“The same day Jesus going out of the house, sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went up into a boat and sat: and all the multitude stood on the shore. And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying: ‘Behold the sower went forth to sow. And whilst he soweth some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate them up. And other some fell upon stony ground, where they had not much earth: and they sprung up immediately, because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up they were scorched: and because they had not root, they withered away. And others fell among thorns: and the thorns grew up and choked them. And others fell upon good ground: and they brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.’”
Jesus, after finishing His teaching in the house, can be thought to fulfill the request of His family, “Remember that thou hadst not been born but through them: and make a return to them as they have done for thee” (Ecclesiasticus 7:30), giving them the love and answers they sought. Afterwards, St. Matthew calls it the “same day,” Jesus goes out to the sea. This signifies that the house, or the heart, that utters unkind words to Jesus He will peacefully depart from, as He is unwanted, and go to the seaside, that is, the place that welcomes the ocean of His merciful love: “He will turn again, and have mercy on us: he will put away our iniquities: and he will cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea” (Micheas 7:19); “So is this great sea, which stretcheth wide its arms” (Psalm 103:25). Or, this can mean that Jesus leaves the house of contemplation to go to the people, that they may eat of the fruit from His spiritual branches: “Stay me up with flowers” of beauty, “compass me about with apples: because I languish with love” (Canticle 2:5); “But the wisdom, that is from above, first indeed is chaste, then peaceable, modest, easy to be persuaded, consenting to the good, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging, without dissimulation” (James 3:17), for love is an eager giver, wanting to share all the good that is had or attained with the beloved. Those that can climb into high places by love, learning, or a beautiful combination of both: “Thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from Galaad” (Canticle 6:4) are called to then give to those that do not have access to the house: “We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4), that the ones who receive this teaching may come to know the infinite love of God. Jesus then sits in a boat, which is commonly used as a figure of the Catholic Church throughout the Scriptures, such as in the case of Noah’s ark: “Go in thou and all thy house into the ark” (Genesis 7:1), before opening his mouth in parables. This is so because the Scriptures are simple yet incredibly difficult and so it takes a proper interpretation of them to navigate them safely. This lies in the Church, for she has the keys to understanding God, His love, and His people: “And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16:19), that this interpretation of the love story may be spoken to those without, to gently draw them in. Jesus then begins to teach in parables, which serve to give the simple something to grasp that they may understand the love that is within them and desire to know more, and to confound the proud, who, desiring lavish doctrine, would reject the message due to its lack of flair: “I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones” (Matthew 11:25). He then begins the Parable of the Sower, saying that the sower went out, in reference to the Incarnation, for though God is everywhere, it is in Christ’s humanity that you truly connect with the Three-Fold Godhead: “I beheld therefore in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13), for no one could climb to God without Him, and so He comes to you: “No man cometh to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Now, the sower has many duties, such as breaking up ground, pulling up weeds, pulling out rocks, but sowing seeds is the gentlest of these. This shows the gentle love of Jesus, that He will come plant what is beautiful in your soul, that your life may be filled with spiritual beauty: “The fig tree hath put forth her green figs: the vines in flower yield their sweet smell” (Canticle 2:13). He does not come with the wrath indicated by the breaking of ground, and when He pulls up weeds, it is when the ground is watered with love, that it may gently be taken up and replaced with fresh flowers: “I will be as the dew, Israel shall spring as the lily, and his root shall shoot forth as that of Libanus” (Osee 14:6). It may seem imprudent for a sower to throw seeds on pathways, rocks, and thorns, but it is to show that while God showers wonders through creation and truths about Himself through different aspects of the human person: “And God created man to his own image” (Genesis 1:27), it is primarily through His words of love to all that have ears, that they may be graced through hearing, thus God says: “What is there that I ought to do more to my vineyard, that I have not done to it?” (Isaias 5:4). For His attributes are seen in nature, and all things express His infinite love for you, but this is most so through the love letter of the Scriptures, which He would have written entirely for you, if there was no one else on earth: “She is the only one of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her” (Canticle 6:8). All of this is true for every soul on earth, for all are made for Him, and He will reach out to all, even if they are to reject His love. Moving forward, Jesus goes on to expound this parable, so it will not be commented on here, but there is a note about the different soils: The first is that the “wayside” is the mind trodden upon by evil thoughts, hardened like a pathway, and these sinful thoughts are all ugliness. True beauty participates in the Beautiful, the Source of all beauty, which is God, and it is only this beauty which can break through the calcified heart and draw it out of itself with the fragrance of love: “We will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments” (Canticle 1:3), the gold of heavenly wisdom: “The purchasing thereof is better than the merchandise of silver, and her fruit than the chiefest and purest gold” (Proverbs 3:14), or the ornaments of heroic virtue: “And you, employing all care, minister in your faith, virtue” (2 Peter 1:5), the second two finding their true value when they are themselves expressions of love. Next, the rocks indicate the hardness of a self-directed mind, thinking that there is no need for spiritual nourishment: “Hast thou seen a man wise in his own conceit? There shall be more hope of a fool than of him” (Proverbs 26:12), for love is like water from which you must continually drink, that you may be refreshed: “If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink” (John 7:37), and to think you have reached the end and need no more is to disconnect yourself from the waters of life: “And he that thirsteth, let him come: and that will, let him take the water of life, freely” (Apocalypse 22:17). The thorns Jesus mentions to be worldly cares and desires, which keep the heart distracted from the waters of God’s love: “Wherefore that thou mayst overcome them without joining battle, set guards at the springs that they may not draw water out of them… And when they had kept this watch for full twenty days, the cisterns, and the reserve of waters failed among all the inhabitants of Bethulia” (Judith 7:9-11). Finally, the good ground is the garden in which the Beloved walks freely, planting as He will, His word and presence having a deep, loving hold: “And his mother kept all these words in her heart” (Luke 2:51). Thus, the ears of your body allow the ears of your mind to receive and consider the mysteries heard, that the soil of your heart may grow into a magnificent garden: “Thy plants are as a paradise of pomegranates with the fruits of the orchard,” (Canticle 4:13), being a spring clear of the mud of vice that then waters the soil of other hearts: “The fountain of gardens: the well of living waters, which run with a strong stream from Libanus” (Canticle 4:15).