Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Daily Gospel exegesis. Today's reading is a really long one. So we're going to look at 23 verses from Matthew. So it's one of those really long Sunday readings. And as such, it's not going to be one that we can do a complete exegesis on. But what I'll do is I'll read out the passage and then I'll point you towards other times in the liturgical year when we do break down these verses into more detail.
So today's passage is from Matthew chapter 13 versus 1 to 23. And here's what this passage says. So verses 1 to 23, Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside. But such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach and he told them many things in parables, he said. Imagine a sower going out to sow as he sowed.
Some seeds fell on the edge of the path and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock, where they found little soil and sprang up straight away. Because there was no depth of earth. But as soon as the sun came up, they were scorched, and not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some 60 and some 30. Listen, anyone who has ears.
Then the disciples went up to him and asked. Why do you talk to them in parables? Because, he replied. The mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough, But from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing, and listen without hearing or understanding.
So in their case, this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled. You will listen again and listen again, but not understand. You will see and see again, but not perceive, For the heart of this nation has grown coarse. There is a dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes. For fear that they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted, and be healed by me. But happy are your eyes, because they see your ears, because they
hear. I tell you solemnly, Many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, but they never saw it. To hear what you hear, and never heard it. You therefore are to hear the parable of the Sower. When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding, the Evil One comes and carries off what was sown in his heart. This is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path.
The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the Word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him. He does not last. Let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word. But the worries of this world and lure of riches choke the Word, and so he produces nothing.
And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He is the one who yields a harvest and produces now 100 fold, now 60, now 30. So that's today's passage. It is a long one, probably one that's well known to most of you, the parable of the sower, and sometimes it's one that's explained well and understood well, other times not so much. And obviously in this podcast we want to try and help you. Really understand what the text itself is saying.
Let the text speak on its own terms. In today's passage you would have heard that it roughly divides into three separate parts, and each of these parts deserves its own podcast, which is exactly what we will do. So the three parts are the first bit where he tells them the parable of the sower, the second part where he tells the apostles the mysteries of the Kingdom and the purpose of parables. And then the third part is when he goes back and interprets.
The parable of the sower. So on today's podcast we're not going to attempt to cover all of that. But what I want to do is point you towards other times in the podcast where we do take an indepth look at these three sections. So firstly, if you want to hear each of these three sections of today's parable broken down into their respective verses, that is done on week 16 of Ordinary Time from Wednesday through to Friday. So Week 16 of Ordinary Time, Wednesday through to Friday.
So if you would like to, you can go back and have a look through the podcast archives for those episodes of week 16 of Ordinary Time and we will do a verse by verse exegesis of this passage. If you do want to hear the full version and exegesis of that, then the version we hear today is quite similar to Mark's version, although there's some slight differences, they're basically the same, so you can have a look at.
The podcast on Wednesday of week 3 in Ordinary Time, which has a look at Mark's entire version of this parable, So Wednesday of Week 3 in Ordinary Time. So there are a few times in the liturgical year when we will have a really indepth look at this parable. Though if we took Matthew's version as we have it today, versus 1 to 23, today's episode would probably be 40 minutes long, so it's better that we do
it in smaller chunks. But let's finish today by having a look at some catechism passages about the parable of the Sowa. And obviously there's a lot you can take from it. Let's look at paragraph 546. This is about how Jesus chooses to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Jesus invitation to enter His Kingdom comes in the form of parables, A characteristic feature of his teaching. Through his parables, he invites people to the feast of the Kingdom. But he also asks for a radical
choice. To gain the Kingdom one must give everything. Words are not enough. Deeds are required. The parables are like mirrors for man. Will he be hard soil or good earth for the word? What use has he made of the talents he has received? Jesus and the presence of the Kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the Kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ. In order to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. For those who stay outside,
everything remains enigmatic. So there's a lot in there about the nature of parables. Jesus uses parables for multiple reasons. Firstly, he wants to hold up a mirror to man, and this paragraph sort of talks about that. It basically encourages man to reflect on himself. Also, it's the deliberately. Spoken in such a way that those who are seeking God will understand the parable, but those who are not seeking God
will not understand the parable. That's something we don't like to talk about, but Jesus explicitly says here in today's passage that that's the point of the parables. He speaks in a hidden way so that only some people will understand. And then lastly, as this paragraph alludes to the parables, encourage people to take action for the Kingdom rather than just hearing the words. Paragraph 29 we're going to look at next, and this is about man's desire for God.
So very early in the Catechism, there's a discussion about how man is oriented towards God, even before we have knowledge of the Bible and things like that. And it uses a really interesting well, it uses today's passage in a really interesting way. So paragraph 29, this intimate and vital vital bond of man to God can be forgotten, overlooked, or even explicitly rejected by man. Such attitudes can have different causes. Revolt against evil in the world. Religious ignorance or
indifference. The cares and riches of this world. The scandal of bad example on the part of believers, currents of thought hostile to religion. Finally that attitude of sinful man which makes him hide from God out of fear and flee his call. So really interesting paragraph and it makes reference there to one of the things that can stop us from sensing God and having a desire for God is the cares and riches of this world. And obviously that comes straight out of today's parable.
I think this is one of the most fascinating parts of the catechism, these early paragraphs on. How man knows God and how God reaches out to man. And if you're interested in going through the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a systematic way and really digging into the text of the Catechism in the same way that we do for the Bible in this podcast, then can I recommend you have a look at the Patreon page for our Ministry Logical
Bible study? Because that's something that is available to Patreon supporters who pledged $20 or more per month. You can get access to the regular systematic catechesis. That I do with my local parish, where we actually have a look at the Catechism paragraph by paragraph. So if you've always wanted to dive a bit more into the Catechism, then that option is there for you. And there's a link to the Patreon page in the show notes, paragraph 787.
From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy and sufferings. And here it references, amongst others, Matthew 13, because in the middle of today's passage Jesus explains the mysteries of the Kingdom to the Apostles, Last paragraph today, paragraph 1724. This is about Christian
beatitude. The Decalogue, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Apostolic catechesis describe for us the paths that lead to the Kingdom of heaven, sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit. We tread them step by step. By everyday acts, by the working of the Word of Christ, we slowly bear fruit in the Church to the glory of God. So we'll leave it there for today.
Thank you for listening and as I said, you can listen to a more in depth exegesis of the parable of the Sowa in week 16 of ordinary time, Wednesday through to Friday. Thanks and hopefully you'll TuneIn again tomorrow.