Matthew 13: 10-17

The parable of the sower is attractive in its simplicity and troubling in its boundaries.

One can listen to the agricultural metaphor and feel with a fair degree of confidence that

the message is quite straightforward. Even those of us in the burbs with a few flowers and the odd tomato plant can see that some plants thrive and some dive and die.

It is therefore fairly comforting when the disciples don't see what the parable means.

Parables, apparently, are a winnowing tool. If you get them - that is understand the parables- you're in if not you probably don't realize or miss being in.

It can be difficult to put that together with God's grace. So I wonder if what Isaiah is prophesying - Isaiah 6:9-10 is a call to think about who you are - a call

to decide are you happy with your self or are you hungry for the divine.

Calloused, hard of hearing, seeing souls aren't interested in healing or fullness of life in a joyous life -giving way.

Jesus ends the Matthew 13: 16-17 text with a call to blessedness because those who see the parables and get them are able to realize what the prophets of old only heard about and never encountered.

So at least a few questions would be:

who are the forces that take the seed away from us today?

what are the weeds in my world that hinder the growth in my life of faith?

what are the things that make me shallow and unable to put down deep roots?

Finally are these prayer points that we can use for each other? YES