The final words of today’s gospel passage leap off the page: “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” This is the place in the story of Jesus where each gospel writer focuses on Jesus as communicator. And they do it in terms of the question of why he speaks to the crowds in parables. What’s more, it is precisely this parable, the Parable of the Sower, that prompts the question.
Matthew’s treatment of this issue is especially interesting as it sits at the center of a carefully balanced design in his gospel. Scholars have long noted that most of Jesus’ sayings in Matthew are “packaged” in five discourses, and chapter 13 is placed as a kind of keystone in the center of the Gospel, focusing on the heart of Jesus’ teaching, the kingdom of God. So, if hearing Jesus with understanding is important for us, we need to listen up, especially right here in Matthew’s Gospel. All of us are called to the ministry of making the Gospel well known. We need to listen to Matthew’s presentation if we are to hear his voice above the sound of all the other voices clamoring for our attention right now.
In most years, this parable is spread over a three day period. Because of tomorrow’s feast, we will not hear Jesus explain why he speaks in parables. He tells his apostles, his disciples, and us that we have been granted the privilege or gift of learning about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. However, God does not give gifts to us for our own pleasure or knowledge. When God gives a gift, it is meant to be used by the one who has received it to help others. St. Paul explains this very carefully in the First Letter to the Corinthians: “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” If we simply hoard the gift, we will lose it.
We have been given this gift among so many others. Only when we use it to bring others to God will the gift find its true purpose.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator