All throughout Scripture, we hear Jesus speaking to the crowds in parables. He uses everyday analogies to explain His profound teachings.
But it appears that the Apostles do not need parables to understand the deep mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven because Jesus has revealed these truths to them. I think it is because they have intimately encountered the Son of God and have come to fully know Jesus’ heart by following Him and spending time with Him. As a result, their lives were completely transformed.
On the other hand, the crowds see and hear Jesus’ parables, but still haven’t believed or totally given their lives to Him. Maybe some of them were skeptical of his message or were unable to fully commit to Jesus out of fear of having to change their lives. These are the ones who “look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.”
I think what Jesus is saying to us today is not that parables are bad but that it is crucial to becoming a disciple, going deeper with Christ by spending lots of time with Him. And to not just be a member of the crowd, with one foot in and one foot out.
Jesus goes on to say that “To anyone who has, more will be given, and he will grow rich. And from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
Although God never stops loving us, the more time and effort we spend praying and listening to Him, He will gradually make us more holy. And we will receive more spiritual riches including a desire to live out the love we have received by our actions towards others. We then will begin to know Jesus as his disciples, not just know things about Jesus as the crowds.
But when we don’t prioritize our faith and quality time with the Lord or when we just go through the motions, we might risk losing what we once had. Some people may slowly stop praying and then eventually fall into despair when difficulties arise. Many people have even left the Church completely. Sadly, this is like listening to the parables, but not really hearing them.
The Challenge for us today is to GO ALL IN WITH CHRIST!
So, what are some practical things that we can do to better hear God, and to spend more time with Christ? Well, the main thing is to ask God for Knowledge and Understanding which are gifts of the Holy Spirit. After that we can do something like praying with the Readings before Mass,—putting ourselves in the scenes,—or spending time in Eucharistic Adoration where we sit with and listen to Christ, like the Apostles did, hanging on to all of his words.
Although it is true that we need parables to help us understand the basic meanings behind Jesus’ teachings, we are called to eventually go past the surface into the depths of its richness. And to let the truths of his message penetrate our hearts in a personal way.
When we GO ALL IN, Christ can live in us and acts through us. And This is what it is like to “see and hear him with our hearts” and to be his disciples. Then, following after Christ, we trust in his promise that He will convert us, heal us, transform us.