Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (GA)

Luke 8:4-18

⁴ And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ¹¹ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

^16 n“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

There have been many discussions on soil, the seed is placed in. Some tell us that we need to be more receptive and have faith in the word of God, thus we will be good soil. Others talk about how we can hear God's word at different points in our life. But very few focus on the Word or the seed. Yes, they may talk about the gracious gift that God offers this seed to all different types of people. But what word are we hearing, and believing, or trusting?

Jesus talks about parables as secrets that are not revealed to all. Some may only understand in part. Some may think they know more than they actually do. There are also those who will not understand at all, because they Devil rules their life and soul. Does this mean the Word cast among these different soils is predetermined as to the reception? Maybe it is not about the soil, but the proper Word.

Think of it this way. A mother of three is struggling with her job and home life. She often feels like work is pulling her away from her family, but she also wants the extra income so her family can enjoy their time together. Sure her husband may make enough to get by, but that is all. So you tell her the importance of being a good mother. You encourage in her in this vocation, and tell her to find a new job.

God has called us to be good parents, but as good parents we want to provide for our family. Does she really spend too much time at work, being active outside the house can be a good thing. Maybe what she really just needed was someone to listen to her struggles. Help encourage her and pray for her to figure out what is best.

This may not be the best example, but there are times when we need hard and fast fact, and times when we need a good parable to sit back and ponder all the different things God may be telling us. Listen to him tell you about being Light, and shining Christ in your life.