The Parable of the Sower

one

The Sower and the Seeds

This is one of Our Lord’s first parables, and it takes His apostles off guard.

Afterwards, they ask Jesus privately, “what was that all about?” And He explains, the Sower is God, offering the grace of conversion and salvation. But some seed lands on a footpath. It takes no root, and eventually birds just take it away. Jesus says these are the people who hear the word, but it makes no impression, they don’t get it, and so the devil has no problem taking salvation away from them. Some seed lands on rocky ground. It springs right up but when the sun beats down, when suffering happens, then the plant wilts and dies right away. Some seed lands on good soil, but gets choked off by thorns. Jesus says these are the people who receive the Gospel, but cares of the world and love of riches kill off faith and charity.

So here’s the obvious question. Which one are we?

two

The seed on the wayside, the people on whom the faith makes no impact

Sometimes the seed falls on a footpath, on a dry, dense, wasteland where nothing could ever grow. Sometimes the gospel is preached to a soul that is just not interested in the truth and the truth just bounces right off them. It misses them altogether.

These people are comfortable on the footpath. They are floating effortlessly and mindlessly in the current of the world, the flesh. The devil has no problem with these people. They’re easy. They don’t even put up a fight.

This is, for instance, Herod. A thoughtless, vain, lustful, gluttonous, self-indulgent fool.

It’s terrifying when you stop to think that Herod is the only human being to whom Jesus will say nothing. He looks at that empty mind, that empty heart, and that path from which all soil has been completely eroded.

It’s scary when we think about how many people are like that: self-indulgent, unreflective, physically and intellectually lazy. Just waiting for the next meal or the next show to stream.

How will the seed find a place to implant in a soul like that?

three

Seed on the Rocky Ground

Some people receive the grace of the Gospel. They realize, “This is it! Of course! God is the only way it all works, and Jesus is the only path to God, and without the Church and the Scriptures, I don’t really have any access to Jesus.”

They realize that Love is the most important thing there is, that only Christians worship a God of Love, and that nowhere can they find this God of Love in a more loving way than in the Eucharist. So they get all excited. They get high on Jesus, they get high on being Catholic like the Rich Young Man. He comes to Jesus, and he thinks he’s ready to be all in. Then Jesus says, “Okay. But you’re going to have to purge yourself.” And that puts a damper on things, doesn’t it? Because following Jesus demands perseverance. It means you accept your cross. It means you don’t give up trying to get rid of your sins and vices, that you don’t stop going to confession, no matter if it never seems to get better. It means you stay true to your vocation, no matter how tough your marriage is. It means you stay true to this Church, no matter how frustrating you may find the decisions of Church leadership.

But many people won’t persevere. Many people won’t endure through the difficulty. Many people will quit. Many people will wilt under the sun’s heat. And the seed will die.

four

The Seed Choked by Thorns

Perhaps the most tragic of all the cases in this parable, is the seed that takes root, the soul that commits to Christ, to a life of holiness. This person starts out strong, but then loses focus.

This is Judas, who is, of course, the most tragic figure in the Gospel. He starts out so strong. He’s one of the chosen twelve, he’s committed his life completely to Jesus. He’s on track to be a great saint! But then the anxieties of the world and the love of riches come. He starts to slip back into worldly thinking. He steals from the money for the poor, he worries that too much money is spent on the ointment used to honor Jesus’ feet. He ends by selling his Savior, his Salvation, selling his eternal happiness, for a bag full of coins.

So if you’re a committed disciple of Jesus, great, but stay vigilant! Because fear of the future and a love of worldly success are always around the corner. They’re always cropping up. If you don’t watch it, they’ll choke love, the love of God, the love of Christ, and even the love of neighbor, right out of you.

five

The good soil

This parable actually has a happy ending though. Because there are those who receive the word of God and keep it. Not only do they blossom, not only do they live and flourish, but they become causes of faith, love and happiness in others, Jesus says thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold. Think of that! Think of not only your happiness, but the happiness of the thirty people you love, sixty people you love, the hundred people that you love.

The best way you can serve them, help them, is to stay close to Christ. To accept the truth, to persevere through hardship, and to keep your focus.