One of the ways that the Scriptures show their depth is when the Holy Spirit gives different insights in different seasons of our lives. Previously, my reading of the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-8) focused most on the end of the parable. Being the fertile soil, hearing the Word of God and acting upon it, and in general, the “success” of the seed.
Times changed, the world reeled out of its mind, and the parable has taken on a different tone for me. Instead of an exhortation, I read it as a warning. Rather than take joy in the abundant harvest of the fertile soil, I saw that the seed did not survive in three of the four examples Jesus gave in the parables.
This is not a descent into pessimism, but rather a wake-up call to the sins that we often miss in our lives. If there is no other message on my heart to communicate to whoever reads this, it is: wake up, Catholics! “It is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand” (Romans 13:11-12, RSVCE). As evil accelerates in our world, time is running out to turn to Our Saving Lord. Our vital task now is to devote ourselves more fully to Jesus Christ, which necessarily involves turning away from sin. In that light, I think we can read the parable of the sower as an examination of conscience.
The Seed and the Examen
There is more than one interpretation of the seed, but in this case, I’m using the imagery of the seed as the Word of God. As an examination of conscience, the first three types of ground named in the parable highlight sins, or states of the soul, that can be fatal to the Word of God. That is not a dark interpretation but a simple reading of the text, for each of these non-fertile types of ground result in the death of the seed.
The Hardness of Heart – the Path
The seed that fell on the path had no chance. Jesus gave us an explanation of this type of ground:
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:19). From the start, the path was not even disposed to receive the seed. Think of a well-worn dirt path. “The word has no more chance of gaining entry than the seed has of settling into the ground that has been beaten hard by many feet” (William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 2, pg. 60).
Many things lead to hardness of heart: pride, an unwillingness to change a habitual life of sin, and lukewarmness. In my experience, I think lukewarmness is the easiest to slip into; it usually involves a gradual slipping away rather than a dramatic turning from God.
I can verify that once a soul becomes tepid, it cares less about God. After that, pride and a habitual life of sin often follow, since the enemy of our souls uses one foothold to advance to another. This very thing happened to me when I was in college. I wanted to have one foot in the world and one foot in the faith. I never had an instance where I formally turned away, but I made different rules for different parts of my life. That resulted in conceding footholds to Satan that took years to undo. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit, the healing grace of God, and my beautiful wife broke up the hardened ground in my heart.
St. John Henry Newman commented:
Make the most of the precious time. Delay not—many a soul has been damned by delay. God’s opportunities do not wait; they come and they go. The word of life waits not—if it is not appropriated by you, the devil will appropriate. He delays not, but has his eyes wide always and is ready to pounce down and carry off the gift which you delay to use.” – St. John Henry Newman (The Calls of Grace” sermon).
Worldliness – The Thorny Ground
One of the myths of the secular world is that religion is no fun. God asks for everything, the world says, for the purpose of making life boring and sterile. This is the anthem of the thorns in the parable of the sower: faith does not really make us happy.
This is a subtle lie that ensnares many of us at one time or another, myself included. It takes half of a truth—God really does ask for everything from us—without the aid of grace and the promise of heaven. This lie dates back to the very beginning in the garden of Eden. God cannot truly satisfy us; He’s keeping us from what we want.
This seems to be one of the main temptations of our age. Satan does not necessarily tempt us into horrendous sins. All he needs to do is distract us—even with things that are not inherently bad. Many are actually good things! Good TV shows with no immoral content (admittedly a small sample size), a career, hobbies, sports, music, and so on have their place. Yet when out of control, those good things can suffocate the Word of God in us.
Put more bluntly, unchecked worldliness will lead us into eternal ruin.
For that reason, we need to approach our attachments to the world with a serious lens. Discernment is necessary, and having a trusted spiritual director is invaluable. Making time for the worldly things that give us joy is good and healthy, as long as those things are spiritually good and healthy. But what are the thorns in our life that push the Word of God out?
Lack of Faith – the Rocky Ground
The seed that fell on the rocky ground settled into shallow soil. The wheat sprang up quickly but was scorched by the hot sun. Jesus provided the explanation:
This is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matthew 13:20-21).
The rocks in the soil can be symbolic of many things that prevent grace from taking firm root in our hearts. Perhaps it is a vice that we are attached to, an unwillingness to forgive, or a tepid response to grace that has let lukewarmness calcify in our hearts. Whatever the case, the Word of God cannot survive for long in the rocky soil. Too many obstacles prevent the seed from establishing deep roots.
Relating this to the spiritual realm, a superficial faith simply cannot survive during times of persecution or tribulation any more than a plant cannot survive without roots. If the signs of the times are any indication, Catholics in the West are headed toward persecution. We face a culture, governments, and members of the hierarchy in our own Church that are increasingly hostile to traditional Catholic values.
In this parable, Jesus draws an analogy toward our life of faith and the “science” of our spiritual lives. Without roots deep in Christ, the hot sun of tribulation will be too much to bear.
Becoming Fertile Ground
In any age, the gospel message comes with urgency. Repent, turn to Jesus, and do not delay! Facing death is a fact of life, and we have no idea if our “time” will come tomorrow, next month, or decades from now. On top of that ordinary urgency, I believe there is a greater urgency in these confusing, anxiety-ridden times.
The best part? Examining our conscience exercises our humility, the virtue necessary for spiritual growth. And if done properly, and followed with the sacrament of confession, Jesus can root out sin in our lives. Let us take to heart His words spoken to St. Faustina:
Be not afraid of your Savior, O sinful soul. I make the first move to come to you, for I know that by yourself you are unable to lift yourself to Me. Child, do not run away from your Father; be willing to talk openly with your God of mercy who wants to speak words of pardon and lavish His graces on you. How dear your soul is to Me! I have inscribed your name upon My hand; you are engraved as a deep wound in My Heart (Diary of St. Faustina, #1485).
The greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to My mercy; [urge] all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I want to save them all. On the cross, the fountain of My mercy was opened wide by the lance for all souls—no one have I excluded! (Diary of St. Faustina, #1182)
Jesus the Sower has the tools to work miracles with the soil in our hearts. Hardened pathways are no match for His love; rocks and other obstacles melt away in the fire of His mercy. The cross hacks away the thorns from our hearts, allowing the Word of God to grow. No matter where we are, we do not have to stay there. Allow Jesus to heal and clear out your heart, and the seed of the Word of God will grow abundantly. Choose the freedom of Christ!
