“he spoke to them at length in parables”
In today’s Gospel, someone may hear the extended version (Matthew 13:1-23) or they may here the shortened version (Matthew 13:1-9). If we only hear the shorten version we miss out on when Jesus explains the reason He speaks in parables and the explanation specifically for today’s parable on the seeds.
What is a parable? “At its simplest the parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.” [1] Jesus spoke in parable for people to better understand a concept in terms they could comprehend. However, he includes an element in parables that does not make sense and causes the listener to wonder. In Palestine at that time, sowing often preceded plowing where some seed is scattered on ground that is unsuitable. In this parable, the element that would have confused the crowd would have been the seed that fell on rich soil and produced thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold. That is unusual because seed does not produce that much even if it is planted in the richest soil, that is not natural.
How can we better understand parables? In a way parables are allegorical and so we can take each component or character and identify them. Who is the sower? What is the seed? What does each soil represent? We must remember that it is not like science in which there is a set code, a parable is about conversion and can be read on different levels. For example Jesus is the sower, because He speaks the Word, which is the seed, but Jesus is also the seed, which is the Word and must like a grain of wheat be crushed in order to bear fruit. It can sometimes be helpful to make a connection to our modern culture and life so that we can reflect on what Christ is teaching us.
Why did Jesus speak in parables? Jesus spoke in figurative speech because it demanded reflection and understanding on the part of the listener. If the person who hears Jesus does not want to think then they can just easily discard His words like the seeds fallen on the rocky ground that would be trampled on. “Through everyday events, he [Jesus] wants to show us the real ground of all things and thus the true direction we have to take in our day-to-day lives if we want to go the right way. He shows us God: not an abstract God, but the God who acts, who intervenes in our lives, and wants to take us by the hand. He shows us through everyday things who we are and what we must therefore do. He conveys knowledge that makes demands upon us; it not only or even primarily adds to what we know, but it changes our lives.” [2]
Why can’t the other people understand? “To understand is a gift of God, granted to the disciples but not to the crowds.” [3] It is also to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: “You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted and I heal them” [4] “If we want to understand the Lord’s mysterious words, we must read them in light of Isaiah, whom he cites, and we must read them in light of his own path, the outcome of which he already knows. In saying these words, Jesus places himself in the line of the Prophets – his destiny is a prophet’s destiny. Isaiah’s words taken overall are much more severe and terrifying than the extract that Jesus cites. In the Book of Isaiah it says: ‘Make the heart of this people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed’ (Is 6:10). Prophets fail: Their message goes too much against general opinion and the comfortable habits of life. It is only through failure that their word becomes efficacious. …And here, unexpectedly, we see a connection with the parable of the sower…It is striking what a significant role the image of the seed plays in the whole of Jesus’ message. The time of Jesus, the time of the disciples, is the time of sowing and of the seed. The ‘Kingdom of God’ is present in seed form. Observed from the outside, the seed is something minuscule. It is easy to overlook. The mustard seed – an image of the Kingdom of God – is the smallest of seeds, yet it bears a whole tree within it. The seed is the present of what is to come in the future. In the seed, that which is to come is already here in a hidden way. It is the presence of a promise. On Palm Sunday, the Lord summarized the manifold seed parables and unveiled their full meaning: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit’ (Jn 12:24). He himself is the grain of wheat. His ‘failure’ on the Cross is exactly the way leading from the few to the many, to all: ‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself’ (Jn. 12:32). The failure of the Prophets, his failure, appears now in another light. It is precisely the way to reach the point where ‘they turn and God will forgive them.’ It is on the Cross that the parables are unlocked. In his Farewell Discourses, the Lord says, apropos of this: ‘I have said this to you in parables; the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in parables but tell you plainly of the Father’ (Jn. 16:25). The parables speak in a hidden way, then, of the mystery of the Cross; they do not only speak of it – they are part of it themselves. For precisely because they allow the mystery of Jesus’ divinity to be seen, they lead to contradiction. It is just when they emerge into final clarity, as in the parable of the unjust vintners (cf. Mk 12:1-12), that they become stations on the way to the Cross. In the parables, Jesus is not only the sower who scatters the seed of God’s word, but also the seed that falls into the earth in order to die and so to bear fruit.” [5]
What could cause us not to understand? When our hearts are “fat” with the things of this world, the heart cannot be open to God. When our ears are “heavy” with all the noise of the world, we cannot hear the word of God. When our eyes are focused on the darkness of the world, they will quickly “shut” when in the presence of the brilliant light of Christ. We, like the pagans, can become what we worship. “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but they cannot speak; they have eyes but they cannot see; they have ears but cannot hear; they have nostrils but they cannot smell. With their hands they cannot feel; with their feet they cannot walk. No sound comes from their throats. Their makers will come to be like them and so will all who trust in them.” [6] If we worship the world our hearts, ears and eyes will not work, this disability will extend to our whole life. Our mouths won’t speak the word of God and we will therefore not live out our Baptismal promise to be a prophet. Our nostrils will not “perceive the fragrance of God’s sweetness.” [7] Our hands will not feel the grasp of God, who walks hand and hand with us, now will our feet walk the path of perfection. We will become what we worship and will not understand the disability that has overcome us.
Why can the disciples only truly hear Jesus? We are called by our Baptism to be united with Christ. We are like the disciples because we heard the call of Jesus Christ. We should not ever take this for granted. Even though we may hear and see it with our own eyes, we must also follow His will. We see it with the disciples when they ran away from His side when Jesus was put through His Passion and death. Just because God has given us the grace to hear and understand is only part of the gift. The other gift is to act upon what He teaches. We do this by keeping our heart open to Him so that we can have bear great fruit within and out of us a hundred fold.
Why does Jesus still speak to them even if the people don’t understand? As mentioned in an early lesson, God’s grace and mercy is extended upon everyone. He does not hold anything back, and will rain His mercy on those who deserve it and those who do not. We should feel humbled and blessed when we do hear and accept His words, and come to the realization that Saint Peter did, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” [8]
What does the seed represent? “Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom...” [9] We can easily take for granted our faith, and the word of Christ. We must be willing to be the mouthpiece for Christ, and to not be afraid to be the missionaries of the twenty-first century. To tell our family, our friends, our neighbors of Jesus Christ, His Church, and He is been calling each and every one of us from the time we were born to today and at our last breath. We must be willing to do this time and time again, not grow weary even when we find people with a harden heart and the seeds get swept away, but keep laying seeds until the ground is fruitful to flourish. Because as one of the footnotes to this passage says, “...in spite of some failure because of opposition and indifference, the message of Jesus about the coming of the kingdom will have enormous success.” [10] May we stay close to him and always look to hear, understand it, and bear fruit that yields a hundred fold.
[1] Dodd, Parables, 5
[2] Pope Benedict XVI; Jesus of Nazareth; page 192-193
[3] Matthew footnotes 13, 11
[4] Matthew 13:14-15
[5] Pope Benedict XVI; Jesus of Nazareth; page 189-191
[6] Psalm 115; Sunday, Evening Prayer II; Week II; Liturgy of the Hours
[7] Roman Catholic Daily Missal [1962]; page 1838
[8] John 6:68
[9] Matthew 13:18-19
[10] Matthew footnote 13, 3-8