Perspective: A Self-Fulfilling Parable

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A Self-Fulfilling Parable

So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9 (CEB)

I will dedicate and sacrifice my everything

For just a seconds worth of how my story's ending

And I wish I could know if the directions that I take

And all the choices that I make won't end up all for nothing

From "Crawling in the Dark" by Hoobastank

One day, when the crowd around Jesus grew exceptionally large, He boarded a boat, sat down, and started teaching the crowd from the boat.  He yelled, "Listen!" and then began telling a story about a farmer who went out to scatter seeds.¹  Some of the farmer's seeds fell on a footpath, where birds landed and immediately gobbled them up.  Other seeds fell on rocky soil, where they quickly sprouted.  The plants withered because the rocks prevented them from putting out roots.  Other seeds fell among thorny plants that prevented anything else from thriving.  Some of the farmer's seeds fell on good soil, and the plants that grew in this soil produced a bountiful harvest.

Jesus, upon finishing His parable, said to the crowd, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!"

I wonder if maybe Jesus started teaching in parables in order to thin the exceedingly large crowd that had gathered around Him.  It is likely that many of the people who sought Jesus were only interested in what He could do for them.  Some had heard about the miraculous healings He had performed.  Some perhaps thought that He might be the one who would liberate them from their Roman occupiers.  Maybe Jesus started teaching in parables in order to specifically target those who had "ears to hear" His message.

The parables of Jesus simultaneously obscured and illuminated His message.  To the people who weren't really interested in what He had to say, they were nothing but stories, but, to the people who were truly listening, they revealed great truths.  The intended audience of a parable is anyone who will search for its deeper meaning.

The Parable of the Sower is one of the few parables for which we can actually read Jesus' official explanation.  The seeds represent a word from God, and the different patches of soil represent the hearts of those who hear this word.  The footpath on which seeds are eaten by birds represents the hearts of those for whom the word from God goes in one ear and out the other.  The rocky soil in which plants grow quickly but cannot put out roots represents the hearts of those who gladly hear the word but abandon it when acting upon it becomes difficult.  The soil in which thorny plants choke out all other plants represents the hearts of those who hear the word but are distracted by materialism.  The good soil in which seeds take root, grow, and bear fruit represents the hearts of those who hear the word from God, act upon it, and are transformed by it.

As strange as this might sound, I think that the Parable of the Sower could very well be a parable about, of all things, itself.  Some people in the crowd might have heard the parable, thought is was just a cute story, and then moved on with their lives.  They would have been represented by the rocky soil in which nothing could grow very long.  Some might have pondered the parable for a while but then forgot all about it as soon as life happened.  They would have been represented by the soil in which thorny plants kept any other plants from flourishing.  Some people might not have even listened to the parable at all.  They would have been represented by the footpath on which seeds were quickly eaten.

Some people, like the Disciples, clearly did not understand what Jesus' parable meant, but they understood that it was more than just a story about a farmer, so they approached Jesus to ask Him what it meant.  They were represented by the soil in which seeds could actually grow.  Though they did not understand the parable, Jesus still said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God."

Perhaps we could say that the Parable of the Sower is a self-fulfilling parable.

Like most of Jesus' parables, the Parable of the Sower is one we can approach from multiple angles.  Typically we approach this parable from the perspective of the soil, asking ourselves which kind of soil our hearts are like.  Are we receptive to what God is saying to us?  Are there any rocks in our lives that would prevent it from taking root or thorns in our lives that would prevent it from bearing fruit?  Is there perhaps some way that we could till the proverbial soil of our hearts so that we are more receptive to what God might be saying to us?

Alternately, we can approach this parable from the perspective of the sower, the one who shares a word from God.  You may or may not have noticed that, in this parable, there seems to be a lot of wasted seeds.  Most of the sower's seeds that take root and grow do not live long enough to bear any fruit, and many of them don't even have a chance to take root and grow at all.  Even so, those seeds that actually fall on good soil, take root, and thrive still yield a plentiful harvest.  Not every seed grows into fruitful plant, but the harvest does not depend on the success of each individual seed.  Some seeds seem to be wasted, but the end result proves that the sower's efforts are by no means wasted.²

In this parable, the sowing of seeds could be a metaphor for any work God has given us to do.  In the same way that not every patch of soil provides an environment where plants can thrive, not all people will be as receptive of our work as we would like them to be.  Rejection is painful, but it should not discourage us from doing what we're called to do.  Some people will be positively affected by our efforts if we do our work faithfully.  The question for us then is whether or not we are willing to put ourselves and our work out into the world despite the rejection we might face.  Are we willing to suffer the rejection of some for the sake of those who will be positively affected by our efforts?

I think about the Parable of the Sower in light of my writing.  I regularly put my thoughts out into the world through this blog.  Some of my posts don't land well, and sometimes my posts go mostly unnoticed.  Some of my posts seem to get a lot of views, though I get very little feedback on them.  All I can do is to sow the seeds I've been given, in the hopes that something I write somehow makes a positive impact on somebody, even if I never know about it.  I once heard Rob Bell say that, when it comes to the work we do, all we can do is to give our gift, enjoy it, and trust God with the outcome.³

It has been said, "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."⁴  May we be receptive to what God is saying to us through the efforts of others.  May we faithfully do the work God has given us to do, despite the rejection we might face.  May we entrust to God the outcome of whatever we do.


Notes:

1. This blog post is based on Mark 4:1-20.  Quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version.
2. William Barclay.  The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark.  2001, Saint Andrew Press.  p. 112
3. Rob Bell.  "Broken Bottles."  Mars Hill Bible Church, 01/30/2011.
4. This quote has been attributed to author Robert Louis Stevenson.

The photograph of the wheat was taken by Magnus Rosendahl and has been released to the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.