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Trinity 6: The Sower

‘He who has ears, let him hear’

‘Yr hwn sydd ganddo glustiau, gwrandawed’ (Mt 13:9)

ONE of the notable features of our county are the spectacular Tractor runs which regularly showcase farming machinery old and new. Tractors have revolutionised agriculture over the last hundred years. But there are people around 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 Jesus goes out in a boat onto the Sea of Galilee so that the people can hear him easily. His 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. 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 that the sower wastes seeds, but that when 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. Now He is calling 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, and the soil is our heart. The weeds, however, 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 become 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; when we accept them, 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. This 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 deeply loves us.

Many people of our time 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. Let us grow and bear the fruit of faith, so that we can give thanks and praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Medieval stained glass depicting the first scene of the Parable of the Sower, in which seeds scattered on stony ground are eaten by birds (Mt 13:3-5; Mk 4:3-5). Right panel in the fifth register of the Second Typological Window (n. XV, 19) in the north choir aisle, dated to about 1180. This was originally part of the Sixth Typological Window, which centered on the theme of seeds and the bread of the Eucharist.
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Trinity V – Mary & Martha

Life is all about decisions. The choices that we make can have a massive effect upon our lives. We often think of decisions as ‘either/or’ alternatives. However, we may be making a false distinction. Living the Christian life is often much more a case of ‘both/and’ rather than ‘either/or’. Nowhere is this shown with greater clarity than through the question of faith and action. These two concepts are not in opposition: they are two sides of the same coin. To make the Kingdom of God a reality we need both contemplation and practical application. If work and prayer are kept in balance, then our duties towards God and our neighbour can be fulfilled, and we can grow in faith and love. As Christians we need to demonstrate our faith by being hospitable and welcoming, as well as prayerful. 

Hospitality is the focus of this morning’s first reading from the Book of Genesis. God appears to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre near the town of Hebron, nineteen miles south of Jerusalem. Abraham is visited by three angels and looks after them, offering them hospitality, and taking care of them. In return the Patriarch is blessed with the promise of a son. From early times, biblical interpreters understand these three angels as symbolising the Trinitarian nature of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, revealing their nature to Abraham, our father in faith. This view became particularly relevant during the fourth-century debate on the nature of God, which led to the formation of the Creed we will soon recite together. In this passage from Genesis, we see both what God is like and how we should respond to God: with generous hospitality, care and attention.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is still travelling. As there were no hotels or service stations, the only way to eat, drink, and rest was through hospitality. Our Lord is welcomed into her home by a woman named Martha: 

‘Yr oedd ganddi hi chwaer a elwid Mair; eisteddodd hi wrth draed yr Arglwydd a gwrando ar ei air.’

‘And she had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching’ (Lk 10:39)

These sisters, Mary and Mary, may well be the same women who appear in John’s Gospel as the sisters of Lazarus, and who live in Bethany. There they are described as friends of Jesus who regularly provide hospitality for Him and His followers. We are told that Mary is giving Jesus her undivided attention, she sits at His feet, as a student would sit at the feet of their teacher. Her sister does not join her as she is so busy looking after the guests:

‘Ond yr oedd Martha mewn dryswch oherwydd yr holl waith gweini, a daeth ato a dweud, “Arglwydd, a wyt ti heb hidio dim fod fy chwaer wedi fy ngadael i weini ar fy mhen fy hun? Dywed wrthi, felly, am fy nghynorthwyo.”’

‘But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me” (Lk 10:40)

Like the lawyer in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Martha is attempting to justify herself. In order to do this, she blames others — in fact her own sister — to cover up the fact that she is anxious and troubled with the cares of the world. She allows these worries to take precedence over the Gospel. Martha has shown Jesus a hospitable welcome, but then she tries to involve Him in a domestic squabble, which is centred on justifying her own busyness. Jesus is a teacher, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom. While it is important that He and his disciples are fed and cared for, the immediate concern is to give Our Lord their undivided attention, and listen to what He has to say:

‘Atebodd yr Arglwydd hi, “Martha, Martha, yr wyt yn pryderu ac yn trafferthu am lawer o bethau, ond un peth sy’n angenrheidiol. Y mae Mair wedi dewis y rhan orau, ac nis dygir oddi arni.”’

‘But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”’ (Lk 10:41-42)

Jesus does not tell Martha off, rather He is encouraging, calming her down, and showing her a better way of living. Only one thing is necessary: for a host to pay attention to a guest, as Abraham did at the Oak of Mamre in the first reading this morning .

The point is not simply to prefer the contemplative to the practical, or the spiritual to the physical. Instead we need to balance our physical needs with our spiritual ones. Martha is too wrapped up in her own affairs and has forgotten what is really important. Jesus does not want special treatment, or a lavish banquet with lots of dishes. What He wants are people who pay attention to what He has to say. Martha has not chosen a bad portion, service and hospitality are important. However, attention — staying close to Jesus, listening to what He says, and not being distracted — is how we grow as Christians. This is the good portion that Christ speaks of. 

Jesus of Nazareth frequently breaks down cultural barriers. Last week we saw a Samaritan, a complete outcast held up as a model of neighbourly love and compassion. This week Mary sits at Christ’s feet, breaking a cultural taboo regarding women. She wants to be taught, and therefore displays both love and attention. Jesus tells us that, like Mary, we too should be attentive to God and His message for us in the Gospel. In doing this we emulate Mary, and choose the better part. This is a choice which has a moral dimension. When we truly listen attentively to what God says to us, our actions and our character are formed, helping our growth in holiness. Nourished by Word and Sacrament, we can progress in living out the graces which we received in our baptism, and prepare for our inheritance with the Saints in glory. We do not achieve this through prayer and contemplation alone, but by making our prayer and our work, all that we do, and all that we are, a response to God and to our neighbour. By responding in this way we are truly living out lives of Christian love. Such love is the nature of God and binds together the persons of the Trinity. This is a powerful catalyst which transforms both us and our world.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, through practising both prayer and action, may we be agents of God’s love and grace in the world. May we transform our homes, our communities, and the whole world. Filled with God’s love, and compassion, let us give glory to God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.