THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW
CHAPTER 13
1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the a sea side.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon a stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
I really enjoy the parables with their layers and symbols. I've read and studied this one many times, but it made a greater impression on me in Sunday school yesterday than it has before. Instead of looking at the parable from the perspective of examining what kind of ground we each are we looked at the sower.
The sower in this parable sows without discrimination. He sows by the wayside, in stony places, among thorns, and in good ground. And it made me think, I don't need to know what kind of ground others have in their hearts, and I should sow good seeds to everyone I meet. Seeds of the gospel, yes, but more. Seeds of friendship, kindness, understanding, fun, and sharing. This new look at the parable of the sower brought me back to my favorite scripture: Matthew 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?
I think the reward of sowing good seeds without discrimination is the happy surprise of having a seedling spring up where you least expect it.
Sunday thoughts are such a great part of the journalling aspect of blogging. Thanks for the inspiration, Jill.
