Readings:
Isaiah 55:10-11
Psalm 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14
Romans 8:18-23
Matthew 13:1-23
Recent studies estimate that 29% of adults in the United States are religiously unaffiliated. Five percent of this group claim to be atheists; six percent agnostics, and nineteen percent say they are “nothing in particular,” often labeled “nones.” People who have faith and find it very meaningful, often lament about why others, particularly their children and grandchildren do not practice the faith.
The Matthean community asked similar questions, as today’s gospel shows.
Why do some accept Jesus’ interpretation of the law while others do not?
Like all Jesus’ parables, the one in today’s gospel is open to a variety of
interpretations. If we take the sower as the focus, the parable invites us to
reflect on the boundless generosity of God, who offers the Word, in the
person of Jesus, to all in the hope of a fruitful response, no matter how
poorly prepared to receive it some may seem to be. If we zero in on the
seed, the parable assures us of the efficacy of the word. No matter what the
yield, the seed itself is good, and it will bear fruit. If we take the harvest as
the focus, the explosive return propels us into reflection on eschatological
fulfillment of hopes beyond our wildest dreams. Finally, if we focus on the different
types of soil, the parable urges us to make every effort to cull out obstacles and cultivate maximum receptivity to the word.
As Jesus’ first followers struggled to understand why others did not
respond as they did to Jesus’ teaching, they turned to the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah articulates that this experience is repeated in the life of every prophet:
some people are disposed to see and hear and respond positively to the
prophet’s message, while others close themselves off to the challenging
word that could bring healing and that could free them to live life more
fully in God’s love. To explain the negative response by the latter, Isaiah
puts the onus not on the prophet, nor on the message, but on those who
deliberately close themselves off to the prophet’s words and actions.
In the gospel, Jesus explains that the ability to accept his teaching is a
gift from God. What is given is “knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven” (v. 11). This is the only time that the word “mysteries” appears
in the gospels (Matt 13:11 and parallels). In other Jewish sources the term
“mystery” is associated with God’s purposes for the end times (e.g., Dan
2:27-28; 1 Enoch 68:5; 4 Ezra 10:38). Here the “mystery” is the presence of
God’s realm in Jesus and his ministry.
While verses 11 and 12 explain that knowledge of the mysteries is God’s
gift, verses 13 to 17 emphasize human responsibility to cultivate receptivity
so as to be able to respond as fully as possible to the gift. Some let the gift
be snatched from them; some toss it aside in favor of something else that
seems more alluring. Work must be done to root out whatever might stand
in the way of allowing the gift to unfold all its riches. The parable and its
allegorical interpretation undercut any smugness or complacency on the
part of those who have received the gift. The gospel invites us to shift our
focus from wondering whether the “seed” is effective—it is!—or why
others’ soil is unreceptive, to the question of how those who have received
the gift can be intent on helping prepare receptive soil and to continue the
profligate and indiscriminate work of the Divine Sower, who eagerly shares
the mysteries far and wide.
This reflection is an adaptation of Barbara E. Reid, Abiding Word. Sunday Reflections for Year A. Liturgical Press, 2013. Pp. 84–85
Barbara E. Reid, O.P., Ph.D.
President Emerita
Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP, Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies