Wednesday
] fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.' As he said this, he called out, 'Let anyone with ears to hear listen!' (v. 8)
Background
Jesus was a remarkable teacher and we are still pondering his stories. Today we read how a great crowd have gathered to hear him and he tells the parable of the sower: some seed is wasted because it falls on stony ground or among thorns, but some takes root in good soil, where it produces a hundred-fold yield.
Jesus’ stories stuck in people’s minds and hearts. They had a simplicity, but a disturbing depth which was confusing. His stories convey the secrets of God’s kingdom, which is very unlike any human idea of a kingdom with a very different kind of king.
Jesus is saying if we listen and hear, the seed of God’s word can embed in good soil (our hearts) and there will come a miraculous harvest, far exceeding any reasonable expectation. But also, there will be much wastage, because some seed will inevitably fall on less fertile soil.
It must have been tantalising for the crowds and the disciples! What did it mean? The disciples attempt to pin Jesus down. He quotes from Isaiah, a prophet important to Jesus for how he understands himself. Maybe Jesus is intimating how impossible it is to pin down the meaning in human language. God's truth is glimpsed, not as a rational statement, but is revealed to us in our hearts, and as we trust and act on it. We wrestle with it and we either get it, or we don’t.
Those who hear the story, are invited to enter it from different angles. Listeners might recognise in themselves a type of soil. As they listen to Jesus and reflect over the next days, they might think what nurtures the seed embedding in them, and what distracts them, or chokes any emerging seedlings.
The disciples, who are charged with spreading the gospel, might see themselves throwing out seed and recognising that it will land in many different types of soil, and much will go nowhere.
The people listening might reflect on the abundant generosity of God who throws out seed on all, and much is wasted, but the seed continues to be scattered.
The parable might be seen as a meditation from Jesus on the nature of his own ministry. For ourselves, we reflect on the seismic impact of Jesus’s life on the way human society has been structured in the last 2000 years. God's seed has certainly provided more than a hundred-fold yield!
To Ponder:
- Why do you think the sower is so wasteful?
- If Jesus had told the parable to you, what message would you take away to use in your own daily life?
- If Jesus is the king in God’s kingdom, what sort of kingdom is he inviting us to live in?
Prayer
Bountiful God, may the seed of your word land in fertile places in our hearts that we may hear and faithfully respond. Amen.