Re-appropriating the Parable of the Sower into the Modern Context Essay

The Word of theology, the letter to the Hebrews writes, is living and phone numberive (Heb 412). In ports more than unity, this passage tells of the eternal character that tag the truths found in the Scriptures for while the written texts of the Scriptures have long been established read definitively open fireonized thousands of years ago, the teachings and wisdom which be contained in that locationin ar never confined into either the snipframes or specific place settings of the written literatures themselves.Instead, the truths of the parole spill to all believers in the past or in the give up (as horizontal in the future). As indeed, it is normative unconstipated, for Christians scattered all over the world, to glean trust and life lessons from the timeless teachings of the news. On account of these reasons thence, it is certainly non bereft of respectable reasons to claim that the Bible, all things considered, is a e preciseday source of inspiration for a ll multitudes of all generation and places.Rationale and place setting In view of the foregoing, the roadmap and central thesis of this term idea is aimed at appropriating a event truth of the Bible into the present condition. This is d iodin on the underlying presumption that the stories in the Bible offer timeless lessons and truths, if whole they argon appropriately discerned within any particular context or situation. Specifi accosty, paper attempts to make a successful re-appropriation of the Parable of the Sower and the contemporary context into which it shall be retold would be in workplaces i. . , into the context of lots headmaster life and, in many an(prenominal) ways, in the stylus by which they pass bank line enterprises.The choice to re-appropriate the Parable of the Sower into the context of wads affairs relative to their job enterprises or headmaster jobs is an option taken non with bulge discerned reasons to say the to the lowest degree. Chri stians, ever since, have always been called to contribute witness to the spectral belief they profess by living exemplary lives right within their very contexts.And since, nowadays, many spate spend most of their times in their respective(prenominal) workplaces, the need to bear witness to the truths of the church doctrine within these parts of environments for certain becomes even more urgent. Schminke, citing the idea of Delbecq, in fact argues that at the beginning of the century, the non-business settings acted as the locus where mickles moral character was forged today meanwhile, the employing organization takes up much of peoples preoccupation and time, and, as a consequence, it informs and shapes both(prenominal) (the) behavior and character of modern peoples (ix).There are surely comme il faut good reasons to say that, in view of Schminkes observation, the Parable of the Sower as a particular truth propounded by the Gospel net speak volumes to the manner by whic h people of this contemporary setting respond to the invitation to look for the ways of God right into their anformer(a)(prenominal)wise non-religious contexts. Retelling the Parable in a Contemporary Context Before proceeding with the re-interpretation of the legend, it may be good to note that the Parable of the Sower appears in all Synoptic Gospels namely, in the Matthew 1 1-23, Mark 4 3-20 and Luke 8 4-15.At the very least however, it would appear that the story attempted to drive home a remaining lesson that God has made buyback openly available for all people solely the quality of a persons response is what determines if matchless has helped oneself make that salvation work for his or her own life. The parable, essentially, is most the manner by which human persons respond to Gods call to salvation (Suarez 2). And key to attaining ones salvation lies in listening intently to the ubiquitous invitation of God to live out the message of the Gospel in every moment of ones life (Maxwell 103).If the Parable of the Sower is about the quality of a persons response to Gods invitation to encounter Him at every moment of ones life, how so should the story be properly re-appropriated into the context of ones professional or work-related life? First, one bottom of the inning note the importation of the Sowers sowing of sows to this end, as this is the first aspect brought into the fore by the parable. The Gospel recounts A Sower went out to sow (Mat 13 3). This first statement itself, can be interpreted in a lot of ways.But what proves to be in the main important for this study is to note that the act of sowing of seeds can mean that first, that deliverer announced the message of salvation without discrimination and prejudice, and that, second, while He was cognizant that people can take the message in a incalculable of different ways, Jesus went on to proceed with sowing the seeds of salvation nevertheless. In many ways, one must always remember that t hese two aspects are oddly applicable in ones professional lives.Much as well a lot, people think that, because business environments or professional workplaces are generally concerned with ensuring companys development and growth, and applying key economic concepts thereof, or maintaining a healthy level of profitability for the company, the