Sunday, July 12, 2026
Sunday Reflection: The Yield and the Bounty
This is the heart of the season for farms, with crops in the ground and rainfall closely watched. Jesus lived in an agricultural society, and many of his parables involve farms. Here is one from Matthew 13:
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.2Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9Let anyone with ears listen!” 18“Hear then the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
This is a rare parable in that Jesus is described as explaining what it meant-- many times, we don't get that.
There is something important embedded in this parable, though. Note that if we are the seeds, what we get if we are favored is the chance to give more, not get more. That is, we offer fruit or grain to be harvested and enjoyed by others. We give it away. The focus is not on "the tree grows large" or "the stalk is admired by all"-- it is what our yield is to others. It is a sneaky retort to the prosperity gospel, this one.
Here is thing about me: I actually worked on farms, harvesting peas, when I was a teenager. It had a huge impact on me, including on my spiritual life-- there was a connection to the land, the seasons, the earth, the weather, that made me better. And, when I read this parable I think of the dark rich soil we worked on....
