A good question—one that we must answer if we want to “get” anything out of the story or parable itself. Over the next three weeks we will hear in the Sunday Gospels from Matthew, specifically from chapter 11 and the parables of Jesus. So, as Julia Andrews in the Sound of Music told us, start at “the very beginning,” and with the parables this is most important to their understanding and meaning—so we can begin with the question: “What are the parables all about?” before we go deeper into their meanings and applicability to our faith lives.

Dominican sister and scripture scholar, Sr. Barbara Reid, in telling us how parables work gives three key points to understand:

1. All parables start with the familiar,” meaning that in the time of Jesus all people knew about farming and so today’s parable of the sower was quiet in tune with their everyday lived experiences. It was familiar to them.

2. Every parable has layers and layers of meaning—and most comparisons have to do with the Kingdom of Heaven—so the parables will relate back to the Christ and His Church’s understanding or belief in Eternal Life. That these timely interpretations, different in every generation yet connected to Christ and His Truths must always relate back to the teacher—Christ—for that is how we know we are on the right path.

3. Every parable has unexpected twists or shocking endings. These surprises are meant for shock value, to call the disciple to recognize a different way of life for which the disciple of Christ is meant to follow even if uncomfortable—remember the idea of “challenging the comforted and comforting the afflicted.”

Once that is known, we can then take the parable and realize that Christ does not tell us its meaning but rather leaves it up to the preacher to offer a perspective that is applicable and in line with the gospel’s overall message. Then we can understand our faith in terms of our lived lives and use the gospel’s perspective with which to view the world with eyes of faith. Today’s Gospel parable asks us to consider the generous, almost wasteful farmer scattering seed here, there and everywhere. How generous to us then is our loving and merciful God; how much does He forgive, how much does He lead, how much does He love us. And how do we live in return?