The Sower Went Out to Sow
The title for my first novel, The Sower’s Seeds, was inspired from a parable that can be found in four different gospels: Matthew (Chapter 13); Mark (Chapter 4); Luke (Chapter 8); and last, but not least Thomas (saying number 9). The parable goes something like this:
“The sower went out, took a handful of seeds, and scattered them. Some fell on the road, and the birds came and devoured them. Others fell on rock, and they didn’t take root in the soil and didn’t produce heads of grain. Others fell on thorns, and they choked the seeds and worms ate them. And others fell on good soil, and it produced a good crop: it yielded sixty per measure and one hundred twenty per measure.” (Thomas version).
Why is this parable so important that four different biblical-type writers chose to include this one specific parable in their own particular version of Jesus’ message?
Because it raises or brings forward the question or issue regarding nurture versus nature. And what the parable tells us is this: regardless of the random nature of seeds being scattered, from a western spirituality standpoint seeds do not produce sixty-fold, hundred-fold, etc. without proper nurturing. Statement open and closed.
The sower seed parable is also important because it parallels eastern spirituality and scientific thought. From an eastern spiritual standpoint one need only understand the concept of karma to understand the parallel. From a scientific standpoint one need only think in terms of evolution (see my short story Love of Economics for further clarification here).
Moving ahead. The seeds of a sower, as the parable is explained in biblical text, do not have to represent children or individuals or creatures. In fact, one of the explanations used in the bible tell us that seeds can be words (thoughts or ideas). And depending upon where the words fall, they can die, choke, wither away or multiply sixty-fold and one hundred-fold.
From my own personal (and maybe selfish) standpoint, I have always considered my website to be a form of seed scattering. And although to date, I would have to admit that most of my seeds have fallen along the road and on a few scattered rocks, the other day one fell on good soil.
Now isn’t that why the sower goes out to sow in the first place? Looking for good soil for his or her seeds?