The Sower, Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration, Mt Tabor, Shibli, Israel.

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[Jesus said] “But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”   Matthew 13:33.

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Jesus was as wedded to the earth as just about everyone else in his time. Sheep, pastures, cows, farming were never far from direct experience, so every time he used the natural world to illustrate his preaching, he knew everyone would be completely aware of what he was talking about. Not so today. Have you ever seen seeds being planted in a field? I know it was one of the first mechanical aids to farming (from my history class time in school). It was, of course, Jethro Tull who invented it (who could forget a name like that?). Date was 1701, so it was one the first machines heralding the earliest beginning of the Industrial Revolution. And this was the first time in human history that planting was done by something other than a handful of seeds being cast around in great swinging loops by the farmer, an image beloved of artists:

The Sower, van Gogh (after Millet, 1889), Collection Stavros Niarchos, Paris, France.

It also follows that the images used by Jesus in this parable would have been instantly understood by his listeners. Yes, birds would have swooped down on the pathways and gobbled up what they could, brambles would choke the first sproutings, shallow soil would starve the first shoots, all this would have been obvious to those hearing this. His genius, though, was to transform this every-day knowledge into something very human, with each occurrence translated, as it were, into everyday experience. His closest followers, however, had to have it explained to them point by point, which is hard to understand, but there it is in today’s gospel reading! Perhaps these were those early-recruited fisherman who needed some explanation of what happens on terra firma. So I guess today once more it needs some unpacking.

The sower, of course, is Jesus himself, the “Son of Man” as he calls himself. The seed is the Word of God, open to everyone, given by Jesus, the Lord. This is done in the hope that it will  take root in each one of us and bear the fruit of a good, happy and just life. The various places where the seed lands refer to the situations in which we might find ourselves and how we can cope with this opportunity, or not.

Seed landing on the pathway and gobbled up by the birds today might well refer to those who know of Jesus, the Church, perhaps the scandals which have been revealed perpetrated by those who have betrayed the Church and have crushed any interest they might have had (the work of Satan, the “evil one” as Jesus says).

Rocky ground, Jesus’ second image, offers some sustenance, some patches of soil, insufficient to uphold any good growth. These are those who get very excited at the mission of the Church, its teachings, perhaps its history, but once the initial fervor has gone, they lose interest and wander off elsewhere. I think of those who perhaps leave the Catholics and go on to the various Protestant churches and then perhaps to Hindu holy men, then perhaps to nothing at all, hence not allowing anything to take deep, sustained root, ending up with just themselves, alone. Jesus talks here of “persecution” which might have scared such people away, but that is rare today. Perhaps such people feel “persecuted” at the rules God sets for us, aka the 10 Commandments… 

Some of the seed lands among thorns, tough weeds which have the power to strangle anything unfortunate enough to land in their midst. This situation might be the one closest to our modern experience. Pursuing the mirage of lots of money, the attraction of drugs which can come to dominate our whole existence, the power to glorify ourselves in certain occupations (possibly politics?) which would mean we forget about God entirely; there is no room for such a being in such a life. The trials and tribulations of the world are allowed to dominate such a person; the humble seed of God’s Word doesn’t stand a chance.

Then there’s the seed that lands where the soil is rich and deep and nourishing. Here it grows as it should, yielding a harvest of life and light, the source of true happiness and fulfillment. 

I asked myself where is the hope that this parable offers? After all, if I am a person caught up in the branches of those thorns and weeds, is there any hope of getting out of them? can I, sucked down by the troubles of the world, actually climb out of them and enter the rich and good soil? Clearly the answer is yes, but it surely requires quite a considerable self-awareness and self-honesty which could be an overwhelming obstacle to progress towards God. But doesn’t that imply an immovable idea of God, a God who does not get involved in the messiness of our lives? Put that image next to the truth of the life of Jesus, who came to us simply and solely to show what we must do as children of God. Central to Jesus’ message and example is love. By definition, love is open to the world, to others. Acceptance of the sacredness of another person, of all other persons, at one stroke we are lifted up out of the rocks, thorns, shallowness of selfishness into the promise of a rich and fruitful life centered on God. The Lord stands on all the obstacles and temptations of the world tall and strong; all we have to to so is reach up, ask for help, and behold!

Poster for the movie The Passion of the Christ, 2004. Unknown artist.

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