Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Bernard Delcourt, OHC
Proper 10, Year A - Sunday, July 16, 2023
The Parable of the Sower, also known as the Parable of the Soils, is one of few parables to feature in all three synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke).
The purpose of a parable is “to tease the mind into active thought” (C.H. Dodd). And it’s OK to have several possible interpretations, even if they do not necessarily agree with one another.
So it’s a little bit of a let down that the gospelers felt compelled to give us an interpretation. Whether the interpretation was spoken by Jesus in his own time is a hotly debated issue.
Once an interpretation is authorized by no less than the Son of God, it is difficult to let our imagination come up with a variety of interpretations.
But bear with me. I will venture one few imagined interpretations anyway.
Jesus’s telling of the parable is sandwiched between the admonition to “Listen!” (3b) and the admonition “Let anyone with ears listen” (9). So we are invited to really pay attention to the possibilities of the text.
There are three potential areas of attention in this parable. Each one is rich in interpretive possibilities; the Sower, the Four Soils, the Miraculous Harvest.
First, let’s focus on the Sower. In first century Palestine, the soil was not cultivated prior to seeding. The sower cast the seed everywhere without prejudging where it would flourish. And then he plowed the field afterward to make the seed penetrate the soil. Then you had to trust God would provide the rain and wait for growth.
The next possible area of attention are the Four Soils.
- There is the hardened soil of the path,
- the shallow soil with lots of rocks right underneath (sounds like the Hudson Valley to me),
- the thorny or weedy soil,
- and the good soil.
The third area of attention in this parable is the Miraculous Yield. A reasonable cereal yield is to get four to five, maybe seven times as much grain as was sown. Jesus speaks of a thirtyfold to hundredfold yield. That kind of yield would truly be miraculous and would guarantee a super bumper crop no matter how many seeds did not come to that.
Our Sower sows with abandon, without prejudging the results. Is our Sower God or the Son of Man. His kind of sowing reminds me of Jesus saying earlier in the same gospel according to Matthew that
“[the Father] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)
Now, are we the seed expected to sprout, grow and bear fruit? If so, we are in less of a predicament than the seed in the parable. Compared to seeds we have options. We can sometimes change some of our conditions, or move where conditions will lead us to flourish. Fate is more malleable for humans than for seeds.
And do the four soils represent chapters of our own lives?
Have we at times not been so hardened that it was difficult to let the good news touch us?
Have we never been so troubled by adversity that we couldn’t focus on the good news?
Have the appeal of success, esteem, romance and riches lured us away from our spiritual foundations?
I do not believe we are predestined to be one or the other type of soil once and for all. God has given us agency. We can awaken and evolve. That’s part of what you are here for this morning. Letting the good news in and growing with it.
But maybe, the parable is not about us individually. Maybe it isn’t about who we are, and where we are at in our spiritual journey. Maybe this is not a call to introspection: what kind of soil am I now? Maybe this is not about our conversion of heart or metanoia.
Could it be that this parable is about more good news than most of us are ready for?
Not everyone will yield fruit thirty, sixty or hundredfold. But if enough good soil is found for the seed, this miraculous yield will more than make up for the seed that did not flourish.
Maybe the Sower isn’t so foolish after all to sow everywhere. If even a few seeds grow to this amazing fruition, the harvest will be plentiful. And if this about the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom will be available to all regardless of their yield or lack of it.
That sounds like the infinitely merciful and loving God I am in love with.
It may also be that Jesus isn’t just telling this parable.
He says it’s about rejecting or receiving the word about the kingdom of heaven. It may be that he is living this parable as he tells it.
After all, crowds welcomed his signs and his message. But few persevered in the face of adversity.
Yet, from those very few, multitudes grew to know Him. Multitudes have come to believe his message of redeeming love through the centuries. Many embody this message of love in how they live. And their lives touch many more.
They yield thirtyfold, sixtyfold and a hundredfold and they may not even come to know of it during their earthly lives. So let us not worry about what kind of seed we are. Let’s focus on spreading God’s Love.
For us to grow into fruitful disciples of Jesus, we must listen, understand, properly attend to His message, and doggedly persevere in the love of God and neighbor.
And rejection of Jesus’ message by many need not stop us coming to fruition. Encountering rejection of God’s loving message does not mean the message is wrong, or that our efforts at broadcasting it is folly. Look at the lives and deaths of Jesus and his apostles.
It simply is a fact of life, not everyone will take in the message and flourish with it. But some will. And by God’s grace, flourish beautifully and plenteously, they will.
The kingdom of heaven is like a bountiful crop produced in spite of what seem to be overwhelming setbacks.
Do trust in God’s abundance.
You are the instruments of God’s Love in the world. Do consent to God’s presence and action within you. And trust that God is crafting redemption through you, whether you know it or not.
A bountiful harvest will result from your spreading his Love broadly in the world. We don’t need to figure out, and anticipate how it will happen. We don’t need to be selective about where the Love is poured out.
