“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.”

It is only implicit, even in Jesus’s later explanation of the parable, that the word of God is the seed being sown. Jesus’s focus is not on the word, but on how that word is received. The word of God is presumed to be effective, as we hear in the first reading, “my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” Further, the word of God or of the kingdom should not be simply equated to a string of human syllables strung together for meaning, spoken or written. It is about the revelation of God himself that is communicated to humanity. Ultimately, Jesus is the word of God spoken for us. He is the full revelation of God for us. The parable is about how we receive Jesus. Is he stolen away from our hearts before he ever takes root? Is he rejected in the face of hardships? Is he choked out by wealth or power? These are illustrative questions, not exhaustive. Is he given only one pot in our hearts in which to grow? Does he die from lack of attention while we’re being entertained? Is he smothered when we are bearing the weight of grief or death? These, and many others, could be reflected on in our own prayer time. How can I be better soil? How can I better receive Jesus? How can I let Jesus bear fruit a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold?

It’s also an important perspective that the sower doesn’t just sow once. Perhaps this parable is a snapshot in time, but the sower is continually sowing. Not that Jesus wasn’t a once for all event (he was), but he is still alive. Jesus is still active. Jesus is still at work. And in an infinite number of ways and with unlimited patience, Jesus seeks to be planted in our hearts. There will be no new revelation of God, that’s true, for the fullness of God’s word spoken for us was Jesus. He was God’s final word. His word, Jesus, did not, in fact, return to the Father void, but did his will, achieving the end for which he sent him. Jesus died on the cross for our salvation and rose again from the dead. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Jesus has won the victory over sin and death. Through the power of the Spirit and the willingness of the Church (you and me) the good news of Jesus, the word made flesh, is sown through time and space: north, south, east, and west, from the first generation to this generation. The sower continues to sow and we continue to receive. 

Finally, a third perspective to remember is that a harvest of a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold takes time to tend, cultivate, and reap. Then it begins all over again. Season after season, even sometimes day after day or decade after decade, we tend the word in our souls. It takes time, patience, commitment, consistency, and vision to reap abundantly. If we cooperate with the Holy Spirit and say yes each day to surrender (if we are good soil), God’s word is fecund. You only have to glimpse at the universe, on an astronomic or subatomic level, to see how creative God can be. He spoke his effective word, Jesus, at creation, and so it was. His final word, Jesus, is spoken always now for our salvation. And so it is, but as St. Augustine said, “God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us.” He needs good dirt, good soil. God needs you to save you. May Jesus take root and grow in each of us!