A worried Sower - Mt 13:24-30
The repertoire of Matthew 13 begins with the parables of the grain. First about the Sower and its explanation, then about the good seed and weed growing in one field, also explained. There will also be a parable of the mustard seed. In fact, the first and the second are more about the Sower than the seed. The parables delivered show how close to Jesus was the reality of the village of Galilee and the work of its inhabitants. In proclaiming the idea of the kingdom of God on earth, the Lord was also paying tribute to the immense and inestimable effort of his countrymen and all those who toil in the field.
Since our parable will be explained by Jesus in the rest of the Gospel narrative, we should finish the reading here and try to understand its meaning, ignoring what will be said a little later. From the very beginning, Jesus declares that the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. Thus, the Sower in the story is at the heart of Jesus' teaching, and his attitude should serve as a prime example to follow. So, we have a situation similar to the one in the first parable. The other elements will become important only after Jesus explains the parable at the request of the disciples. The Sower of Jesus is always presented as passionate about his work, as someone who is infinitely determined to sow the seed and thus make it possible for seed to bear fruit. The seed sown is good, and, as soon as it turns out, wheat will come from it. Through this statement, this parable, more than the previous one, seems to draw the attention of the listener/reader to the Person of the Creator, who from the beginning did everything that was good (cf. Gen 1), who is the source of good. And the soil is also good, even if it is not stated explicitly. From this point of view, this parable could be treated as a continuation of the previous one.
The Sower, however, has an opponent. This is a new character hitherto absent in the parable of sowing the seed. The opponent, secretly, but also fully consciously and planned, sows weeds in the field. His behavior is a clear diversion. Wheat and weed coexist together but to the detriment of the wheat. The new situation once again reveals the true face of the Sower. He seems to be paying no attention to the enemy's actions. He is not taking any action against him. He also does not allow the wheat to be weeded, although his servants were ready to do so. However, this is not due to his carelessness or indifference, but is due to his concern for the grain. He sowed the seeds, and this is the purpose of his toil, the purpose of his life. Nothing else interests him. He rejects in advance anything that, even the slightest degree, endangers the life of the seed. He refuses to let even one of the seeds sown be destroyed and thus be unable to sprout. For the Sower, the seeds are like children born. Each of them wants to ensure a future, enable development in line with the potential. Even at the cost of tolerating the parasite.
The end of the farmer's care will be harvesting and transferring the harvest to his granary. Then he will strip the weed from the grain and burn it, but that is not its primary purpose. The primary target is the grain. It will go back to the owner, and he will throw it back into the soil and do whatever belongs to him so that it is not wasted, so that it brings a crop. In other words, it will provide it with the best growing conditions.
The analyzed parable shows many similarities with the earlier parable of the Sower, although there are also differences. In the first one, the Sower sows with passion, not caring about wasted grain. Continuous sowing is its primary and only goal. In the latter case, the farmer also has a passion, but has slightly different priorities. It is completely focused on the fate of the seed. However, this does not indicate a contradiction in the teaching of Jesus. The reality of God's kingdom on earth is so rich that it needs multiple attempts to explain it. Therefore, the seemingly contradictory images in fact complete each other, revealing some part of God's incomprehensible plan. Ultimately, the goal of the parable of the wheat and the weed is to convey the truth that the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God on earth, in Jesus' intention, is to be the safest place on earth, where everyone will meet with the limitless care and protection of God, who wants that each of His children were fulfilled in their life calling.
“Your care makes me great” (Ps 18:36).
Until Tomorrow
fr. george