Thoughts for the Day

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Until two weeks ago there were six huge 'builder's bags' full of stones outside our house. They were used to fill in the pond and as a base for a large shed, but now there is a stretch of parched bare earth. Could I rake the top soil and reseed it? I could, but I remembered a time when in another house there were bald patches in the lawn and I threw handfuls of seed around the place. The result was biblical, the birds pinched the seed, the hot sun killed the seedlings, no grass grew where the ground was too hard, the dandelions grew ever larger, and the successful areas were a different colour to the rest of the lawn!

Up to now Jesus has used images like salt and light to teach, and the meanings were fairly clear and easily remembered. But now, from Chapter 13 of Matthew's Gospel, we see Jesus start to use parables - stories with heavenly meanings, we often say. He begins by describing an ordinary picture in the Parable of the Sower. The people who came to listen to him would have been accustomed to seeing wheat seeds distributed by hand on the fertile land, so he describes a scene they understood, ending with the words "Let anyone with ears listen". Note that the story all leads to these final words!

When children are young we don't teach them the bible stories using words like "incarnation" or "salvation", we tell them the story of the baby Jesus who was God's Son, and we show them what salvation is about by loving and forgiving them for their mistakes. The parables are for those who trust Jesus, have a genuine hunger to learn about God, and who have been given the gift of spiritual discernment. These people are to listen with theirs ears and their souls! They are not for those who persist in their unbelief, and who continually reject his message.

We shall look at the rest of this parable tomorrow, but as for my barren bit of earth, I think I'll wait to see if the expected rain will restore things!

Lord Jesus Christ,
we, who have heard Your words
and listened to Your truth,
ask for more teaching and discernment.
Open our hearts, minds, and souls, to hear
afresh the old stories,
and to apply their wisdom to our lives.
Amen.