The Sower Went Out to Sow
I speak to you today about the Parable of the Sower. The Lord said that the sower went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds came and ate them up. Some fell on stony ground, and because they had no depth, they sprang up quickly but were scorched and withered away. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded fruit — some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold.
(Matthew 13). Let us contemplate this Sower — the Lord — who went out to sow.
The Sower Went Out to Sow
The Sower is our Lord Jesus Christ, who goes about the earth sowing goodness, casting the Word of Life into every heart. His grace works in all. Everyone has a chance for grace, which casts its seeds into each heart.
I am amazed, O Lord, at how great Your mercy and justice are — that You cast Your seeds even upon stony ground, upon the path, and among thorns! I thought You would sow only on good soil! But You have deprived no one of Your work… You, O Lord, went out to sow, not so that the birds might pick up Your seeds, or that the thorns might choke them, but still You desired to give everyone an equal opportunity! You never despair of anyone; Your love never fails.
So let everyone be reassured that God will not leave him…
+ By the Wayside, in a Trodden Path:
Some seeds fell by the wayside, where the ground was trampled by many feet, and where birds came to pick them up. Truly David said to the Lord, “To see Your power and Your glory, so as I have seen You in the sanctuary” (Psalm 63:2).
For the Word of the Lord — to grow — needs an atmosphere of quietness and solitude, untrodden by people, thoughts, and senses… far from the little foxes that spoil the vines, from the birds that pick up the seeds, and from the distractions that occupy the mind… a closed place, not trodden by wandering thoughts and desires.
That is why David, when he found this place, thanked the Lord saying: “Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you” (Psalm 147). Likewise, the Lord said beautifully of the bride in the Song of Songs (Song 4:12): “A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.”
And you, brother, ask yourself: Is your heart a trodden path where birds snatch away what is sown in you?
Sometimes, people attend a spiritual meeting, are moved by the Word, and decide to change their lives. But once they leave, they spend time talking with friends about various topics, their spiritual influence dissipates, and the birds pick up their seeds!
A person may also go to confession with sincere repentance, but before or after, his spiritual feelings vanish in conversations and meetings — like birds that pick up his seeds!
How many spiritual works has grace done in you, which were lost through distraction, conversation, or negligence — seeds taken away?
If the Word of the Lord has been sown in you by the wayside, find a way to open the ground for it, clearing away the birds that hover around. God is able to change it.
+ On Stony Ground:
God, who makes grass grow upon the mountains and brings water from the rock, also casts the seeds of His grace upon stony ground.
If this ground remains stony, the plant will appear briefly, then dry up and burn, for it has no depth. But God can let His rivers flow through this land, moistening it and breaking through the hardness.
Perhaps St. Moses the Black, before his repentance, was such a stony, rocky ground — yet he changed and became the gentle, beloved Saint Moses.
The stony ground may also symbolize superficial worship — formal and shallow — that reaches the mind only but not the heart, emotions, or depths.
Many heard Christ but did not let His words reach their depths. Many read His words in the Gospel without delving into their meaning or letting them enter their hearts.
Many have only an intellectual relationship with God, not a spiritual one. These — as the Lord said — “receive the word with joy,” but only for a time, and then fall away.
Mere “receiving the word with joy” is not enough; it might be a temporary or shallow feeling. What matters is that the Word becomes life.
A person must be rooted deeply in the Lord; then he will not wither or burn, for the sap of the vine will flow through his veins.
+ Among Thorns:
A third kind of seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked it. The Lord explained that the cares and riches of this world choke the Word.
How many spiritual influences has grace sent to you — through sermons, liturgies, readings, and hymns — only for them to fade and be choked by worldly concerns!
Surely God is constantly working in your heart and casting His seeds into you. But why is there no fruit? Why, whenever your plant begins to grow, do the thorns choke it? Sit with yourself and study what hinders the work of grace within you.
Are the cares of the world consuming your heart, mind, time, and focus, leaving no room for the Word of the Lord to bear fruit within you?
Have worldly events and news entered your depths and stifled the inner work of grace?
Find out what thorns surround you, and strive to remove them. Say to them: “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock.”
I grieve for the seeds of the Lord that fall on unfruitful ground…
They were holy seeds in Your divine hand, O Lord. You cast them into the hearts of people, but they bore no fruit… choked by thorns… When will You gather these thorns and burn them under the sun?
But you, O worshipper who longs for God, do not cling to the earth that grows for you thorns and thistles. Do not stand in the broad way. Flee for your life. Do not be preoccupied with anything but God, and let not the vain matters of the world reach your depths. Let your depths belong to God alone.
+ The Good Ground:
This is the ground that resisted all opposing forces — overcame thorns and stones, was not scorched by the sun nor dried by the moon — but blossomed and bore fruit, yielding thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.
It must bear fruit to be good ground. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
The story of the good ground reveals two things: the work of grace and the response of man. The hand of God that casts the seed, and the human soil that nourishes and interacts with it. If the matter depended solely on divine grace, every seed from the hand of God would bear fruit, regardless of the nature of the soil.
Does your soil have richness to nourish the seed? Does it open its heart to the seed and receive it? Or is it closed like the wayside, or choking like the thorns? How beautiful it was said of the Virgin Mary:
“She kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
This is the inner work. This is the difference between ear and ear. The good ear transmits the word to the mind, then to the heart, then the spirit meditates on it. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
There are those who heard Christ’s words and doubted, or rebelled, or argued, or rejected — as they did with the prophets.
They heard Paul and said, “What does this babbler want to say?” They heard righteous Lot, “and he seemed to his sons-in-law as one who mocked.” These were not good ground.
But those with good soil, when they heard, “were cut to the heart.”
The Word of God is the same — powerful and active — but some ears hear, and some do not. “Blessed are your ears, for they hear.” The issue depends on you — your response to God’s work within you.
One young rich man heard the same word from Christ’s own mouth and went away sorrowful; another young rich man — Saint Anthony — heard the same words from an ordinary reader, and went away joyful, selling all he had.
That is why the Lord concluded the Parable of the Sower saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” and added, “For the heart of this people has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing” (Matthew 13:9,15). The fault is not in the seed, but in the soil that does not receive it; not in the word, but in the ear that hears it. Therefore,
“If you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” It is grace and response.
The Word of the Lord has gone out to the ends of the earth, yet not with the same effect. Christ entered the house of Mary and Martha, but each sister was moved differently.
The Lord compared those who hear His words to two builders — one on the rock and one on the sand. The readiness of the hearer differs. Let us prepare our hearts to receive the Lord and His word.
John the Baptist went before Christ to prepare His way and “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord,” so that when the seed falls upon the earth, it may bear fruit in its time, and the Lord may lift it up by His grace.
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Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – El-Keraza Magazine – Year Seven (Issue 15), 9 April 1976
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