Jesus said, “Imagine a sower going out to sow.”
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Reflection on the Gospel Matthew 13:1-23 16 July 2017 Jesus said, “Imagine a sower going out to sow.” In his Gospel, Matthew gives this parable a title, calling it the Parable of the Sower. However, Matthew has Jesus provide an interpretation of the parable that, like the parable itself, focuses not so much on the sower, as on that which is sown and what happens to it. The attention is on what happens after the sowing, in other words, on the varied outcomes of the sowing and on the varied responses to the revelation of the kingdom. Interesting, then, to discover that in the Greek text, while the sower sows, there is no mention of the word ‘seed.’ To the disciples then, and to us now, this interpretation provides both an explanation as to why the kingdom is not accepted and encouragement to persevere with the assurance that remarkable results will ensue. However, in some ways, interpretation, even one offered by Jesus, deadens the parable and curtails