The Good Sower and Beloved Bridegroom
It is important to note that he does not discriminate. He sows his word and his love indiscriminately. One could say that Jesus is very promiscuous, sowing his seed, his love, everywhere and with everybody. While that may seem sac religious or disrespectful, it is not meant to be. Actually, the sexual overtones are throughout Jesus’ teachings. He often compares himself to a Bridegroom. A Bridegroom is not asexual, it is not an abstinent relationship that the Bridegroom has with his brides. That would defeat the purpose of the whole thing. Why bother to get married if you are only going to be friends without benefits? “Be fruitful and multiply”. The sexual love in a sacred marriage relationship is built upon the same principles as the love Jesus is talking about in the first great commandment. It is intimate, it is unifying, it is uplifting, it is fulfilling, it gives meaning to life and most of all, it bears good fruit. So, the sowing of his seed, his love, is related to being a Bridegroom, not only a sower. And as in the covenant relationship between Bridegroom and Bride, the love is given freely and unconditionally, but the fruit there from, the harvest, is conditional and based on faithfulness. We shall later see how this intimate Bridegroom relationship applies to both genders, to both male and female.
The conditions of the soil or the place where the seed falls, is analgous to the heart. The heart may be stoney, it may be weed infested, it may be dry, it may be unfertile, but in all cases, the heart belongs to the individual and the heart is under control of the individual, even where there are intense external influences. When Jesus said,
“When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.” The understanding part is a choice, and when that choice is made not to understand it, it then allows the wicked one to “catcheth it away” Up until now, I have not mentioned much about the role of the “wicked one”. Jesus refers to him frequently. Therefore, he is important. He is the enemy. Later, we will discuss how the first commandment helps us to subdue our enemy and enemies from the wicked one and from any source.
Understanding is not a choice. Understanding is based on perception. Perception has to do with knowledge and frame of reference. If you talk to a child on the equator about snow, frostbite, and ice, they will not understand, because they have no knowledge and no frame of reference. They do not choose to "not understand", they simply cannot, based on their knowledge pool. It is like talking to people in this world about love. They have never seen it and have no frame of reference for what love is. We have called hate love for so long that when we see that which is truly loving, we simply don't understand. It doesn't fit our perception of love as being, tough, just and demanding, so when we see Jesus forgive adultery, we don't understand. We think it is evil. We are not choosing to do so. It is merely that the only frame of reference we have is faulty, and does not allow us to understand. Such is the case with cultural conditioning the world over.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful comment. I understand what you are saying about frame of reference. However, my "frame of reference" about understanding being a choice comes from the fact all human beings with souls, by virtual of the fact that they are human beings, are born into the world with the light of Christ. The light of Christ is what makes life possible. The light of Christ is what quickens our minds and our hearts. It is a pre-natal, pre-birth advantage given to all mankind. Yes, once they are born, the devil, the wicked one, sets about to try to deceive and blind, but they never completely lose this light of Christ that they were born with and hence, they can still choose to love, to choose to follow the light that is in them. It is the light of Christ that refers to him knocking at the door, waiting for us to open. It is the light of Christ that is the hen beckoning to her chicks to come unto her but they would not (choice). My main point is that we too easily excuse bad choices as something beyond people's control, that the external environment of darkness makes it impossible to understand and to choose. God has given us a heavenly frame of reference and it is that frame of reference that enables us to have some choice, even if it is affected by all the external darkness in the world.
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