School of the Word
Parables of Jesus For Today 2/6: The Parable of the Sower
by Paola
By Paola// Passages
On another occasion he began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them,"Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed 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 and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."
And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that 'they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.'"Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear (w/o understanding), Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."
Mark 4:1-20
He said, "This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come."
Mark 4: 26-29
“To those who have already decided for him, he can speak openly of the Kingdom of God,” while to others he must speak in metaphor “to stimulate precisely the decision, the conversion of heart,” as the parables “require effort to interpret, challenging one’s intelligence, but also one’s freedom.” - Pope Benedict (2011)
//Reflections
1. What do we expect to hear from Jesus's teachings today?
2. Are we prepared to accept what He has to say to us?
3. Are we prepared to act on what He has to tell us?
// Support Us:
If you would like to support Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity (VDMF), Singapore, please visit the following link to make a donation.
https://verbumdeisingapore.org/donation/
// Follow Us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf-VzrVr09PXv2SRE7gMGUg
Website: https://verbumdeisingapore.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vdsing
Other Videos in this Series
