The Parable of the Sower

Today's Reflections

                         

The Parable of the Sower

Lk 8:4-15

⁴When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, [Jesus] spoke in a parable. ⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. ⁶Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. ⁷Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. ⁸And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

⁹Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. ¹⁰He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’

¹¹“This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. ¹²Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial. ¹⁴As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. ¹⁵But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”

Generous and good heart, and bear fruit. The parable stresses the importance of the kind of soil receiving God’s word. The key to understanding the word is having a “generous and good heart” that is willing to listen and learn. This is the primary requirement in order to bear fruit.

We may have ears to hear, but often we do not really listen. Let us pray for a generous and good heart so that we may receive the word and eventually bear fruit.

Real worship begins not in the church but at the

very moment we step outside the church.