Today’s reading from Matthew offers us what one commentator calls a “polyvalent parable.”[1] What a mouthful! “Polyvalent” sounds like a something I was supposed to have learned but didn’t in my one and only chemistry class. (Have I mentioned that science is not one of my superpowers?) With apologies to any chemists in our midst, I will just say that as far as I can tell, polyvalent is simply a fancy way of saying that this parable has “different functions, forms, or facets.”[2]
For my part, I prefer “perplexing” as a description of what has alternately been called the parable of the sower, the parable of the seeds, or the parable of the soils—depending on which of those different facets you consider. We know that this parable is important because it appears in all three synoptic Gospels, although Matthew’s version differs from the versions in Mark and Luke. It uses agricultural images that would have been familiar to the great crowds on the beach who heard it in first-century Palestine. However, as is so often the case, the disciples are perplexed. After the crowds have left, the disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable (if you are thinking, “wait—I didn’t hear that,” you are right. You didn’t—it occurs in verses 10-17, which the lectionary omits). And, in contrast to other parables in the Gospels, Jesus does explain this parable. The sower represents God. The seeds represent the Word of God. The soils represent the varying ways in which those who hear the Word of God respond to it. The first three soil types depict symbolic obstacles to the Reign of God, or Beloved Community: the hard path that prevents seeds from rooting, the rocky ground that results in shallow roots scorched in the hot sun, and the thorny ground that chokes future growth. The fourth soil type—the good soil—represents the conditions that allow seeds to take root and flourish, producing an extraordinary harvest.
So, what do we do with this perplexing, polyvalent parable? I like the approach offered by the contemporary theologian Alyce McKenzie. McKenzie suggests that if we want to make sense of a parable, we should notice what is strange about it.[3] Well, there’s definitely something strange, at least to modern ears, about the farming methods used by the sower in this parable. Twenty-first century farmers (or even gardeners, for that matter) do not usually fling seed around indiscriminately and then wait to see what happens. What’s more, at least in our part of California, they don’t do so without carefully preparing the soil beforehand. Why would anyone sow precious seeds in ground that seems so unfavorable to growth? Who can afford that kind of extravagant gesture? Well, God can. So, one way to interpret this parable is to focus on the sower—that is, on what the parable tells us about the nature of God. The image of the sower broadcasting seed regardless of soil conditions illustrates the breadth and depth of God’s love for us. God can and does scatter God’s life-giving Word abundantly, over and over again, in the varying soils of our lives. The Word is always available to us.
Another way of interpreting the parable is to focus on the soils. Using this lens, the parable explains the mixed responses to Jesus and His ministry– during His earthly life, decades later when the Gospel According to Matthew was written, and today. The parable attempts to answer the question: Why do some people respond favorably to the Word of God (whether preached through evangelism or made incarnate through acts of mercy and justice) while others do not? Or more specifically, why do some people hear the Word of God, understand it, continue to believe it in the face of trouble or persecution, and are not distracted from it by the lure of wealth—but other people, not so much?
The implication is that some people are just good soil—the Word takes root in them and flourishes—while others are variations of bad soil, where the Word either fails to take root, or roots shallowly, or grows for a while but then is choked out by thorns. The problem with this interpretation is that it tends to lead to a very individual and anxiety-laden focus. If you are like me, when you hear this parable, you wonder what kind of soil you are. And if you conclude that you are not “good soil,” you wonder what you can do to become better soil. But this is where the metaphor breaks down. Soil can’t improve itself; it has no control over its location or condition. Soil has no ability to change whether it is hard-packed, filled with rocks, choked by thorns, or rich and loamy.[4] Does this mean we have no ability to change ourselves, to become more receptive to the Word of God and more faithful in living in accordance with its precepts?
No, of course not! The Bible is filled with stories in which people can and do change, in which conversion of life happens. To begin with, most people have seasons in their lives when they are good soil and other seasons when they could be better soil. In other words, receptivity to God’s Word isn’t a one-and-done, once-and-for-all proposition. But it isn’t all about our own individual efforts; there is an important communal dimension as well. God works in us and with us and through us to create favorable ground for God’s Word to take root in us and in one another. So instead of focusing solely on ourselves—on the state of our own soil, as it were—we can broaden our focus to consider what conditions make it possible for the Word of God to take root and thrive in our community. We can ask what we can do to help when the soil is hard-packed, rocky, or filled with thorns that choke off healthy growth. That is actually the work we have all been called to do by our General Convention. Think about it. The three mission priorities of the Episcopal Church today—Evangelism, Racial Reconciliation, and Creation Care—are all about creating conditions in which everyone is loved—no exceptions—and everyone thrives. That is, it’s all about creating good soil, and we are called to do so in community.
There’s no better place to start this work than in prayer. Today’s collect points us in the right direction. So, let us pray: “O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.”
Amen
[1] New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. VIII Matthew (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995), p. 307.
[2] Oxford Dictionaries Online (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/polyvalent).
[3] Alyce M. McKenzie, Strange Scripture: Reflections on the Five Parables in Matthew 13, July 17, 2011, located at http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Strange-Scripture-Reflections-on-the-Five-Parables-in-Matthew-13-Alyce-McKenzie-07-18-2011.html
[4] Rev. Karen A. Goltz, What Kind of Soil Are You? located at https://www.desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/Pentecost-A/a_proper10-15/homily.htm.
