Our theme this week on Things Unseen has been taking heed, taking care, not just what

we hear, but how we hear what we hear.

And we've been saying this is the theme of Jesus' parable of parables, the one about

the farmer sowing his seed.

It describes in vivid terms what happens when God s word is preached.

Some of the seed as we saw fell on the pathway and soon disappeared.

But then Jesus said some fell on rocky soil.

We were able to watch our home in Scotland actually being built, last century in fact.

And I remember going along before they put down the lawn at the rear of the house and

being horrified to see that the soil was chuck-a-block with rocks of various sizes.

Fortunately for me none was really too large, but despite all my efforts I suspect not

a few of those rocks are still there under the grass.

And perhaps that's what we envisage when we read about this rocky soil.

But Jesus' picture is probably quite different.

He's picturing soil that's lying on a rocky substratum.

So the soil isn't very deep and as the seed coat cracks open the embryo can't put down

really deep roots and the result is that the chute that springs up quickly and apparently

successfully doesn't receive enough nourishment and it soon dies.

Now it's easy to be critical of the disciples for having to ask Jesus what this parable was

all about, but I think we probably should be glad.

Because our Lord's explanation is far better than our own guesswork and it's very illuminating.

Here's what he says, rocky ground hearers are the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately

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