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Despite the many advances that have been made in modern technology over the years to help farmers increase the productivity of their fields, they still face some of the same challenges and obstacles that were faced by the farmers of Jesus’ time and even earlier. One of the most significant challenges is the weather, which seems to defy human abilities to accurately predict or control. In our First Reading (Isaiah 55:10-11), Isaiah compares the farmer’s efforts to yield a bountiful harvest with that of the preacher or prophet attempting to sow the seeds of God’s word so that faith may result in the hearts of believers. God promises rain to moisten the ground, making it fertile and fruitful. As God gives us bread to satisfy our physical hunger, we are also given his living Word to answer our spiritual hungers. The Letter to the Hebrews describes God’s word as “living and effective,” and we see that in today’s First Reading as well, as God proclaims that his word (the seeds) does not return to him void, but accomplishes the purpose for which he sent it.
In our Gospel today (Matthew 13:1-23), the parable of the seed that is sown is an example of how Jesus explained the mysteries of the faith. Jesus often taught by way of parables, the purpose of which were to explain the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar so that people could understand. Most people in Jesus’ time earned their livelihood through fishing and agriculture, so it is common for Jesus to use agricultural and fishing themes in his parables.
In “the Greatest Commandment” (Matthew 22:34- 40), Jesus said that we must love the Lord with all our heart and soul and strength, and that we must love our neighbor as ourselves. Relating this to the parable of the sower, When Jesus says that some of the seed fell on the path and was eaten by birds, it represents those who heard the word of God without understanding it. It means that they did not love the Lord with all their heart. They did not apply their intellectual ability to know the word. their ignorance because they did not want to know the truth.
When Jesus said that some of the seed fell on rocky ground where it was scorched by the sun and withered and died, it represents those who hear the word but deny it during times of tribulation or persecution. It means that they did not love the Lord with all their soul. They chose to remain in their ignorance because they did not want to know the truth.
When Jesus says that some of the seed fell among the thorns and was choked by them, that represents those who were lured from the word by worldly anxieties. It means that they did not love the Lord with all their strength. Finally, when Jesus speaks of those who do not understand, it is not because Jesus is hiding the truth from them. They refuse to listen and understand, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah about their hardened hearts.
Jesus told these parables so that we would realize that we have a solemn responsibility to cooperate with the grace of God in our lives. It is not enough to think nice thoughts about God and thereby call ourselves Christian. We must dedicate our minds, our lives, our very selves, to the service of the kingdom. Anything less will not produce true peace in our lives and may ultimately deny us entry into the Kingdom of God.
