Colleen Orchanian

Jesus tells a parable about good soil in Matthew 13:1-23. Before that, Matthew writes: "He told them many things in parables." I want to explore some of the many things Jesus teaches in the parable of the good soil.

Here is the parable:

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Before talking about the many things we can learn from this parable, let me tell you about what comes before it. Matthew Chapter 12 sets the stage. We read about these events:

• Jesus talks about a tree and its fruit. Good trees bear good fruit. Good trees are planted in good soil.

• The scribes and Pharisees ask for a sign, even though they have seen countless signs already. They are not good soil.

• Jesus talks about the return of an unclean spirit after it was cast out of a person. The person did not have good soil.

• Jesus asks, "Who is my mother, father, brothers? They are the ones who do the will of the Father." They are the ones with good soil.

So Jesus has given these teachings and sums them up with the parable of the soil. He describes four types of soil and later explains the meaning to his apostles.

Soil on the path: Those who hear and don't understand the word. They are indifferent or willfully resisting the Word of God. I've been that person. Uninterested. I believed God was real, but He wasn't important in my life. I didn't go to church, didn't read the Bible, didn't spend time with believing people, didn't pray in any significant way. I was not yet good soil.

Rocky soil: Those who have no depth and fall away in hard times. This can happen when I think that professing my faith means all my troubles will go away. Life will be easy. But that's not what Jesus taught. Life won't be easy, but it is easier with Jesus in our lives. I think sometimes people who evangelize set new believers up for failure by telling them that God will bless them when they have faith. And it's true that God blesses us, but we must understand what that blessing is. It's not health, wealth, and the perfect family. It's the grace to persevere with joy when we are unhealthy, poor, and our family is broken.

Soil with thorns: This is the person who gets caught up in the things of the world, tempted by the world, the flesh and the devil, and can't receive the Word of God. We all have some kind of attachment to things of the world, and the Word of God is left behind. We are bad soil.

Good soil: This is the person who hears and understands the word and bears fruit. They do something with the word. They live it every day. Surely everyone listening to this podcast would like to be in this group; we want to be good soil, and in many ways we are.

When you go to church on Sunday, you are surrounded by people who are all four types of soil. Some people there are soil on the path. They are there because they're supposed to be, not because they are open to God's Word. Some are rocky soil, hoping that God will answer their prayers so they can get back to the rest of their lives. Some are the soil with thorns, so attached to the world that the words they hear at Mass don't register. Or they don't think they apply to them. And some are good soil, eager to hear God's voice, hungry for the Word, thirsty for living water.

It is easy to separate people into different types of soil, and it's dangerous. Because we are imperfect, we can be good soil in some areas of life and not so good in other areas. For example, I may be fully committed to a life of prayer, and at the same time, be unfriendly and judgmental of others. I can attend Bible study and then go home to my live-in partner, because God will understand. There are places we don't fully surrender to God. Those are the places that are not good soil. It takes humility and honesty to discern where we can be better soil so that we can bear the fruit God desires from us.

That leads us to some questions: Am I receptive soil? Am I receptive to the seed of God's word? How well do I listen to His word? Do I bear good fruit? How can I become good soil or better soil?

We can learn from farmers how to be wise with the soil of our souls. Here are some ways to do that:

Farmers plant good seeds. How about us? What seeds are we planting in our minds? We have so much noise thrown at us every day: TV, movies, music, social media, news, gossip, doomscrolling. If I fill my mind with junk food, the fruit will be rotten. Do an inventory of what you feed your mind. How much is uplifting, inspiring, and educating? Do you have daily Bible study, spiritual reading? Do you listen to podcasts that help you grow closer to God? Feed your mind a healthy diet.

Farmers use manure to fertilize plants and prepare the soil. The manure of life is suffering. It stinks, but it sanctifies us. Can we embrace the manure, knowing it will nurture the soil of our soul? Times of suffering almost always bring more spiritual growth than times of ease and comfort.

Farmers use cover crops to protect the plants so that rain doesn't wash them away. Our cover crops are the intentional friendships we cultivate. Rain and hard times can strain our faith, but the right friends will protect us when things are tough. They help us hope when we are tempted to despair. They encourage when we want to give up. We aren't supposed to do this alone. Who are the friends that make your soil better?

Farmers weed their fields. They pull the weeds that would choke out a plant. We too must pull the weeds that harm the soil of our souls. What or who is in my life that draws me away from God, that makes me turn away? I have to remove that person or thing from my life. Maybe it's a sin that I haven't yet given up. I can't have rich soil when my life is corrupted by sin.

Farmers rotate crops on the land. They don't plant the same thing in the same place year after year. The soil needs a rest. Sometimes we need to change things out, too. When I fall into a routine of prayer, and my goal is to get through my checklist, it's time to make a change. My dad used to pray the 15 prayers of St. Bridget, and he did that every day for over 15 years. His spiritual director asked him, "What would it be like for you if you didn't say those prayers tomorrow?" That was a hard question because he had done it for so long, but it was no longer bearing fruit. She was encouraging him to make a change that would allow his prayer time to be more fruitful. And it worked. Maybe there is something in your prayer life that needs changing.

Farmers assess how they are doing. What worked this season and what didn't work, and why? We can do that every day with the Daily Examen, and every year with an annual retreat. Where was I good soil and when was I not? What can I do tomorrow to be more fully rich soil?

Farmers pray. They know that there is only so much they can do, and the rest is up to God. Be like farmers. Pray daily. Pray without ceasing. Make work your prayer. Pray with and for others. Allow others to pray for you.

God wants more for us, not because He is an egomaniac or power-hungry tyrant. It's because He loves us so perfectly and wants the best for us. He wanted the scribes and Pharisees to hear and understand his words, not ask for another sign when they had already seen enough. Being good soil is a blessing to us. When we are good soil, we bear fruit. And bearing fruit is so wonderful. We can take delight in the fruit of our work because God takes delight in us. Sit with that for a while. God takes delight in YOU.

So keep working on that soil. Fertilize it. Water it. Plant good seeds. Surround yourself with cover crops. Trust in God to do the quiet work of growing the fruit of faith. Sit with this passage from Matthew 13 and let God speak to you through it.

Questions for prayer:

1. In what ways are you good soil at this season of your life?

2. What actions have been most helpful in developing the soil of your soul?

3. In what way is God calling you to become better soil? Is there a part of your life that is not yet good soil?