We try to think in a general way about every parable,^[1] the elaborate interpretation of which has not been recorded by the Evangelists, remembering that Jesus explained all things to his own disciples privately.^[2] The writers of the Gospels have withheld any detailed exposition of the parables, because the things signified by them were beyond the power of words to express. Not even the whole world itself could contain the books that might be written to fully clarify and develop the parables. But it may happen that a receptive heart will grasp something of them. Purity of intent enables greater discernment of the parables, that they might become written on the heart by the Spirit of the living God.^[3] But someone might then reply that we act with impiety when we want to give the parables symbolic meaning, as if we had the authority to expound what is secret and mystical. This is sometimes claimed even in cases where one might suppose that we had some reasonable knowledge of their meaning. But to this we must respond that, if there are those who have obtained some gift of accurate apprehension of these things, they know what they ought to do. But as for us, we readily acknowledge that we fall short of the ability to see into the depth of the things here signified. We do better not to venture to commit to writing those things of which, even after much examination and inquiry, we have only some crass perception, whether by grace or by the power of our own minds. But some basic things, for the sake of our own intellectual discipline, and that of those who may chance to read them, we are permitted to some extent to set forth.

Think of the various ways, dear friends, by which the master points us toward the coming resurrection, by which the Lord Jesus Christ was made the firstfruit when he raised him from the dead.^[1] Let us observe, dear friends, how something like resurrection is so often anticipated in the course of nature. Day and night, for example: the night falls asleep, and day arises; day departs, and night returns. Or consider the planting of crops: How and in what manner does the sowing take place? The sower goes forth and casts into the earth each of the seeds.^[2] They fall into the dry and bare ground and decay. Then out of their decay the majesty of God’s providence raises them up, and from being one seed, many grow up and bring forth fruit. Even more dramatically, recall that remarkable wonder which has been reported in eastern regions in the vicinity of Arabia, of a bird named Phoenix.^[3] This bird is said to be a unique species, living perhaps five hundred years. When the time of its dissolution and death arrives, it makes for itself a coffinlike nest of frankincense and myrrh and the other spices, into which, its time being completed, it enters and dies. But as the flesh decays, a certain worm is born, which is nourished by the juices of the dead bird and eventually grows wings. Then, when it has grown strong, it takes up that coffinlike nest containing the bones of its parent, and carrying them away, makes its way from the country of Arabia to Egypt, to the city of Heliopolis. There, in broad daylight in the sight of all, it flies to the altar of the sun and deposits them there, and then sets out on its return, which the priests who examine records think occurs at the end of the five hundredth year. With all these indications in nature, why should it surprise us that the creator of the universe might bring about the resurrection of those who have served him with holiness in the assurance of a good faith,^[4] seeing that he shows to us even by a bird the magnificence of his promise? 1

What is the meaning of this parable? He went out to sow his seed. From where could he go out who is present everywhere, and fills all places? He went out, not into a place, but into a life and into a historic dispensation wherein he saved us, being brought close to us by reason of assuming our flesh. Since we could not enter in, for our sins had shut the door to us, he came out to us. . . . He came to till and to take care of the earth: to sow the word of compassion. For here he calls his teaching seed, the souls of men a ploughed field, and himself the sower.

As the sower fairly and indiscriminately disperses seed broadly over all his field, so does God offer gifts to all,^[1] making no distinction between rich and poor, wise and foolish, lazy or diligent, brave or cowardly. He addresses everyone, fulfilling his part, although knowing the results beforehand. . . . Why then, tell me, was so much of the seed lost? Not through the sower, but through the ground that received it—meaning the soul that did not listen. . . . Even though more seed would be lost than survive, the disciples were not to lose heart. For it is the way of the Lord never to stop sowing the seed, even when he knows beforehand that some of it will not respond. But how can it be reasonable, one asks, to sow among the thorns, or on the rock, or alongside the road? Maybe it is not reasonable insofar as it pertains only to seeds and earth, for the bare rock is not likely to turn into tillable soil, and the roadside will remain roadside and the thorns, thorns. But in the case of free wills and their reasonable instruction, this kind of sowing is praiseworthy. For the rocky soul can in time turn into rich soil. Among souls, the wayside may come no longer to be trampled by all that pass, and may become a fertile field. The thorns may be destroyed and the seed enjoy full growth. For had this not been impossible, this sower would not have sown. And even if no change whatever occurs in the soul, this is no fault of the sower, but of those who are unwilling to be changed. He has done his part. THE GOSPEL OF ST.

And if the young shoots of the wheat wither, that is not because of the heat, for he did not say that it withered because of the heat, but because it had no roots.^[1] And if that which he has taught us is choked, neither is it the fault of the thorns, but of those who allow them to grow. For you can, if you will, oppose their evil growth, and make fitting use of your resources. For this reason he says not the world, but the care of this world; not riches, but the deceitfulness of riches. Let us put blame, not on created things, but on the corrupted will.

