Read Matthew
13
Have you
seen the two-part meme where the refrigerator is open and the ketchup bottle is
front and center and the man says, “I can’t find the ketchup.” In the second part, the view is of a wooded
ridge in the distance that seems to just be a beautiful landscape and the man
says, “You see that buck next to the edge of the shade?”
We see the
same things but we don’t see the same things.
Sometimes we have eyes to see where others don’t.
You call
your dog for twenty minutes and have no sign of him. You sit down in your recliner and open a bag
of chips and sure enough, that’s your dog parked in front of you with its best
beggar’s look staring you in the eye.
We hear what
we hear, sometimes it’s exactly what we were hoping to hear. We have ears to hear.
Sandwiched
between the Parable of the Sower and its explanation is a simple question. Why do you speak to the people in parables?
Why
parables?
Because some
have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Lord has to say. Others hear the world first and maybe catch a
little of what the Lord is telling us.
If you want to hear the Lord, it’s an all-in deal. If you want to see the ways of the Lord, it’s
an all-in deal.
This is
why I speak to them in parables:
Though
seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or
understand.
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
You will
be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this
people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise
they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn,
and I would heal them.
Jesus then
told his disciples that they were blessed.
They sought the ways of the Lord and God had given them eyes to
see. This was a gift from God to those
who sought to do his will.
They had
been given freely what so many prophets had desired.
Those not
seeking the Lord can’t make sense of what he said or did. They have neither eyes to see nor ears to
hear. To them, a parable is just a
story. To us, it offers counsel,
guidance, direction, and challenges to learn more.
We are
blessed to have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Amen.
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