ONE of the notable features of our parish are the spectacular Tractor runs which regularly showcase farming machinery old and new. Tractors have revolutionised agriculture over the last one hundred years. But there are still people who can still remember fields being ploughed by horses, and seed being scattered by hand rather than from a seed drill. So until fairly recently, nothing much had changed since the time that Jesus taught people the Parable of the Sower.

Our Lord uses images and stories which his audience would easily understand, as they were recognisable from their daily life. A large crowd had gathered to hear Him teach, so He goes out in a boat so that they can hear him easily. Jesus’ teaching is straightforward:

“A sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds ate them. Others fell on rocky ground, and immediately they sprang up, but when the sun rose they were scorched and withered away. Others fell among thorns, which choked them. Others fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Mt 13:3-9 paraphrased)

Christ’s imagery is instantly recognisable to anyone with experience of gardening.  Birds peck at seeds, and there is a constant struggle with weeds a. Likewise, if your soil is poor or thin, then plants cannot develop the roots to find water, and can easily be scorched by the sun. The point is not the sower wastes seeds, but where the seed falls into fertile soil then it produces a wonderful and huge harvest. 

Jesus’ disciples seem to not understand what is going on, and a conversation ensues:

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” (Mt 13: 10-11)

Our Lord’s reply seems strange, because the meaning of the parable seems quite straightforward and easy to comprehend. Clearly something else is going on here.  Jesus goes on to explain what He means:

Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ (Mt 13:14-15)

The prophecy of Isaiah which Our Lord fulfils tells the story of salvation history. It relates how Israel turns away from God, and does not see or hear what God is doing, to call them back to His loving embrace. Whereas with Jesus, the people have an opportunity to both repent and be healed. This is the core of the message of both John the Baptist and Our Lord. It looks forward to Christ’s Passion and Death which is the great act of healing, freeing us from our sins and reconciling us with God and each other. Thus, the disciples are unable to fully understand what Jesus means, until after His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Then, in the light of these events, Our Lord’s words make sense, they can be understood. Christ’s self-sacrifice is an act of love and healing, poured out on the world, central to the proclamation of the Kingdom, as envisaged by the Parable of the Sower.

Jesus then interprets the parable for his disciples. The seed is the word of the Kingdom, the soil is our heart. The weeds are the cares of the world. The parable represents the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, by Jesus, and His disciples, and applies to us today as much as it did to its first hearers in Galilee nearly two thousand years ago. Being a Christian is not easy. Life gets in the way, we get distracted by things, or the soil of our hearts is not deep enough for the Word to grow in. We need to both hear the Word and also understand the Word. Then it can bear fruit in our lives. When we understand the message of repentance and healing which Christ’s Death and Resurrection offer to us, and accept it, then it bears fruit in our lives. We can hope and trust along with the apostle Paul that,

‘the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.’ (Rom 8:21)

Jesus offers us glorious freedom. We can have a truly loving community in and through Christ, who has taken our sins upon Himself, and reconciled us to God and each other. It allows us to live in an entirely different way to the ways of the world. And in the growth of the Church we can see the New Life and miraculous harvest which God offers. Ours is an extravagant God, a generous God, a God who loves us.

Many people of our generation are reluctant or scared to accept God’s love. They have become inherently suspicious of the idea of a free gift. The only way that they can be encouraged to accept it is by seeing, in the lives of people around them, examples of how the free love of God affects our lives. We need to live out our faith and reflect God’s love in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds.

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be the good seed that enables others to know and love our Lord, and come to sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.