“when the sun rose it was scorched… and the thorns grew up and choked it”
Jesus speaks about the heat of the sun, and that the seeds were scorched by the sun. Being scorched by the sun is something we see in writing for thousands of years. Even in Greek mythology, we read the story of Daedalus and Icarus, a father and son who attempt to escape a prison in Crete by making wings with which they planned to fly over the ocean. When they take off, Daedalus’ son, Icarus flies too close to the sun, which melts the wax and causes him to fall into the ocean. The sun in this parable deals with the sin in the world that can burn and sting us.
What did Jesus mean by “scorched by the sun”? If anyone has ever been sunburned, they know the sun can be a powerful thing. We have to have some protection from the heat of the sun. The enemies of our soul are the devil, the world and the flesh. If we stay too long in conversation with any of the three we will get burned. We must have protection against these enemies. Our protection is our faith in Jesus Christ. It is only through strong roots in Christ that we can endure when Satan comes after us as strong as the summer sun or as powerful as a hurricane. We must have the strength and “holy stubbornness” [1] to survive.
The second analogy Jesus uses is probably the most dangerous and scariest for most people. Why is that? We have faith in God and at some times in our life, we have been ignited by our faith, which was sparked at our Baptism. However, with time and tribulations we can see the faith of so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ fall by the way side. What was once a beautiful flower could easily wither and die. Saint Gregory the Great says that there are three states in the life of the Christian. “There are in truth three states of the converted: the beginning, the middle, and the perfection. In the beginning, they experience the charms of sweetness; in the middle, the contests of temptation; and in the end, the fullness of perfection.” [2] Often we see ourselves and others getting to the middle stage and giving up. We prefer to stay in the beginning, but God wills to move our soul to perfection.
What are some charms of sweetness that we can experience in the Christian life? What are the contests of temptation that we experience? Which of these cause us to give up our Christian life at times?
Why would someone have strong faith one minute and then lose it the next? If someone could have a faith that comes and goes that easily, the depth of their faith must be shallow. This also indicates that their faith is not as mature and thorough as it should be. People may be willing and wanting to grow, yet choose not to leave their old way of life. Take for example the gardener whose plants may grow well for a short time. The plant must have the right amount of room to grow deep roots so that they can receive all the nutrients needed, and it cannot be uprooted so easily. Many times the gardener will have to place the plant in a new planter or pot so that it can continue to grow. God must uproot us in our life so that we can continue to grow, this uprooting can be uncomfortable. We do not want to be uprooted, so in our pride we stay in the old planter and spiritually die.
How can we keep from growing fast and then withering away? We first must be willing to keep growing. If we are willing, the next step is to realize that we have to grow with our faith. When a runner is training for a marathon, he does not stay at a low mileage for his long run. He continues to increase the mileage little by little every week. It can be painful at first, but the body adjusts and is able to handle the long distance. Soon the body can go the twenty-six miles. If the runner were to stop running, their running base would collapse and they would have to start from square one. Another way to think of our faith is to consider the hermit crab. When a hermit crab is growing it looks for a new larger shell to live in. It cannot live in the same little shell from the beginning. We can also think of faith as a cup, as our faith begins to grow we want to put more in it. The cup is faith and what is placed in it is Grace. May our faith ever increase and thus we may be full of the abundant graces God lavishes upon us.
Where is the cup of faith most filled with Grace? At the Mass, especially at the altar we can say, “You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing.” [3] In this short sentence, the Sacraments of Initiation are stressed. At Baptism and Confirmation we are anointed with oil and in the Eucharist a banquet is prepared for us. When we live the Sacramental life, which is the life of Faith, we fill our cup (body and soul) with Grace.
If you only experience God’s love once and not do anything to let it grow, then it will die off or whither away at the slightest problems. Many people say, “I’m a spiritual person.” However, if that person is not making efforts to grow in holiness then their spirituality will be compromised and will die. Saint John of the Cross said, “the soul that truly loves God never allows laziness to prevent it from doing everything in its power to find the love of God, its Beloved. And after having done all it can it is still not satisfied and considers it has done nothing.” [4]
How does our faith get choked out? As Christ taught, these are the people who hear the word, but “worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit.” [5] The deadly sin of the love for power and riches is greed. This disorder for the desire to gain power and excessive wealth suffocates and deafens us. If we seek only the things that are of this world, that is as far as we can grow, and the growth has a limit. If we set our eyes and our will to God there is no limit because there is no limit to God. It is nearly impossible for anyone to think by “owning more and more possessions, and by the constant determination to seek out what is most comfortable, not to fall into other sins.” [6]
Why did our Lord use “thorns” in the parable? “This is why Our Lord called them ‘thorns’ in the Gospel, so that we should understand that anyone who fondly caresses such things with his will, will be wounded by some sin.” [7] The thorns represent not God’s will for us but our own personal will which can be seduced by Satan.
[1] In Conversation with God 4, 19.2
[2] Pope Saint Gregory the Great
[3] Psalm 23; Office of Readings (Corpus Christi)
[4] Spiritual Canticle, 3,1
[5] Gospel in this Link to Liturgy packet
[6] In Conversation with God 4, 19.2
[7] St. John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, 3,18,1