***
Gospel: Matthew 13: 1-9
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Preaching is an art.
It involves creativity, wisdom, storytelling, humor, a deep understanding of the human spirit, a strong ability to connect with an audience, and a lot of time spent in prayer.
Few have mastered it. Jesus did.
Crowds would follow him for days, hanging on his every word, as his pulpit moved from the synagogue to a living room to the bedside of the dying. From an open field to a mountaintop to the stern of a boat in today’s Gospel.
***
Within the crowds, there were different types of listeners. Some hung on his every word, a few were skeptical but interested, and others only wanted to ensnare him in his speech. So, the Lord hid his message in parables.
As he spoke, we can imagine his body swaying back and forth as the waves lapped against his boat. His words gently rocking some to sleep, while mesmerizing others.
***
“A sower went out to sow,” he begins. And as he sowed, his seed fell on four different types of soil – hardened, rocky, thorny, and fertile. Each representing either a different person in the crowd or a different part of ourselves.
First, the sower comes across hardened soil. Imagine the dark, packed-down type of dirt that develops along a walking path. When seed lands upon it, it remains on the surface, so the birds come and swiftly eat it up.
This type of soil represents a person with a heart hardened towards God, perhaps the result of suffering, unanswered questions, or feeling trampled upon by others.
It’s hard to imagine a heavenly Father who is loving, sensitive, and compassionate if we are denied such treatment by others. Yet the sower scatters seed along the resistant path anyway.
***
Next, he comes across rocky soil, which is difficult to penetrate. As a result, the soil remains helplessly shallow.
This might represent someone who is benevolent towards religion, but lacks any depth or inner stability. Eventually the heat intensifies – suffering or hardship comes their way – and because of the rocks, the seeds of faith have not taken root, so they dry up in the sun.
Still, the sower spreads seed there anyway.
***
Next, he comes across thorny soil, known for its competition. While good fruit grows, thorns grow alongside it. Eventually, the thorns choke the fruit, causing it to spoil.
Such a person might struggle choosing between what is good versus what is great. While the Word of God takes root and begins sprouting within them, the lure of materialism, success, image, or worldly concerns chokes their commitment to faith, causing it to spoil.
***
Finally, the sower comes across rich, fertile soil.
This represents a person who receives the Word of God and is nurtured by it, making it their lasting foundation. The litmus test for such an individual is the size of the harvest they bear. Not only belief, but also good work abounds.
The irony is, in order for soil to become fertile, it must first be broken open, crushed, repeatedly separated. You might say it endures a storm or two, yet that causes it to soften.
Such a person may have experienced difficulties in life, but they did not turn away from God; rather, being humbled and broken did the opposite. It created an openness to the Gospel, leading to a harvest thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold
***
While it’s easier to place ourselves into one of these four categories, the truth is that there may be a bit of each of them in all of us.
For example, a person who has been away from the Church or distanced from God for many years may feel consoled by the parable of the Prodigal Son.
New converts may be drawn to Christ’s teachings on morality, prayer, and the Eucharist.
Life-long believers may feel comforted by Christ’s invitation to yoke their burdens to him.
But the same listeners might feel far less receptive to forgiving those who’ve hurt them; to taking up their cross; to turning the other cheek; or to loving their enemies.
***
Preaching is an art.
But so is listening.
Lord, grant us the grace to become like fertile soil. To listen to your words, to be inwardly changed by them, and to bear fruit thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Sermon on the Mount, Copenhagen (2) The Jagged Word (3) Manly Life Church