Mt 13, 1-23
“Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty“
This is perhaps the only parable of Jesus that has the character of an allegory, that is, each element or object in it has a concrete meaning. The others are parables in the strict sense, that is, they have a single message and the elements of the narrative are simply the garment or wrapping of that message they contain. Some, like that of the Prodigal Son, have two peaks, but this does not change things. In this one, Jesus himself explains it, and in his explanation he reflects a knowledge of human nature that leaves us amazed.
Apart from this, this parable invites us to an act of faith and sends us a underlying message that we want to focus the commentary on. This message is that despite everything, in the end there will be abundant fruit; that the small seed will become a tree that breaks through stone walls; that the leaven will ferment all the dough…
In his commentary on this week’s text, José Enrique Ruiz de Galarreta indicates that “the roar of the world, the vertigo of business, the power of multinational corporations, the corruption of governments, the cruelty of so many nationalisms and fundamentalisms, the systematic exploitation of people and the destruction of Nature“, make us fear that the force of honesty, solidarity and compassion will succumb to the power of destructive and overwhelming evil.
But his message is not one of discouragement but of hope, for he adds that Jesus had great faith in the transformative power of the seed, of the leaven, and that above all appearances, humanity will reach its destiny by the force of the Word. That is why he sent us into the world to proclaim it as salt, as light, as seed, as leaven…
Such was Jesus’ faith in the fruits of the Word that he did not hesitate to give his life so that it would prevail; that he was a grain of wheat fallen to the earth and dead so that we, his followers, would commit ourselves to the mission of continuing his work. God wanted to make us, his children, necessary participants in his project, and to do so he sowed his Word (his Wisdom) in Jesus, Jesus sowed it in us, and invited us to sow it around us so that the power of evil might diminish; so that humanity might reach its destiny. We are a link in the chain, and it depends on us that the sacrifice of Jesus, and of so many of his followers, may not have been in vain.
Religious culture has traditionally been the culture of the people and, without doubt, the widespread knowledge of the Word meant that people behaved better. In the world of our grandparents there was a collective effort to transmit the Word from parents to children, from generation to generation, and that kept alive the hope for a better world and a happy ending. But is anything left of that effort?…
If there is no Word, there is no seed, no harvest, no fruit, and it is our responsibility that the Word shines in the world because “people may see your good deeds and glorify the Father in heaven”.
Miguel Ángel Munárriz Casajús
To read an article by José E. Galarreta on a similar topic, click here