preoccupation, persecution and other things to draw them away from God. But, even knowing this, does not change God’s love for them. He still wills their existence. Scripture says elsewhere, But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt 5:44-45).

Yes, God loves even those who will ultimately reject him and will not, knowing ahead of that rejection, say to them, “You cannot exist.” He thus scatters even that seed, knowing ahead of time that it will not bear the fruit He wishes. Further, he continues to send the sun and rain, even on those who will reject him.

Hence this parable shows forth God’s unfailing love. He sows seeds, even knowing they will not bear the fruit he wants. He wills the existence of all, even those who he knows ahead of time will reject him.

III. That God sows seeds and allows them to fall on bad soil is indicative of God’s justice. The various places the seed falls is indicative of human freedom, more than illustrative of the intent of God. For one may still question, “Why would God “allow” seed to fall on the path, or among thorns, or in rocky soil?” And the only answer here is that God has made us free.

Were the Lord to take back the seeds that fell in unfruitful places one could argue that God withdrew his grace and that one was lost on account of this, namely that God manipulated the process by withdrawing every possible grace. But God, in justice calls everyone and offers sufficient grace for all to come to faith and salvation. And thus the sowing of the seed everywhere is indicative of God’s justice.

IV. The variety of outcomes teaches us to persevere and look to faithfully sowing, rather than merely to the harvest. Sometimes we can become a bit downcast when it seems our work has born little fruit. And the temptation is to give up. But, as an old saying goes, “God calls us to be faithful, not successful.” In other words, it is up to us to be the means the means whereby the Lord sows the seed of his Word. The Word is in our hands, by God’s grace, but the harvest is not.

This parable teaches us that not every seed we sow will bear fruit. In fact a lot of it will not, for the reasons described by the Lord in a later part of the parable.

The simple mandate remains ad is this: preach the Word, Go unto all the nations and make disciples. St. Paul would later preach to Timothy: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction (2 Tim 4:2). In other words, sometimes the gospel is accepted, sometimes it is rejected. Preach it any way. Sometimes the gospel is popular, sometimes not. Preach it anyway. Sometimes the Gospel is in season, sometimes it is out of season. Preach it anyway. Sow the seeds, don’t give up.

Discharge your duty! St. Paul goes on to sadly remark, For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2 Tim 4:3-5). Once again the message is the same: preach anyway, sow the seed of the Word, persevere, do not give up, do not be discouraged. Discharge your duty and be willing to endure hardship, just preach! Some of the seed will yield a rich harvest, some will not, preach anyway.

So, permit these “answers.” God sows seed he knows will bear no fruit because he is extravagant, because he loves and wills the existence even of those he knows will reject him, because of his justice, and to teach us to persevere, whatever the outcome.

Four Kinds of Soil

Pastor’s Column

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 13, 2014

God is continually at work in the world around us. In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus uses the image of seeds being broadcast by a farmer as an analogy to describe the kind of return he receives from us to his many initiatives (Matthew 13:1-23).

God speaks to us constantly in our lives! Can we see our response in one of these ways?

Some seed fell by the wayside. Fields in Galilee were often long strips with walking paths in between. Any seed that fell on this path almost certainly would not be able to germinate because of so many people constantly trampling it. In the same way, sometimes our response to the Lord is a closed mind and a stubborn heart. We can be like this path, hard and unyielding to all God wishes for our lives, and he can’t get in.

Some seed fell on stony ground. In many parts of Palestine the soil is very shallow with a hard layer of rock several inches below the surface. Such soil as this will not permit a plant to put down deep roots. Growth would be quick while the rain lasted, but in the heat of summer the plant would die for lack of roots. In the same way, if my response to the Lord is based only on the emotions of the moment or I’m only willing to pray when it feels good, for example, when trials come, in the heat of the day my spirituality may not be deep enough to persevere.

Some seed fell among thorns. The thorny ground that Jesus describes was most likely land that was on a boundary between two different owners. This area would be full of weeds and other unwanted plants that grew to choke out the good seed so that it could not bear any fruit. In the same way, worldly concerns can overwhelm us such that Christ can get crowded out! Is the TV always going in my house? Does it seem like the computer or cell phone is always on? Am I too busy to pray? We can get so involved with our many legitimate cares that there is no room to respond to the Lord when he speaks to us. How do I spend all my leisure time?

Some seed fell on good ground where it yielded 30, 60 or 100 fold! Notice that there are varying responses to the Lord, depending on how we accept him, depending how open our hearts are to his message. What does it mean to bear a 100-fold response? We know we have been listening to the Lord by how we respond to the needs of others that God has placed in our lives; by whether we are praying on a regular basis and how often we attend Mass; by the daily, on-going conversion of our lives and how we respond to the Lord’s many initiatives in the present moment, where all grace resides.

Father Gary

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Rain and Snow

The Lord’s Wordy Fertilizer

Eatable Expressions

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Scripture Speaks: Speaking in Parables

One Bread, One Body

THE JOY OF SUFFERING

Why would God sow seeds he knows will bear little or no fruit? A further reflection on the Parable of the Sower.