Where all Families are Holy

By Reverend Deacon Jerry Bauman

“Why do you speak to them in parables?” In Matthew’s Gospel today, we hear the apostles ask this question of Jesus.

There are 55 parables attributed to Jesus in the synoptic Gospels; Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Interestingly, there are none found in John. This parable of the sower is the first one Jesus uses in his public ministry. We heard it today from chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel, but it is also found in chapter 4 of Mark’s Gospel and chapter 8 of Luke. In his response to the disciples’ question about his use of parables in Mark he says: “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” And in Matthew and Luke’s Gospels, his answer reveals many things in not so many words. “To you it has been given to know the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given, so I speak in parables.”

This first parable is of great importance. If you get this one, you will understand the others. If you don’t understand this one, you will miss the Message of Jesus.

First, we need to understand what parables are, and how to read them. A parable is a short allegory or story told to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. They are similar to fables. Have you ever heard the fable of the “sour grapes”? It’s officially titled The Fox and the Grapes by Aesop. This fable tells the story of a hungry fox that spots a tempting bunch of grapes hanging well out of reach, high on a vine. After many failed attempts to reach them, the fox gives up and consoles his loss by claiming the grapes are probably sour and he wouldn’t want them anyway. The moral or lesson of the fable is: “It is easy to despise what you cannot get.” A fable has only one lesson and it’s clearly explained within the story. A parable though, has a number of lessons, and we may have to search to find them.

The word parable has its origin in the Greek word parabole meaning comparison. It is formed when two words, para- meaning ‘beside’ and ballein– ‘to throw’ are combined. Parabole literally means to throw beside; and that’s metaphorically what we do when we throw one concept or thought beside another for the purpose of comparison.

It’s just happens to be a great way to illustrate a story using words. The Gospels are full of stories that are seemingly about one thing, but tell you about another. By the fourth century, the Latin-speaking church was calling these types of stories paraula and the word eventually became parable in the 14^th century. The illiterate laity 700 years ago didn’t learn the Gospels by reading them. The Gospels were lessons given by the clergy in sermons and were more often than not, just the opinions of the homilist. Today, we hear God’s Good News in our own language, and we are invited to interpret them for ourselves.

Jeremiah tells us, in the first reading, that a wise king will come from the Branch of David to administer justice and righteousness in the land. So the Hebrew audience, God’s chosen people, had very specific expectations about what was going to unfold at some point in their history. These people had been kicked around for centuries. Their land was an extremely valuable piece of property because it connected three continents; Africa, Asia, and Europe. All of the major global powers at one time or another had wanted control of this piece of land. The Israelites had been conquered by the Persians, the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and most recently by the Romans. They were used to being kicked around, pushed to the edges, crushed, and oppressed. And, deep in their story, their prophets had promised them that “It wouldn’t be like this forever, at some point, God was going to act decisively on their behalf.”

So the Hebrew people lived with the belief that at some point God was going to show up and everything would change for the better. The bad people, the evil people, the wicked oppressors are going to get what’s coming to them; and we, God’s chosen, are going to be raised to our proper place, finally in control of our own lands. As Isaiah says, “A new day is coming!” And Jeremiah says, “The days are coming when I will plant the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

And so Jesus comes along, and teaches with authority like the prophets, and tells stories about a coming kingdom, and talks about seeds and crops. And the people take notice because they were used to hearing about seeds and crops in Hebrew Scripture as a way of talking about the things God was going to do for the chosen people.

But what does Jesus do instead of just telling them outright, “hey, I’m your guy, I’m the one you’ve been waiting for”? He tells parables that try to explain God’s kingdom in terms they would understand.

Remember, the word “parable” means: “to place beside.” He told stories, and he placed them beside the actual experience of the kingdom of God, stories that said, “You want to know what it’s like?” And then he said, “Let anyone with ears listen!” Jesus knew that some people will hear and some will not understand. Some people will see and others won’t see. Some people are going to get this and some aren’t. So he tells more parable about planting seeds and waiting for them to grow!

A kingdom of sitting around waiting for things to grow? What kind of kingdom is that? This was not the kingdom his audience was expecting. They wanted and needed immediate relief from their oppression.

But instead of acting decisively on the things that God is supposed to act upon for the people, God says “have patience!” Instead of dealing with injustice, God waits and says let the seeds grow. God says it’s not your problem, I’ll take care of it, but the seeds have to grow first.

God, You were supposed to come, and You were supposed to announce a new thing that You are going to do, and You were supposed to take care of all the bad guys and all the evil and sin and wickedness, and all that. But no! God says “patience, slowness, restraint, more seeds, more planting, more growing.” Some people are going to get it; some people aren’t.

This kingdom that Jesus speaks of is a reality to be discovered; to be experienced; it has to be given time to grow. Some will have ears but won’t listen, they’re not going to experience it.

And those seeds that Jesus speaks about. They are seeds, and seeds have to do seed things. You can’t plant seeds and expect instant results. Change happens in the seeds’-own-time; they have their own reality that must be experienced, that must be lived.

God’s kingdom is not really about seeds and watering, and cultivating, and weeding. But it is about being patient, and waiting for things to happen before producing results. And then, we wait, while the process happens all over again and there are greater yields every time it goes through another cycle.

As more people are hearing Jesus’ message,
   and listening to what he’s describing,
       and letting those words take root,
         and waiting for them to grow,
            and experiencing lives dedicated to ‘loving everyone as you love yourselves,’
               eventually, God’s kingdom will happen in the world.

Jesus describes God’s kingdom in parables and it’s up to us to build it; and building it takes patience, because building God’s kingdom is not about flipping a switch and everything just happens.

It’s about listening, and experiencing, and working, and waiting.

Amen Holy Family?