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Posted on 07/18/2017 7:50:31 AM PDT by Salvation
At Sunday Mass we heard the parable of the sower. Afterward, someone asked me the following question: “Since the sower is the Son of Man, Jesus Himself, why would He, who knows everything ahead of time, sow seed He knew would not bear fruit?”
First, let’s review the text:
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” (Matt 13:1-9).
So why would God waste any seed on rocky ground, thin soil, or the path?
Perhaps we can only propose some possible “answers.” I use quotes around the word because we are in fact touching on some mysteries and can only speculate. Here are some possibilities:
I. God is extravagant. It is not just seed He scatters liberally; it is everything. There are billions of stars in billions of galaxies, most of them seemingly devoid of life as we understand it. Between these billions of galaxies are huge amounts of what appears to be empty space. On this planet, where just one species of bird would do, there are thousands. Likewise, there are vast numbers of different sorts of insects, mammals, fish, and trees. “Extravagant” barely covers it! The word “extravagant” means “going or wandering beyond.” God has gone vastly beyond anything we can imagine, but He is love and love is extravagant. The image of Him sowing seed in an almost careless way is thus consistent with the usual way of God.
Thus God’s extravagant love is illustrated by His sowing the seed of His word everywhere. Love does not say, “What is the least I can do?” It says, “What more can I do?” Love does not say, “I will give only if I get something back.” If a man loves a woman, he does not look for the cheapest gift to give her on her birthday. Rather, he looks for an extravagant gift. God is love and He is extravagant.
II. God loves and offers the seed of His Word even to those who will reject Him. Remember, as Jesus goes on to explain, the soil that fails to receive the Word is a symbol of those who allow riches, worldly preoccupation, persecution, and the demands of the Word to draw them away from God. Even knowing this, God still loves them. He still wills their existence. Scripture says elsewhere, But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt 5:44-45).
Yes, God loves even those who will ultimately reject Him. Despite knowing this ahead of time, He will not say, “You cannot have my word; I refuse to provide you sufficient grace.” No, He scatters that seed even though He knows it will not bear the fruit He wishes. Further, He continues to send the sun and rain even on those who will reject Him.
This parable shows forth God’s unfailing love. He sows seed even knowing it will not bear the fruit He wants. He wills the existence of all, even those who He knows will reject Him.
III. God is just. Were the Lord to take back the seed that fell in unfruitful places, one could argue that He withdrew His grace and that people were lost as a result. In other words, one could claim that God manipulated the process by withdrawing every possible grace. But God, in justice, calls everyone and offers everyone sufficient grace for them to come to faith and salvation.
IV. God respects our freedom. The various places the seed falls is indicative of human freedom more so than illustrative of God’s intent. God freely offers the grace of His word, but we must freely receive it into the soil of our life. Some of us insist on having stony hearts or immersing ourselves in the cares of the world. God will offer the seed, respecting our freedom to be receptive or refusing. Were He to condition His offer and blessings on us offering the right kind of soil, one could reasonably argue that he was pressuring us or manipulating our freedom.
V. God wants us to persevere, to sow faithfully rather than merely harvesting. Sometimes we can become discouraged when it seems that our work has borne little fruit. The temptation is to give up. There’s an old saying, “God calls us to be faithful, not successful.” In other words, it is up to us to be the means through which the Lord sows the seed of His Word. By God’s grace, the Word is in our hands, but the harvest is not.
This parable teaches us that not all the seed we sow will bear fruit. In fact, much of it will not.
The simple mandate is that we preach the Word. Go unto all the nations and make disciples. St. Paul would later say to Timothy, Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction (2 Tim 4:2). In other words, sometimes the gospel is accepted; sometimes it is rejected. Preach it anyway. Sometimes the gospel is popular, sometimes not. Preach it anyway. Sometimes the gospel is in season; sometimes it is out of season. Preach it anyway. Sow the seed; don’t give up.