Now pay particular attention. There is not one single way of destruction. Rather there are various ways that differ from one another significantly. Some, like the seed along the roadside, are the coarse-minded, indifferent, and careless. Others, those on the rock, are like people who fail from weakness only. THE GOSPEL OF ST.

The thistles are the rich, and the thorns are those obsessed with business deals. They tend not to remain long with the servants of God. They wander away, choked by commercial preoccupations.^[1] The rich cleave only with great difficulty to the servants of God, fearing lest someone might ask something of them. Such people, therefore, will enter the kingdom of God only with difficulty. You know how hard it is to walk through thistles with bare feet? Just that hard it will be for them to enter the kingdom of God.^[2]

Why did one soil bear a hundred, one sixty, one thirty? The difference is the readiness of the ground, for even where the ground is good, differences remain in the readiness of soils. The fault lies not in the farmer or the seed, but in the condition of the land itself, its disposition to receive. THE GOSPEL OF ST.

Note that Christ has recounted three ways of disaster, and that three likewise are the grades of glory. For the seed that fell upon the wayside was seized by the birds. That which sprang up on stony ground quickly perished. That which grew amid the thorns was choked. But the desirable good earth brought forth fruit, and with a threefold difference, as I have said; some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirtyfold. As the most learned Paul writes: Everyone has his proper gift from God, one after this manner, another after that.^[1] And we don’t find the good actions of holy men to be all of equal merit. But it behooves us to strive earnestly after their better actions, and rise above the less worthy; so shall we be rewarded bountifully by Christ, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be praise and glory for ever. Amen.

He speaks in parables that he may also make his discourse more vivid, and fix the memory of it in them more perfectly, and bring the things before their sight, as did the prophets also. THE GOSPEL OF ST.

Suppose a physician excised a portion from the side of an organism, even in that small part you would find all the elements out of which the whole is composed—nerves and veins, bones, arteries and blood, and a sample, as one might say, of the whole lump. So likewise with regard to the organic unity of the Scriptures. In each distinct portion of what is written, one may see the connection with the whole clearly appearing. THE GOSPEL OF ST.

Sometimes it does not turn out to be an advantage for one to be healed quickly or superficially, especially if the disease by this means becomes even more shut up in the internal organs where it rages more fiercely. Therefore God, who perceives secret things and who knows all things before they come to be, in his great goodness delays the healing of such persons and defers the remedy to a later time. If I may speak paradoxically, God heals them by not healing them, lest a premature recovery of health should render them incurable. This pertains to those whom our Lord and Savior addressed as those outside, whose hearts and reins^[1] he searches out. Jesus covered up the deeper mysteries of the faith in veiled speech to those who were not yet ready to receive his teaching in straightforward terms. The Lord wanted to prevent the unready from being too speedily converted and only cosmetically healed. If the forgiveness of their sins were too easily obtained, they would soon fall again into the same disorder of sin which they imagined could be cured without any difficulty.

Jesus did not ordinarily assume that his teaching would remain hidden. He expected it to be proclaimed openly in every direction. Yet it is possible, in defensive circumstances, to utter something openly and yet veiled at the same time. Something may be said not strictly in secret, but in a secret way. Note that it was not in secret that Jesus said they may indeed see but not perceive.^[1] If this had not been spoken openly, there would have been no sense to the phrase not seeing. The same hearer may not perceive the level on which something is spoken openly, yet on another level secretly understood. The very things which his detractors had heard without understanding were such as could not with justice or truth be turned into a criminal charge against him. As often as they tried by their questions to find something by which to accuse him, he gave them such replies as utterly confounded all their plots and left no ground for the calumnies they devised.

Parables are word pictures not of visible things, but rather of things of the mind and the spirit. That which cannot be seen with the eyes of the body, a parable will reveal to the eyes of the mind, informing the subtlety of the intellect by means of things perceivable by the senses, and as it were tangible.

At times our Savior spoke the Word to the apostles by means of mysterious sayings. For prophecy says of him: He will open his mouth in parables, and will declare things kept secret from the foundation of the world.^[1] . . . The efficacy of the Word itself, being strong and powerful,^[2] gradually draws into itself secretly and invisibly everyone who receives it.

