Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! 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 did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables;
in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’ ”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
How about a joke to begin today’s reflection? Sherlock Holmes — surely you all know him — and Dr. Watson decided to go on a camping trip. After dinner and a bottle of wine, they lay down for the night, and we to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes woke up and nudged his friend. "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." Watson replied, "I see millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" Watson thought for a moment, then answered. "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo.
Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow." Pleased that he had answered well, he turned to the detective. “Why? What does it tell you, Holmes?" Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke: “Watson, you dummy! It tells me that someone has stolen our tent!” Now, what was the point of sharing this story with you?
The point is that although they were both seeing the same thing, they were perceiving it differently. Now Watson was right in whatever he perceived, but in trying to be clever, he missed the part that was really important — that they no longer had a tent. We too sometimes miss the point. All the knowledge we possess clutters our mind so we cannot see the forest for the trees. This is why, when Jesus was explaining the Parable of the Sower to this disciples, he said that not everyone hears the word of God the same way. Only a few receive it the way it was intended.
So how do we get the point? Consider these two things. One, truth is only understood when it is perceived through spiritual eyes. As Paul said, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. He considers them foolishness and cannot understand them. Why? Because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (see 1 Corinthians 2:14). Two, Christ is the key to opening our spiritual eyes. Only those who have a relationship with Christ will have access to the things of heaven. As Paul wrote, “In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).
Therefore, let us get close to Jesus and be led by the Holy Spirit. Then we won’t miss the point.
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