Texts in Conversation
In Mark's parable of the sower, seed among thorns represents people whose cares and wealth choke the word. In the Shepherd of Hermas, a mountain of thorns and briars similarly represents the wealthy and the busy, who are choked by their affairs.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Mark 4:19
New Testament
13 He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? Then how will you understand any parable? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately Satan comes and snatches the word that was sown in them. 16 These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root in themselves and do not endure. Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word, 19 but worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it produces nothing. 20 But these are the ones sown on good soil: They hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, one thirty times as much, one sixty, and one a hundred.”
Shepherd of Hermas 97:1
Early Christian
1 “And from the third mountain, which had thorns and briars, those who believed are like this: some of them are wealthy, and others are tangled in many business dealings. The briars represent the wealthy, and the thorns those who are caught up in various business matters. 2 These, then, who are involved in many and varied affairs, do not cling to God’s servants but go astray, choked by their affairs; and the wealthy are reluctant to associate with God’s servants, for fear that they will ask them for something. Such people will have difficulty entering the kingdom of God. 3 For just as it is difficult to walk barefoot over briars, so also it is difficult for these people to enter God’s kingdom. 4 But for all these, repentance is possible, though it must be quick, so that in the days that remain they may now make up for what they neglected to do in the past, and do some good. If they repent and do some good, they will live for God; but if they remain in their practices, they will be given over to those women who will put them to death.
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Notes and References
“... The seed sown among the thorns is another image that in Judaism makes possible many associations about evil. The connection with wealth and business may even be rooted in catechetical tradition. The readers of the Gospel of Matthew are immediately reminded of 6:19-34 that dealt first with riches and then with worrying. [...] Cf. Herm. Sim. 9.1.1 = 78.1; 9.19.1 = 97.1: thorns and thistles = rich people and business people. ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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