Not the Word
GOOD SOIL
How good are we at hearing what is spoken?
‘Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’ - Matthew 13:18-23
Yesterday we looked at this parable without its explanation. We talked about our relationship to the soil. The fertility of the soil, we said, is responsible for the success of the seed. In other words, it is not the power of the word that determines whether or not the seed will bear fruit, but the willingness of the receiver who hears the word to take it in and put it into practice.
Today, we are so accustomed to being moved to action by what we hear and see, that we discount our own receptivity. Messages are thrown at us expecting us to be already in a state that makes us susceptible to them.
It doesn't take much to move us to action, if we are already eager to act.
When we see and hear things that we don't fully understand, we may be easily distracted by the world and we fail to act on them. We go on without having anything affect us.
The rocky ground is attentive to what is heard, but loses interest when whatever actions taken produce little result. These are the quitters, the ones who lack a positive view and believe all actions are futile.
The instance where we are like rocky ground, we are at first receptive, but with all the chatter bombarding us daily, we become bored or distracted and so we abandon our efforts.
It is only when we are already eager to make a difference in the world that we can hear how that can be possible. We are ready to act and that makes all the difference.
So, the message for us is that it is not what we hear but how willing we are to hear it and do something about it that matters.
Maybe we don't need to worry so much about crafting the perfect speech or making the perfect pitch for help or funding or whatever, but instead, we need to find the right people to talk to.
Not everyone is ready, willing and able to act. Only a few will produce good fruits.
We just need to find them.
More to come...