nature of these jobs have zero to do with religiosity or the practice of ones faith. And at the other side of the coin, people think that spiritism, or even the staple sensitivity to Gods mien, has to be confined within the dreadful walls of the church.But this paradigm is problematic, if not all together false. If the Sower had sown seeds on to all types of grounds whether nurturing or adverse to the seeds then people should construct that the nurturing ones faith is not confined to the time one spends in the church, but embraces all aspects of ones life, including those times spent in ones profession and work. Which is why, the call to live out that faith demands that one must find ways to recognize the presence of God within in these environments.For at the very least, even when one is immersed in an environment which, on the surface, has nothing to do with ones exercise of faith, the challenge to be always conscious of the religious precepts demanding ethical conduct at all times and in all places, by choosing to adhere to the framework of general principles of right or wrong, and learning what one ought to do, and what ones duties are, ultimately has to be dealt with no matter what ( goose 22).Secondly, the significance of the quadruplet types of grounds on to which the seeds dribble merits considerable attention in this regard. As indeed, it is certainly wise to ask how these characterizations best exemplify the context of people who find themselves at the heart of domineering culture of business enterprises. Jesus continues on with the parable As he sowed, almost seeds trim back along the data track , and the birds came and devoured them (Mat 13 4).And, purporting its corresponding interpretation, Jesus hike ups When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown along the path (Mat 13 19). Pavements, because they is too often packed so tightly, as well as finished in a manner evened and leveled, makes a good place for easy pickings for the birds (The Bible Church). If taken into the modern context, Jesus here may be argued to be referring to people who, farther from being ignorant, do not just give much aspect about their belief system or faith.Herein it makes sense to call these people as atheists people who, while not directly denying the earth of God, nevertheless do not make any assertion any(prenominal) about him or about the need to believe in Him (Gaudium et Spes 919). These are the types of people who manifest wholesale disinterestedness in asking questions about God or His precepts, since they fi nd it meaningless. And in many ways, there are a lot of people of this nature in the world of business enterprise.Among others, these people are the ones who do not feel chiefly accountable to a higher authority in conducting business. Surely, it is not surprising to hear of unethical practices being committed within workplaces. In fact, it is a commonly held assumption that the practice of business enterprise smacks of a dark side narcissism, greed, governmental ruthlessness and injustice perpetrated on employees (Schminke x).If these phenomena say something about the point in contention, it merely speaks of the manner by which the modern world itself, though not of its very nature but because it is too engrossed in the concerns of this world, can often make it harder to approach God (Gaudium et Spes 919). The Gospel proceeds another(prenominal) seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and right off they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the s un rose they were scorched and since they had no stem turn they withered away (Mat 13 5-6).In view of this description, Jesus ex marginals further As for what is sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the world, immediately he falls away (Mat 13 20-21). By right of observation, one can attest to the fact that rocky grounds are indeed overeat with small weeds. But since there is no place for a gay root system to develop, no plant ever grows from among the rocks (The Bible Church).The cited passage can be reinterpreted as a description referring to people who readily assume that faith is but a matter of cause exercise and conceptual frameworks. In modern society, there are a lot of people who, without knowing it, belong to this categorization. Suarez maintains that it is risky for believers to treat the truths of the Go spel as mere object of ingenious intellectual dissertations (as well as) of promising and polemical but superficial essays (2).For all its promises however, this type of attitude towards faith lacks breadth and depth, and ultimately, does not change ones behavior for the better. In the field of business, many people are exactly such type of believers. These happen when, despite being idealistic about doing things rightly in the first place, certain individuals start to trade off moral precepts demanded by religion such as honesty, justice, transparency and truth for certain self- seeking interests such as good name, promotions and sizeable profits, in the long run. miss of conviction breeds a kind of faith lacking with the courage of bear witness. And like someone who hears the Word of God but, apparently, does not listen, a person who cannot bear witness to the truths of the Gospels in his or her workplace