Bp Miller’s Musings: July 12, 2026

When I read the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9), I tend to see the soil as the focus of the story, forgetting that Jesus uses parables to describe the kingdom of heaven that has come near. That is, the parable is more about the kingdom than about the “hearers of the word.” The parable points us to the fruitfulness of God’s word, a word that goes out from God, like a sower sows seed, and does not return empty.

We should read this parable as a celebration of the fruitfulness of God’s word. This word creates works of righteousness in those who hear and understand, and those works reveal the kingdom of heaven in its nearness, so close we can touch it.

The reign of heaven is no longer far off in space or time but has broken into the world in Jesus. This is evident in healing, resurrection, and in the forgiveness of sins. Now Christ’s disciples, those called, gathered, enlightened, and made holy by the Holy Spirit, continue his work of revelation, forgiving sins and bringing reconciliation to a world divided against itself.

Christ’s church does this in the certainty that God’s Spirit dwells in us and gives us life now and in the age to come.