One of the things I love about veterinary medicine is that you get to be a detective. A Sherlock Holmes of the animal kingdom. We have to use clues in order to make a diagnosis and to help direct the proper treatment. One of the conditions I loved to treat were ear problems. Dogs would come in…well…they would not just come in. You know, dogs didn’t come through the front door asking for help. Most of the time there was a person accompanying them. But I digress. Ear problems in dogs can have many causes. Yeast infections, two different types of bacterial infections and, most commonly, allergy issues. As I mentioned, in order to treat them in the correct way, you need to know what is at the root of the problem. But when we look at a bad ear, they all look mostly the same. Red, swollen, painful and smelly (my personal favorite). So how can you tell what is causing the problem. The Ear Swab. You should picture in your mind here a Q-Tip with angels singing around it and adoring it because the ear swab is the gold standard when treating ear problems. You can take some of the gunk (veterinary term) from the down in the ear and do cytology. Which lets you see if there are bacteria, yeast or just inflammation. And if you see bacteria, you can do a culture which allows you to differentiate wussy bacteria (another veterinary specific term) from more formidable ones that need another level of antibiotic treatment. And if you see neither of these, allergies must be suspected. The ear swab sheds light on the true nature of the ear problem. BTW. A dog’s ear canal is wider and longer than yours. So, it is OK to carefully use a Q Tip in a dog’s ear.
Those of you who are familiar with my past reflections know that this diatribe on the wonders of canine ear problems is leading to something usually related to the day’s readings. And that will be true for today as well. The Gospel for today has Jesus telling the well know parable of the sower and the seeds. Describing how the same seeds when sown on different surfaces (rock, weed choked soil and good soil) can have very different results. Remember the seed is the same seed. It is how that seed is received that will determine its final destiny.
After Jesus relays the parable, disciples ask Him the meaning of the parable. Jesus responds by saying:
“Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God
has been granted to you;
but to the rest, they are made known through parables
so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.“
Jesus actually says, “so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.” What? Why would Jesus want some to not understand? Wouldn’t He want everyone to understand the meaning of the parables He uses in order to teach? To help get a bit better idea what is going on here, think about people you have shared your faith with. Maybe discussing a Gospel story or some version of salvation history. With some people you can just feel them getting it. You can almost see a light come on when things click. They get it. They absorb the message. But then there are the others. People who hear the VERY SAME message. The VERY SAME parable. The VERY SAME seed. But the result is different. At best you get blank stares. At worst, a hostile, combative reply. What is often described in the Bible as a hardened heart. The message did not create this hardness. It was already there.
We have many small decisions and choices as we go through life. Each of those choices have consequences and results in the shaping of our hearts. Either a flourishing of our character or a closing of the door to God’s word. But how do we know which is which when speaking to a person? Which heart is open and which is closed? How did Jesus determine which was which? He used an EAR SWAB!! OK. He used a PARABLE…not an ear swab. But each has the same purpose. To differentiate. To tell apart. To reveal. A parable is like a filter. A diagnostic tool. In the hearing of the story the heart reveals itself. So it is not that Jesus is causing their hearts to be hardened and closed off to the Word. The people Jesus is referring to have already made decisions in their lives that resulted in them not being open to receiving that Word. By speaking in parables the true nature of their heart is revealed.
So the next time you read one of Jesus’ parables, go stick a Q Tip in your ear to help remind you that Jesus is testing you. Testing your heart. Just kidding about sticking a swab in your ear BTW. They say don’t put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.
