From the Daily Lectionary for Monday in the sixth Week of Easter
Matthew 13:1-16
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!’
Then the disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that “seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.” With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
‘“You will indeed listen, but never understand,
and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.”
‘But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.’
Jesus’ ministry in Galilee is in full swing. He’s traveling from place to place teaching and preaching. And in the midst of his proclaiming the immediacy of God’s kingdom, he is healing the sick, which, of course, is not coincidental. Along with freedom, the hallmark of God’s vision for the world, come healing and wholeness. There is no difference in the ancient world view between mind, body, and soul. And healing is not just about the individual, but about the community as a whole. Healing ramifies in the enlightened community.
For Matthew, all the followers of Jesus, the people of faith, are called to be a healing presence in the world. It is a vital aspect of their practice. It is as if we are to serve the ‘herd immunity’ of the community, strengthening it to withstand the forces of injustice and oppression, and violence that infect the world. An apt metaphor for ministry in our own time.
Jesus tells his audience a parable about ministry. Their doubts I suspect are the same as ours: “How can I/we make a difference up and against the vast calamity descended upon our world?” Jesus tells them that we are to be about the ‘means’ of things; that the ends are not ours to know. Some of our work is for naught, and some of our work will bear fruit beyond our knowing. Ours is to be about the daily grind of practice. Jesus often uses images of the ‘seed’ in his parables. A tiny seed takes nourishment from the earth, and through primordial knowledge deep in its DNA, grows exponentially into particular nurture. Our seed planting, we have to trust, has that possibility. The mystery is that God can use our works of Love in ways we can’t imagine. Such are God’s alchemical and Mythic sensibilities.
Jesus speaks here of a certain knowledge that the faithful possess; and that there are many who willfully ignore such knowledge. (also true of our own time) But it is not dogmatic, philosophical, or theological knowledge about which Jesus speaks. In fact the knowledge of God is not knowledge at all…. The unfolding of God’s heart and mind is not knowledge, but mystery; not known, but felt and experienced. The life of faith is the openness to mystery; the openness to possibility. It is an orientation towards humility, gratitude, sacrifice, and empathy… all characteristics of Love. To be open to Love is to be open to God. That is all we can “know,” dear people of God… and all we need to know.
Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (from Prayers for an Inclusive Church)
Trinity of Love, inviting us to abide in you: may we follow the Spirit of truth through desert wild and city street, rutted field and snowbound height, battleground and market square, that your demanding love might speak to the heart of the manifold world; through Jesus Christ, our brother. Amen.
