Every day is a time for sowing!
Year A – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13:1-23: “Behold, the sower went out to sow”
This Sunday marks the beginning of the “discourse in parables” in chapter 13 of the Gospel according to Matthew. It is Jesus’ third discourse, after the inaugural discourse “on the mountain” (chapters 5–7) and the “missionary discourse” sending the apostles out on mission (chapter 10). This discourse is made up of seven parables. The first four are addressed to the crowd — the sower, the weeds, the mustard seed and the yeast — and the other three to the disciples: the treasure, the pearl and the net. Seven parables to present “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (13:11).
The expression “kingdom of heaven”, “kingdom of God” or simply “the kingdom” appears about fifty times in the Gospel according to Matthew: the first time on the lips of John the Baptist (3:2) and the second on the lips of Jesus: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand” (4:17). The kingdom is the theme of Jesus’ preaching, the purpose of his life and of his mission. What is the Kingdom of God? Jesus reveals it to us through these parables.
What is a parable? It is a story which, starting from a fact, a plausible narrative or a reality of everyday life, seeks to convey, in symbolic form, a deeper and sometimes mysterious message, one which requires an effort of interpretation. Jesus often used parables in his preaching. It is necessary, however, to distinguish between a parable and an allegory. In an allegory, every narrative element has a specific meaning; in a parable, by contrast, one must seek above all the overall meaning.
1. The parable of optimism and hope
The parable of the sower is one of the best known in the Gospel, “the mother of all parables”, as Pope Francis called it. The passage has three distinct parts: first, the telling of the parable (vv. 1-9); second, the reason why Jesus speaks in parables (vv. 10-17); third, an allegorical explanation of the parable (vv. 18-23).
This parable comes at a delicate moment in the life of Jesus, when the apparent failure of his mission was beginning to emerge. At this point we ask ourselves: why does evil always seem to triumph? Why does good find it so hard to take root in the world and in people’s hearts?
It would seem that the answer given by the parable is this: everything depends on the quality of the soil on which the seed is scattered. Yet the primary intention is not so much to invite us to ask what kind of soil our heart is, but rather to encourage the disciples — and us — to proclaim the Gospel “in the hope that there is, somewhere, good soil” (Saint Justin).
The obstacles, opposition and rejection encountered by the Word can lead us to pessimism. Yet Jesus encourages us to continue proclaiming the Word, trusting in its extraordinary, prodigious fruitfulness, even to a hundredfold. Indeed, in Palestinian soil, the most one could hope for was tenfold: from one grain of wheat, an ear with ten grains!
2. The capitalist principle of the spirit
To the disciples’ question: “Why do you speak to them in parables?”, Jesus seems to give a discriminatory answer: “Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” How can this be? It seems as though Jesus speaks in parables deliberately so as not to be understood, when one would expect the opposite. In reality, this is a “Semitism”, that is, a typical way of speaking, marked by irony, sadness and disappointment, in the face of closed hearts.
I am struck by Jesus’ statement: “For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” This is what I would call the “capitalist principle” of the spirit: just as money flows towards those who have plenty of it and disappears from the pockets of the poor, so it is in the realm of the spirit. The more you have, the more grace you will receive; the less you have — through laziness, negligence or hardness of heart — the less you will have.
On Sunday, thousands and thousands of people will hear this Word in our churches: some will leave enriched, others impoverished. But no one will be the same as before, because a missed opportunity contributes to spiritual “sclerocardia”, that is, the hardening of the heart, which becomes increasingly insensitive to the Word.
3. The allegorical explanation of the parable
“You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower…”. The evangelist attributes the allegorical explanation of the parable to Jesus. In reality, perhaps it is his application of it to the concrete life of Matthew’s community.
We may ask ourselves: why does the sower scatter the grain on the path, on rocky ground and among thorns, instead of sowing it directly in the good soil? It should be remembered that in Palestine people first sowed and then ploughed, in order to bury the seed. It was hoped that the plough would break up the path made by passers-by, lift the stones and uproot the thorns.
Allow me to add another allegorical element: in this case, what is the plough? Is it perhaps the cross of Christ which, by digging into our heart, makes it good soil? Moreover, the plough was made of wood, with an iron point! We delude ourselves into thinking that we can avoid all suffering, that we can sidestep the cross, since “we must enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations” (Acts 14:22).
I leave it to you to confront yourselves with the Word and to ask what kind of soil your heart is. Perhaps the answer will leave us a little disheartened. Let us then be encouraged by this quotation from the Irish playwright Samuel Beckett: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better!”
Conclusion: “Behold, the sower went out to sow!”
“Jesus left the house and sat by the sea.” This Word will find some of you while you are enjoying a well-deserved time of rest. Well then, Jesus will come to you too! Will you find a little time to listen to him?
Let us not forget, however, that there are many sowers. Beware of the seeds of weeds which the hands of the evil one sow abundantly in our hearts, especially at “night”. Let us do as the bride in the Song of Songs does: “I sleep, but my heart keeps watch” (Song 5:2).
Finally, let us remember that we too are sowers. Every morning, before going out, let us fill our little backpack so that we may sow the good seed wherever we go. Every day is a time for sowing!
Fr Manuel João Pereira Correia, MCCJ
Fr. Manuel João, comboni missionary
Sunday Reflection
from the womb of my whale, ALS
Our cross is the pulpit of the Word