The Greek culture, along with its philosophy, was preparatory. By this it is made clear how obliquely, not with a straight direction, gifts have come from God to humanity—in that miscellaneous way that showers fall down on the good land, and on the dunghill, and on the houses. Then both grass and wheat sprout. Both figs and reckless trees grow on sepulchers. These things are like a figure of the truth disclosing itself. All enjoy the same influence of the rain.^[1] But they do not have the same grace as those which spring up in rich soil, inasmuch as they are withered or plucked up. And here we are aided by the parable of the sower, which the Lord interpreted. Finally there is only one cultivator of the soil of the human soul. It is the One who from the beginning, from the foundations of the world, has been sowing living seeds by which all things grow. In each age the Word has come down upon all like rain. But the times and places which received these gifts account for the differences which exist. . . . Some cultures have rightly sought out the word of truth through understanding. But Abraham was not justified by works, but by faith.^[2] It is therefore of no advantage to them after the end of life, even if they do good works now, if they do not have faith.

While we are sleeping, the enemy is sowing weeds. This is why the Lord commanded his disciples to be always on the outlook. Those who are not actively bringing forth fruits of righteousness are quickly covered over and lost among the brambles. Yet if they exercise diligence and receive the word of God as a graft into themselves, they may again recover the pristine nature of humanity, created after the image and likeness of God.^[1]

Let us, therefore, following the faith of the apostles, hold frequent communion with our Lord. For the world is like the sea to us, beloved, of which it is written, There go the ships, and Leviathan that you^[1] formed to sport in it.^[2] We float upon this sea, like wind, with everyone directing his own course with his own free will. Under the pilotage of the Word, one may safely approach the port. But, if possessed by wayward inclinations, one is in peril by storm and may suffer shipwreck. For as in the ocean there are storms and waves, so in the world there are many afflictions and trials. The unbelieving therefore, have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away,^[3] just as the Lord said. They are not likely to endure the complications which arise from afflictions, if they are fixed upon the temporal and not confirmed in the faith.

Allow the Spirit of God to dwell within you; then in his love he will come and make a habitation with you; he will reside in you and live in you.^[1] If your heart is pure you will see him and he will sow in you the good seed of reflection upon his actions and wonder at his majesty. This will happen if you take the trouble to weed out from your soul the undergrowth of sporadic desires, along with the thorns and tares of bad habits.^[2]

When the Word is choked, it is not merely due to the thorns as such, but to the negligence of those allowing them to spring up. There is a way, if there is a will, to hinder evil growth and use wealth appropriately. For this reason he warned not of the world but of the care of the world; not riches as such but the deceitfulness of riches. Let us not place the blame on what we possess, but on our own corrupt mind. For it is possible to be rich and not be deceived. It is possible to be in this world, and not be choked with its cares. For indeed riches have two contrary disadvantages; one, anxiety over them, wearing us out, and spreading darkness over us; and the other, luxury, which makes us soft. . . . Do not marvel at his calling our luxuries thorns. If you are intoxicated in your sense you may not be aware of this. One is in sound health who knows that luxury pricks sharper than any thorn. Luxury wastes the soul away even worse than anxiety. It causes more grievous pains both to body and soul. For no one is as seriously harmed by anxiety as by immoderate indulgence. . . . It brings on premature old age, dulls the senses, darkens our reasoning, blinds the keen-sighted mind, and makes the body flabby. THE GOSPEL OF ST.

Work diligently the soil while you may. Break up your fallow with the plough. Cast away the stones from your field, and dig out the thorns. Be unwilling to have a hard heart, such as makes the Word of God of no effect.^[1] Be unwilling to have a thin layer of soil, in which the root of divine love can find no depth in which to enter. Be unwilling to choke the good seed by the cares and the lusts of this life, when it is being scattered for your good. When God is the sower and we are the ground, we are called to work to be good ground.^[2]

The fields have but one season of harvest; but from the Scripture there gushes forth a stream of saving doctrine. The field when reaped lies idle, and at rest, and the branches when the vine is stripped lie withered and dead. The Scriptures are garnered each day, yet the years of its interpreters never come to an end; and the clusters of its vines, which in it are those of hope, though are gathered each day, are likewise without end.

A well, when pumped regularly, produces purer water. If neglected, and no one uses it, it changes into a source of pollution. Use keeps metal brighter, but disuse produces rust. For, in a word, exercise produces a healthy condition both in souls and bodies. So No one lights a candle and puts it under a bowl, but upon a candlestick, that it may give light.^[1] For of what use is wisdom, if it fails to make those who hear it wise?

Why does the Lord call us the light of the world? Why has he compared us to a city on a hill?^[1] Are we not called to shine in the midst of darkness, and stand up high for those most sunk down? If you hide your lamp beneath a bushel,^[2] you will soon notice that you yourself will be in the dark. You will find others bumping into you. So what can you do to illumine the world? Let your faith produce good works. Be a reflection of God’s light. The good is not preoccupied with darkness. It rejoices in being seen.^[3] It exults over the very pointings which are made at it. Christian modesty not only wishes to be modest, but also it wishes to be beheld as what it actually is.