Matthew 13:1-23
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The blessing passes from Abraham to Isaac to Esau to Jacob, and causes so much conflict, we ought to consider it isn’t a reward.
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The parable of the sower can feel like perfectionism: Goldilocks meets self-help. It isn’t about making ourselves ideal. It’s about becoming whole.
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Jesus creates distance to amplify and protect. This shouldn’t lead us to think Jesus is playing it safe, but that he has something to say.
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Jesus doesn’t give us a challenging teaching here. It’s straight-forward. But our brains do something weird with it.
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The challenge of discipleship is not only becoming better or less bad. It is becoming self-aware enough to do either.
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In telling a parable about seeds and soil, Jesus invites us to transform our vision of the world from permanent division to open possibility.