Seed and Soil, Word and Hearts, Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Seed and Soil, Word and Heart, Matthew 13.1-9. 18-23

When Jesus finished speaking his parable of the sower, he said, “He who has ears, let him hear.” How does this little phrase help us in understanding the parables? It reminds us that we must always ask and pray for understanding and that the power that causes the seeds to grow in our hearts is not our hearts, but in the seed themselves because seeds are the word of God planted in us by others.

Image: Parable of the Sower, taken by Lawrence OP, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (no changes made). Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/50103753667/

Plowing Over the Soil of Our Hearts, Matthew 13:1-23

Fr. Jeremiah Caughran Plowing Over the Soil of Our Hearts, Matthew 13:1-23

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It is so easy for us to view the various soils from Jesus’ parable of the Sower as static soils regarding our hearts. We are one or the other. And yet, there is an aspect of which our hearts shift and receive the Word of God differently at different times. Father Jeremiah explores this idea and helps us to see how God will plow and prepare our hearts over and over so that the word can grow in us.

Image: The Sower, by Vincent Van Gogh, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation). Image location: https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/d0348V1962