Sower

What can the Church manifest to you today in this Divine Liturgy? What can the Church manifest to you through the words of the parable of the sower? Today, Jesus teaches that the fundamental experiences of our daily lives should in fact be constantly giving us loving knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, though our hearts are seldom open to the mysteries of the Kingdom of God!

An example of fundamental experience is that of the farmer or gardener: he is a sower who goes out to sow his seed. This sentence indicates in its original words a community of identity in between the gardener, his action of planting and the plant. The result of this

common action produces striking differences.

In our vegetable garden at Mount Tabor, three artichoke plants have been planted on the same ground, one near the other. Today, after months of watering them, one of the three is growing vigorously, another remained very small for weeks and recently has been happily growing, the third started well, but is today dwindling! Our melons have almost choked because of weeds, some tomatoes and pears have been lost, eaten by birds. Jesus’ story recalls fundamental realities valid for all ages, except one detail: some seed produced a ‘hundred fold’.

Science teaches that crops, such as wheat, never produce even

thirty fold. Why a ‘hundred fold’? Jesus calls out: ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear’. Mostly people have eyes, but do not see, have ears, but do not hear. So often we are blind and deaf, to being disciples of Jesus.

The surrounding passages in the Gospel describe persons who are blind and deaf to what Jesus teaches, starting with His own chosen apostles, counting even John the Baptist of whom Jesus says ‘there is no one greater than John’. We hear John the Baptist say: ‘Are You, Jesus, the Expected One, or must we wait for someone else?’.

Members of Jesus’ own family are blind and deaf to Jesus’ teaching. In contrast we are given surprising unexpected examples of persons who are not blind and deaf: in the preceding chapter of the evangelist Luke the Roman Centurion says to Jesus: ‘only say the word and my servant will be healed’ and a notorious sinful woman, without shame, rushes to the feet of Jesus, anoints him with tears and perfume and receives this word of Jesus: ‘your faith has saved you. Go in peace.’

Jesus explains why we are so easily blind and deaf, why we do not see in Jesus the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, why so often we do not see in Jesus the Word of God, Second Person of the Divine Trinity, planting His Divine Word in our midst through the mystery of His

Incarnation. So easily we fall into three pitfalls. We listen to foreign voices and the devil inhibits the capacity of our hearts to believe and be saved, so easily we waver when difficulties appear and our faith in Christ is quenched.

This is because we want results stemming from our own power. So easily we get worried about issues, we desire to acquire more things or comforts. And so we forget engage in welcoming here on earth the Word of God, the Second Person of the Divine Trinity, who visits us, we do not keep an honest and good heart, in the likeness of the Mother of God who said: ‘Let it be done according to Your Word’ and who, even when she did not understand, kept in her heart the Word of God present through Jesus.

Jesus asserts that such persons yield a supernatural hundred fold, they yield far beyond the capacities of nature. St Paul can be counted among such surprising unexpected persons. He had his eyes and ears opened, not only at the moment of his conversion when Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus. St Paul would continually say: ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ in me’.