Discharge your duty! St. Paul goes on to remark, sadly, For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry (2 Tim 4:3-5). Once again the message is the same: preach anyway; sow the seed of the Word; persevere; do not give up; do not be discouraged. Discharge your duty and be willing to endure hardship; just preach! Some of the seed will yield a rich harvest, some will not; preach anyway.
So, permit these “answers.” God sows seed He knows will bear no fruit because He is extravagant, because He loves and wills the existence even of those He knows will reject Him, because of His justice, because He respects our freedom, and because He wants to teach us to persevere regardless of the outcome.
Monsignor Pope Ping!
Very good teaching.
Because God does not have an American mindset that deems only something that provides a return on investment as being worthwhile or not a waste of time and resources.
Because He gave us free will?
One of the strangest sentences in the Bible is found at the beginning, in Genesis 1:16: "He made the stars also." The picture, standing from God's perspective outside of space and time, is of a God who makes a sun and moon so that there will always been light shining on the earth, and then in a moment of serendipitous extravagance thinks to Himself, "Aw, what the heck," flicks His hand, and produces billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars, since when you're God, why have just one star when you can have a google of them at no extra charge.
Yes, that is a somewhat anthropomorphic representation, but one look at all existence yields the same conclusion: God is never stingy, but prodigal (Gk. asotia) in His extravagance.
Monsignore Pope sounds a lot like Dr. Martin Luther:
“In short, I will preach it, teach it, write it, but I will constrain no one by force, for faith must come freely without compulsion. Take myself as an example... I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept [cf. Mark 4:26-29], or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philip and Amsdorf, the Word...[defeated evil]. I did nothing; the Word did everything.”
True, but it is more an Aristotelian mindset. Aristotle teaches that the Golden Mean in terms of spending is "generosity," which he defines as the midpoint between being stingy (aneleuteriotes, imprisoned by one's wealth) and being extravagant (asotia, the term used to describe how the prodigal son spent his wealth). Aristotle is reasonable concerning wealth; God is unreasonable, because God has nothing to lose, and because we who walk in His grace have access to Him, we have nothing to lose that cannot be replaced by Him a trillion times over.
Or maybe God just wanted to make an illustration. An example of what to do, and an example of what not to do.
Good thoughts, chajin!
Especially since Moses had no doubt been well-educated in elite schools for the sons of Egyptian nobility, and therefor was thoroughly exposed to the Egyptian knowledge of constellations and planets. This was necessary for predicting the annual Nile inundation but was also the center of an intricate astrology/cosmogony which fascinated the most advanced Egyptian (and Babylonian) minds...
Moses (under the influence of the Holy Spirit) tosses it off with, “Oh yeah, and He made the stars also” -— enjoy the tone of Jewish irony here!
All the soils are still soil.
In 2009, an unusual large galaxy with a shape bordering between spiral and elliptical was spotted by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
It's one of the most iconic celestial images in astronomy — the eye-like Helix Nebula. Ironically, the incredibly harsh conditions within this dying Sun-like star are producing a molecule integral for the formation of water, a process that could be repeated across the cosmos. The Famous "Eye of God" Nebula May Actually Be Weeping Tears Of Water
It is stunning how many scientists profess to be atheists. How does one look into space, observe the billions of stars and not come away convinced of the existence of a Creator.
But aren’t some soils better than others? I live in the Willamette Valley with very rich soil.
All souls are not the same either.....that’s what the parable is really about — how each soul receives the Word of God (Jesus Christ) is varied.
Because He is generous and patient and gives everyone a lot of chances. No one will be able to say they didnt have opportunities.
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry (2 Tim 4:3-5)”
And here we are...
Yes some soils are healthier and the Word grows more readily in healthy soils. Some people receive Christ but they are still a mess (their souls) and the Word does not grow as readily.
I know mentally ill and former drug addicts and victims of incest who have come to Christ. Spiritually born again but that does not heal all that is broken in them overnight.
Satan comes to steal the Word in them that they would continue to suffer. I don’t think I have seen anything sadder than a mentally ill person who desperately wants their brain to be normal .... at peace, and continues to suffer the anguish of mental illness. Yet they have Christ and cry out for healing from the One they believe in.
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