The Seasons When We Stop Listening
The Parable of the Sower isn’t just about four different kinds of people. It is about the changing condition of our own hearts.
Welcome to today’s reflection.
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When I look back over my life, I can identify long periods when I wasn’t really listening to God.
That doesn’t necessarily mean I had abandoned my faith. In many of those seasons, I still prayed. I still read my Bible. I was busy with family life, work, church, and all the ordinary responsibilities that come with being an adult. Outwardly, very little had changed.
Yet looking back, I can see I wasn't really paying attention. God hadn't stopped speaking, but somewhere along the way, I had simply become distracted.
I imagine that is true for most of us.
Life has a habit of accumulating things. Responsibilities multiply. Our calendars fill up, and we carry worries we never expected to carry. Even good things can slowly crowd our attention until, before we realise it, we are moving through life on autopilot, barely noticing what God might be doing beneath the surface.
That is one of the reasons I keep returning to one of Jesus’ best-known stories: the Parable of the Sower.
Most of us know it well. A farmer scatters seed across a field. Some fall on the path and are quickly eaten by birds. Some lands on rocky ground where it grows rapidly but soon withers. Some fall among thorns that choke the young plants. Finally, some lands on good soil and produces an abundant harvest.
Jesus even explains what the story means, which is surprisingly rare in the Gospels.
The parable is often presented as though it describes four different kinds of people. Some reject God completely. Others make an enthusiastic start but quickly lose interest. Some become overwhelmed by life’s distractions. Others remain faithful and bear fruit.
It is often preached and explained that way, and rightly so. But I wonder if there is another way of hearing this story.
What if these are not four different people at all?
What if there are four distinct seasons that each of us experiences?
