We are “knee deep” in the Church’s liturgical season when we read or hear the parables by which Jesus seeks to reveal the mysteries of God and of God’s Kingdom.
There is the frequently presented image of one who sows seeds. There are the variations on the theme of what encourages or what inhibits the harvest from those seeds. There is the imagery surrounding the very nature of the seed itself, as in today’s mustard seed. To each of these, Jesus admonishes us, “Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
That, of course, is only the first step. Approaching the parables of Jesus is not meant to be an experience of a course in comparative literature. Learning about them as literature is not a bad thing, of course. How Jesus spoke, and how what he said became preserved and handed on from generation to generation as Sacred Scripture can set the stage for us who have ears to hear. But once that literary door is open, THEN the hard work or the fun begins! With which element in the parable can I identify? How is God challenging me in this moment, and how is God encouraging me in that moment? When am I the seed, the soil, the weeds, the thorns, the wheat coming to full and abundant harvest?
The parables of Jesus do not attain their full harvest until they have been received by our ears/ until they are part of the fabric of our faith and truly motivate our sowing and reaping. Then we provide branches of safety for others to flourish, a harvest for others to be fed, the wheat strong enough to stand alongside the weeds, patient for God’s judgment and justice.
Fr. Tom