We need to love God and neighbor. Let’s start with that.
Amen.
The purpose of a parable is “to tease the mind into active thought” (C.H. Dodd). And it’s OK to have several possible interpretations, even if they do not necessarily agree with one another.
So it’s a little bit of a let down that the gospelers felt compelled to give us an interpretation. Whether the interpretation was spoken by Jesus in his own time is a hotly debated issue.
Once an interpretation is authorized by no less than the Son of God, it is difficult to let our imagination come up with a variety of interpretations.
But bear with me. I will venture one few imagined interpretations anyway.
Jesus’s telling of the parable is sandwiched between the admonition to “Listen!” (3b) and the admonition “Let anyone with ears listen” (9). So we are invited to really pay attention to the possibilities of the text.
There are three potential areas of attention in this parable. Each one is rich in interpretive possibilities; the Sower, the Four Soils, the Miraculous Harvest.
First, let’s focus on the Sower. In first century Palestine, the soil was not cultivated prior to seeding. The sower cast the seed everywhere without prejudging where it would flourish. And then he plowed the field afterward to make the seed penetrate the soil. Then you had to trust God would provide the rain and wait for growth.
The next possible area of attention are the Four Soils.
- There is the hardened soil of the path,
- the shallow soil with lots of rocks right underneath (sounds like the Hudson Valley to me),
- the thorny or weedy soil,
- and the good soil.
The third area of attention in this parable is the Miraculous Yield. A reasonable cereal yield is to get four to five, maybe seven times as much grain as was sown. Jesus speaks of a thirtyfold to hundredfold yield. That kind of yield would truly be miraculous and would guarantee a super bumper crop no matter how many seeds did not come to that.
Our Sower sows with abandon, without prejudging the results. Is our Sower God or the Son of Man. His kind of sowing reminds me of Jesus saying earlier in the same gospel according to Matthew that
“[the Father] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)
Now, are we the seed expected to sprout, grow and bear fruit? If so, we are in less of a predicament than the seed in the parable. Compared to seeds we have options. We can sometimes change some of our conditions, or move where conditions will lead us to flourish. Fate is more malleable for humans than for seeds.
And do the four soils represent chapters of our own lives?
Have we at times not been so hardened that it was difficult to let the good news touch us?
Have we never been so troubled by adversity that we couldn’t focus on the good news?
Have the appeal of success, esteem, romance and riches lured us away from our spiritual foundations?
I do not believe we are predestined to be one or the other type of soil once and for all. God has given us agency. We can awaken and evolve. That’s part of what you are here for this morning. Letting the good news in and growing with it.
But maybe, the parable is not about us individually. Maybe it isn’t about who we are, and where we are at in our spiritual journey. Maybe this is not a call to introspection: what kind of soil am I now? Maybe this is not about our conversion of heart or metanoia.
Could it be that this parable is about more good news than most of us are ready for?
Not everyone will yield fruit thirty, sixty or hundredfold. But if enough good soil is found for the seed, this miraculous yield will more than make up for the seed that did not flourish.
Maybe the Sower isn’t so foolish after all to sow everywhere. If even a few seeds grow to this amazing fruition, the harvest will be plentiful. And if this about the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom will be available to all regardless of their yield or lack of it.
That sounds like the infinitely merciful and loving God I am in love with.
It may also be that Jesus isn’t just telling this parable.
He says it’s about rejecting or receiving the word about the kingdom of heaven. It may be that he is living this parable as he tells it.
After all, crowds welcomed his signs and his message. But few persevered in the face of adversity.
Yet, from those very few, multitudes grew to know Him. Multitudes have come to believe his message of redeeming love through the centuries. Many embody this message of love in how they live. And their lives touch many more.
They yield thirtyfold, sixtyfold and a hundredfold and they may not even come to know of it during their earthly lives. So let us not worry about what kind of seed we are. Let’s focus on spreading God’s Love.
For us to grow into fruitful disciples of Jesus, we must listen, understand, properly attend to His message, and doggedly persevere in the love of God and neighbor.
And rejection of Jesus’ message by many need not stop us coming to fruition. Encountering rejection of God’s loving message does not mean the message is wrong, or that our efforts at broadcasting it is folly. Look at the lives and deaths of Jesus and his apostles.
It simply is a fact of life, not everyone will take in the message and flourish with it. But some will. And by God’s grace, flourish beautifully and plenteously, they will.
The kingdom of heaven is like a bountiful crop produced in spite of what seem to be overwhelming setbacks.
Do trust in God’s abundance.
You are the instruments of God’s Love in the world. Do consent to God’s presence and action within you. And trust that God is crafting redemption through you, whether you know it or not.
A bountiful harvest will result from your spreading his Love broadly in the world. We don’t need to figure out, and anticipate how it will happen. We don’t need to be selective about where the Love is poured out.
We need to love God and neighbor. Let’s start with that.
Amen.
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