I've been immersed in the Parable of the Sower and should really, really finish it up today when…the baby naps.
Hah.
My husband suggested I should change the name of this blog, considering Joseph's objections to sleep get only more deeply held and clearly articulated as time goes on. In other words, the kid won't sleep. That's not exactly true. He'll sleep for ten minutes in my arms, only to pop up the minute his body senses "crib" under his body. He'll also collapse about four o'clock in the afternoon in a deep sleep, even in the crib, but by that point - dinner to cook, kids to transport - what the heck good is it to me?
But I can't get too mad at him. He's just so darn cute. His latest trick is kisses - lips pressed together, chin raised, going , "Mmmmm -- aaaah!" Tricky fellows, these babies.
Anyway. A few thoughts on the Parable of the Sower. First, a theme you can't avoid when you read and listen to this parable is receptivity. The seed of God's Word is sown everywhere (more on that later) , but bears lasting fruit only in receptive conditions. Jesus points out the factors that make us less than receptive: the press of worldly concerns, fear, the lure of wealth and desire for things. Why do these factors make us less than receptive to the Word?
Well, first, we have to remember what this “Word” is. It’s about the Kingdom of God, God’s reign in our lives. It is, most particularly, Jesus, who embodies God and His kingdom in our midst. And what does that mean? God first. God alone. God, creator, source and end. God everywhere and always.
You can probably come up with your own list of rocky soil and weeds that have made the power of God’s Word wither in your own life. Material things and wealth are dangerous because they seduce us into thinking we don’t need God. The pursuit of wealth and status and concern with the world’s evaluation of us can distract us from God’s call and the plain simple truth that other people’s opinions of us are irrelevant. When faced with stress and tension and lacking in trust of God, we might convince ourselves that God can’t help us here – that his Word isn’t relevant to our times, to our lives, to our particular situation.
But note something about this parable, something brought up by Robert Capon in his Parables of the Kingdom. Before we start using this parable to obsess, one more time, about ourselves, let’s tend to the Sower and the Seed for a minute. Capon, as he likes to do, emphasizes the centrality of God in the parable. That is, an important detail is that the seed – the Word – is sown everywhere. There’s not a spot, not a type of soil, that doesn’t receive the Word, sown by the hand of God.
So what does this mean? Perhaps it means a little mental adjustment is in order. We often think of ourselves, as Christians, as people who are bringing to Word to others, who are bringing Christ to others, who are sharing that Word. Capon asks if we should really think that way. The sowing of the Seed is done by God, and he sows it throughout the entire world, in every land, in every time. Is our job, then to “bring Christ” to others, or is it to help others recognize Christ in their lives, to open their eyes and see the redemption that has been wrought and the subsequent grace offered by God, and to prepare their own spirits to accept God’s offer of grace and salvation, and let it be fruitful?
It is, perhaps, a different style of evangelization, and one, in the end, that is very Catholic, very incarnational: Rather than announcing to people that we’ll will tell them what they’re missing and what we can give them, perhaps it is truer to the ways of God to sit with people and talk with them about where they have sensed movements towards peace, wholeness and reconciliation in their lives, and then help them identify that for what it is: God’s voice, gently calling in love.
Anyway, think about receptivity today. How receptive are you to God’s forgiveness? Or have you decided that you know better than God and that you should be defined by your sins?
How receptive are you to growing in God’s wisdom? Or have you decided that you have all the answers to every problem, no matter how miserable you continue to be?
How receptive are you to God in prayer and in the sacraments? Or are you constrained by intellectual problems and logical problems?
How receptive are you to the Spirit in your life? Or do you have a plan for your time on earth that closes you off to the freedom and surprising ways of God?
How receptive are you to correction? Or have you determined that there’s nothing anyone – even God – can tell you about how to lead your life?