Fr John O’Callaghan OSB
A prominent theme of today’s readings is the Word of God, its presence and power. Who could ever think that anything could be more present and powerful than God’s Word! From a biblical perspective God made the world and everything in it by the power of speech: ‘God said, let there be light and there was light’. Sovereign and majestic power at work in all of creation! And throughout the ages we believe that, as we say in the Creed, God ‘has spoken through the prophets’. The classical prophets typically introduce their teaching
with ‘Thus says the Lord….’ and we believe that the Lord does speak through them, inspires them, though the human element may at times tarnish the impression.
However today’s gospel considers the presence of the Word of God on a different level, on that of our individual experience, even here and now. After scripture readings congregations assent to this when they reply to the phrase ‘The word of the Lord’, with ‘Thanks be to God’. The ‘word’ they are referring to is like a seed. Today Christ teaches us about such seeds. We learn for example that: ‘when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart.’ It is like a seed that is simply thrown on a path.
The truth is that seeds typically require a resting period after falling to the ground and before they are able to germinate into new plants. Chemical changes take place during this period, making the seed ready for germination. This does not take place unless the seed finds inself in a favourable environment. That means adequate water and oxygen, and a suitable temperature. When these conditions are not present, the seed is prepared to wait… and wait. Indeed seeds found in the excavations of Pompei, dating from 79 AD, grew when they were placed in the right conditions by modern scientists 1 . We understand that if
our hearts are not soft soil, but hard and stony, the word of God, the seed of faith can lie dormant forever.
Today’s parable is particularly interested in these seeds; it is concerned with those who were deaf to Jesus’ teaching. On questioning Jesus explained that such deafness fulfilled a prophecy of Isaiah; it was foreseen by God, and incorporated into the plan of salvation. This sounds ominous. Our first impression may be that Christ is being deeply unfair to some of his listeners – he won’t speak to them except in parables and, on purpose, lets them remain in their dullness of heart and unwillingness to be healed by him! We might wonder: Are the parables meant to be inaccessible to most and their meaning reserved
only for only an elite few for whom he interprets? But this is God’s hidden plan: on Palm Sunday Jesus summarized the many seed parables and unveiled their full meaning: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains one; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.(Jn 12:24).
Jesus himself is the grain of wheat. It was precisely because of the blindness of the people that he was put to death and it would be by his death and resurrection that, as he said himself, he would then draw all people to himself.’ This has been God’s way to open the eyes and ears of all people to Him, to this day. It is on the cross that the meaning of the parable of the seeds is brought to full extension.
In conclusion, Jesus is not only the sower who scatters the seed of God’s word in his preaching; he is also the seed that falls into the earth in order to die and thus make salvation available for all. The mystery of the cross is inscribed right at the heart of the parables. It is true, as St Augustine says, ‘God writes straight with the crooked lines of our lives!’