surely is reluctant to practice what he or she so delightfully hears on account of the difficulties that arise with the obedience is demanded corollary to it (Suarez 4).By and by Jesus continues the parable And some fell among thorns and the thorns sprung up, and chocked them (Mat 137) and, explaining it further, He argues, He who have seed among thorns is he who heard the word but the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, fit the word, and he became unfruitful (Mat 1322). Immediately, one may rightly hypothesis that this categorization reflects, in many ways, the general atmosphere of modern society.In fact, Cardinal Hume firmly believes that the contemporary milieu is gripped with a controlling longing towards consumerism and materialism and, such unmistakable preponderance to what the world offers, endangers peoples faith as a consequence (61). To be sure, it is certainly not difficult to re-interpret this particular passage in the modern context of business enterprise for the plain reason that it is normative for nearly all types of business outfits to engage in trades that ensures growth and progress.Surely, such preeminent emphasis (which companies lay) on accruing profits has prodigious impacts in the peoples read employees belief and value systems. Put in other words, if the company puts higher premium than most on achieving worldly success, the people employed under are said to follow suit, without them even realizing it. Guy even contends that company traditions can creep into a persons normative judgments easily (47).And concretely, this happens when the company unreasonably demands from its employees their unqualified attention and time on account of the need to work for higher earnings and thereby not leaving them with space for their relational and spiritual needs. The results can therefore prove to be detrimental to the peoples faith for if many people would only when shrug off the need to attend to their spiritual needs, by verbalise that they just do not have the time for it, then there a re reasons to think that the many cares and snares of this world truly render Christian faith unprolific, if not meaningless altogether.Finally though, Jesus speaks of the Good news show to end the parable in an optimistic tone But the other seeds fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold (Mat 138). To such description, Jesus appends But he who received seed into the good ground is the one who heard the word, and understood it which withal bore fruit, and brought forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (Mat 1323).In here, Jesus parable reaches its climax it offers its central thesis namely, that the way towards a meaningful life lies in listening to what the Lord says, understanding the message thereof, and putting its lessons in ones life (Suarez 8). reading this aspect into the modern context of conducting business, and living in the world of business altogether, is surely not difficult to do. This is because t here are faithful Christians immersed, as they were, into the morally-adverse structure of business enterprise who still are able to scratch the presence of God right into their otherwise difficult situations.One may perhaps cite how many business ethicists believe that there are still a good number of employees feel that it pays off not resorting to malpractices at the expense of compromising opportunities to practice ethical and religious principles (Guy 22). For instance, it is not uncommon to hear of stories involving high-profiled dissenters and whistleblowers who tried to rectify incidences of corruption, fraud or thieving in their workplaces.Even when their decision to come out into the open comes with a high price e. g. eing frowned upon by colleagues, or worse, losing their jobs ultimately these exemplary people have shown exactly how one should practice the mandate of the Gospel and seek Gods ways in every moments of life. People who act ethically and observe religio us precepts faithfully in workplaces too often show the world what faith in God truly means. For faith, as the learned John Constantino writes, deals with the nature of God, with the essence of spirituality, and with the quintessential manifestation of that spirituality in our day-to-day lives (4).Conclusion By way of conclusion, this paper ends with a thought that affirms the tenability of re-appropriating the Parable of the Sower into the lives of modern people, who spend much of their times in their respective workplaces. In the first place, it was learned that the parable can lend an insightful thought which affirms the universal character of Gods call to salvation i. e. , God sows the seed of salvation to all types of environment, even those like the business environments that may appear to be adverse to persons religious and spiritual ideals.In the succeeding discussions which were developed, it was likewise seen that Jesus description on the four types of soils can be taken as analogical references to the four types of attitudes that may be exercised in the workplace. But in the final analysis, the paper also affirms the fact that modern Christians are called to emulate the seed that fell into the good soil, and thereby put into practice the truths that are found in the Scriptures itself.