Probably Not About Farming

Listen, said Jesus, have I got a story for you. A farmer went out to plant some seed.

You might know the rest of that well worn story, it’s in three of the four gospels. The farmer just chucks the seed around any and everywhere. Some lands on good soil where it grows amazingly well, but lots lands in less than hospitable conditions, on the path, on rocky ground, among the weeds. It’s a great parable.

In each account, it’s followed by the disciples asking Jesus why he teaches in parables. He says that not everyone will understand his teaching and goes on to explain the parable as representing that: the seed is the word and this is how people hear it.

I’m suspicious, though, and I’m not alone. I wonder if this question and answer about parables, and the explanation of this one in particular, might not have been added later. It explains how some people hear and follow Jesus and some don’t. It also makes it pretty clear where you should want to be and that’s good soil. That’s certainly helpful to church leaders.

But Jesus doesn’t explain parables. I think that’s part of the point. Parables allow for interpretation, for there being more than one way to hear the word.

Take this parable, for example. What if it’s not about the seed. What if it’s about the farmer and it’s not about the wastefulness of throwing the seed everywhere but about the generosity of spirit in the giving and the willingness to share with all. What if the farmer is Jesus and the seed is God’s love, shared abundantly with all creation.

What if the farmer is you and the seed is the love, grace and kindness that is offered to all around you with a generous, giving spirit.

What if then, we might take a different perspective of the places the seed lands. When it lands on the path, the birds eat it and they’re fed. When it lands on the rock, it might not take root this time, but eventually, over time, it might make a little pocket of earth in which something might take root. When it lands among the weeds, well, what is a weed anyway? It might just be a good salad.

What if where the seed lands isn’t as important as the seed being offered to all, without expectation of return, without prejudging the worthiness of where it lands. If we could offer love to the world like that, we’d be Jesus.

I’m not suggesting that the interpretation offered in scripture isn’t true, just that I think there can be more than one. I think that’s the reason Jesus uses parables: it’s not just about how it’s told, it’s about how it’s heard, wondered at, and understood.

You might have seen this quote: “We cannot force someone to hear a message they are not ready to receive. But we must never underestimate the power of planting a seed.” So many have said it, I’m not sure who to attribute that to, but it might as well have been Jesus. In a parable. About giving. And receiving. And probably not about farming.