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From: Luke 8:16-18

Parable of the Sower. The Meaning of the Parables (Continuation)

(Jesus told the crowd,) [16] “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a vessel,
or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, that those who enter may see the
light. [17] For nothing is hid that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret
that shall not be known and come to light. [18] Take heed then how you hear; for
to him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what he
thinks that he has will be taken away.”

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Commentary:

[There is no commentary available for Luke 8:16-18. The commentary for the
same parable found in Mark 4:21-25 states:]

16-17. This parable contains a double teaching. Firstly, it says that Christ’s doc-
trine should not be kept hidden; rather, it must be preached throughout the whole
world. We find the same idea elsewhere in the Gospels: “What you hear whis-
pered, proclaim it upon the housetops” (Mt 10:27); “Go into all the world and
preach the Gospel to the whole of creation...” (Mk 16:15). The other teaching is
that the Kingdom which Christ proclaims has such ability to penetrate all hearts
that, at the end of time, when Jesus comes again, not a single human action, in
favor or against Christ, will not become public or manifest.

24-25. Our Lord never gets tired of asking the Apostles, the seed which will pro-
duce the Church, to listen carefully to the teaching he is giving: they are recei-
ving a treasure for which they will be held to account. “To him who has will more
be given ...”: he who responds to grace will be given more grace and will yield
more and more fruit; but he who does not will become more and more impove-
rished (cf. Mt 25:14-30). Therefore, there is no limit to the development of the
theological virtues: “If you say ‘Enough,’ you are already dead” (St. Augustine,
“Sermon” 51). A soul who wants to make progress in the interior life will pray
along these lines: “Lord, may I have due measure in everything, except in Love”
(St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 427).

[The commentary for another similar parable found in Matthew 13:12 states:]

12. Jesus is addressing his disciples and explaining to them that, precisely be-
cause they have faith in him and want to have a good grasp of his teaching, they
will be given a deeper understanding of divine truths. But those who do not “fol-
low him” (cf. note on Mt 4:18-22) will later lose interest in the things of God and
will grow even blinder: it is as if the little they have is being taken away from
them.

This verse also helps us understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, a
parable which gives us a wonderful explanation of the supernatural economy of
divine grace: God gives grace, and man freely responds to that grace. The result
is that those who respond to grace generously receive additional grace and so
grow steadily in grace and holiness; whereas those who reject God’s gifts be-
come closed up within themselves; through their selfishness and attachment to
sin they eventually lose God’s grace entirely. In this verse, then, our Lord gives
a clear warning: with the full weight of His divine authority He exhorts us — with-
out taking away our freedom — to act responsibly: the gifts God keeps sending
us should yield fruit; we should make good use of the opportunities for Christian
sanctification which are offered us in the course of our lives.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.