"Why do you speak to them in parables?"
Why not a Catechism or a Summa, something straightforward and as impossible to misinterpret as possible? Jesus seemed to answer that it was because he didn't desire to force comprehension on those who did not wish to understand, on those whose hearts were closed.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted,
and I heal them.
Jesus seemed to desire an understanding that was more than merely an intellectual comprehension, one which required the opening of the heart as well as the mind. He desired to teach a truth that could convert and result in healing. The act of will involved in embracing a parable was different from that of understanding a list of abstract spiritual truths.
But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
To the humble who would accept them, who would truly listen, the parables revealed God's diagnosis of the world and of the human heart. In them he demonstrated the difference between the world and the kingdom of God, and by them he invited those who heard into that kingdom. They were different from a theological treatise precisely because of the necessary involvement of the listener in the story being told. One needed to be humble enough to place oneself into the story and to see what it said about her in order to reap the benefits and come to see Jesus and his kingdom more clearly.
A sower went out to sow.
The sower was immensely generous with his seed, sowing it even in environments unlikely to bear fruit. But this was not because he was foolish. He knew that his seed was special, capable of transforming an inauspicious environment to one in which it could grow and thrive. Or perhaps better we might say that he himself would have made another pass to transform all the difficult environments, making the challenging aspects actually work to the benefit of the seed in the long run. What if, in the end, it was only the seed that was committed to remaining where it was first sown that was unable to bear fruit? What if the gardener desired to transform dry and barren land into a fruitful oasis?
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water (see Isaiah 41:18).
What determines the environment of the seed in the parable is the way someone receives the word of the kingdom. And this is a reality that would seem to have much to do with environmental factors. Receiving it with understanding would seem to depend on prior knowledge and context in addition to good exposition and teaching. Developing a root would similarly seem to depend on one's life history and the context in which the word was received, say, as to whether they were in a thriving church community or not. Whether or not one would encounter tribulation or persecution, the degree to which worldly anxiety or the lure riches were persuasive, none of these seemed to be directly under the control of the one to whom the word was given. But we know that God does not ask the impossible, since to him all things are possible, and that which he commands, he also empowers. The seed may not be able to reshape the environment entirely, but it can certainly respond by putting forth its shoots toward the sun, by striving in the direction of the life giving light of God. When God sees any measure of good will he will not let circumstances interfere with his botanical endeavor but will himself ensure that the seed bears fruit.
If then, we do not understand the word and feel entirely unequipped to do so, let us take a step in the direction of understanding, not remaining passive in this regard but taking on the role of active students of the word. If we felt some initial joy that has been unable to sustain us in persecution and trial let us look at how we might begin to put down roots. The roots will not look like much it first, but that is the way it goes with roots. They can eventually make us all but immovable when the storms come. Are we surrounded by thorns such that we can see no escape and feel anxiety choking us? Let us see how we might make a move, even ever so slight into a more open space. Jesus promised that he would honor even the most meager desire on our part to accept his word, transforming what might appear to be doomed attempts at growth into the richness of genuinely flourishing and abundant life.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Let us choose to realize that we are those who have, since we have been given the seed of the word of God. It is this perspective that opens us to all Jesus desires to do within us. We might instead prefer to believe that we have not and only see the challenges. But if we opt for that sort of negativity bias we will fail to avail ourselves of the little opportunities for growth that the Lord desires to magnify and multiply. After all, his word is not like those of men. It has the power to do what he desires.
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
And what is this end for which he sent it? "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (see John 10:10). Is the seed or the soil in anyway able to put limits on this desire? No, because, "He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness" (see Second Corinthians 9:10).
Even that which appears to be subjected to futility in creation is actually longing for the light. It is merely groaning in labor pains awaiting the transformation that God himself will one day bring. But for our part we need not and indeed must not wait, for even now we "have the firstfruits of the Spirit".
You have crowned the year with your bounty,
and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
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