The Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 12, 2020

Matthew 13:1–23

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 disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. 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. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see, and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. 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. 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. Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” 

The Gospel of St. Matthew was written primarily to help the early believers persevere in their faith in the face of persecution.  It stands to reason that of all that St. Matthew remembered about the Lord Jesus, he would include the words and deeds that would benefit them the most.  This long parable and its explanation were included by Matthew because it would show Jesus praising the faith of those early believers: “The seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it.”  Jesus calls them “the rich soil” who are clearly distinct from the other soils upon which the seed fell.  This also shows that God, in his providence, chose them for his rich soil, and so he would certainly take care of it.

Yet Sts. Mark and Luke included this parable in their Gospels, written for mostly Gentile believers who were not at the time suffering persecution.  This parable is the only one of the Lord’s many parables to appear in the three so-called synoptic Gospels (St. John does not include any in his).  Since the Gospels were written for different groups of Christians in differing circumstances, why would the Evangelists, obviously without consulting each other, choose to include this particular parable?  

The looming, urgent question that confronted the early hearer of any of the Gospels is this: Clearly, Jesus is the Son of God who has wrought redemption for all.  Why then was he rejected by his own people?  Why are people not battering in the doors of the churches in order to be baptized, so that they also might be saved?  Why do some people hate him and his followers?  A person, especially a Gentile, who heard St. Peter or St. Paul preach might well be convinced that they told the truth about Jesus, but hesitate to become a believer because of this question.  Why should I believe when “he came unto his own: and his own received him not” (John 1, 11).

This parable explains the answer both to Jewish Christians and to the Gentiles.  People reject the Lord out of their own fear, weakness, or selfishness.  

The path which did not receive the seed to any degree are those so wrapped up in the world that they do not recognize the need for a Savior.  These secular folks declare that “reason” or “science” alone guides them, though this is not really true.  If they see anything wrong with the world or with themselves, they blame “the system” — other people — and refuse to accept personal responsibility.  The “birds” eat the seed that they refuse: the devil solidifies their selfishness.  The “rocky ground” who are those who look for some temporal advantage or a good feeling, but the Gospel does not promise this to those who believe in it.  The “thorns” are worldly ambitions and fears, a strong desire to conform to society.  Finally, there is the “good soil”, which proves its goodness through its fruitfulness, that is, in making converts.  Thus, we see that nothing is lacking to God’s word, but only to many who hear it.  The Lord’s quote from Isaiah sums it all up.

The Apostles are shown asking Jesus the meaning of the parable.  Notably, the crowd does not.  Typically, they do not.  They listen, ponder a bit, and go on their ways.  Oftentimes we see people asking themselves questions about what Jesus has just said, but they do not ask the only one who could give them a complete answer.  

The Lord Jesus assures his followers, “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.”  Our eyes and ears are opened in baptism so that we might see the Lord through faith and hear his words that we might, as “good soil” , bear fruit, “bearing” souls for Jesus.