To Reveal and Conceal!

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Ex 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b; Mt 13:10-17

Today’s Gospel explains the purpose of parables. 

By looking at parables, the beautiful stories, one may easily conclude that the parables are meant to enlighten people. While we may not be wrong, we are also called to embrace the fact that Jesus also used the parables to conceal their meaning from the hard-hearted. Those who refuse to respond in faith do not get to discover the meaning behind parables. 

The twin purposes of parables should not be confusing to us. What Jesus says about parables can be compared to a work of art. A painting may speak to us, though without revealing its full meaning at first glance. This is why we all have different explanations for the same painting. Hence, we cannot but ask, ‘If an artist has something to say, why not say it in a less ambiguous way?’ Here is where we are called to remember the famous Latin proverb: ‘Quidquid recipitur, ad modum recipientis recipitur’ (‘Whatever is received, is received according to the manner of the receiver).

While underlining the need for spiritual receptivity to understand the Divine Revelation that takes place through the parables, Jesus also makes openness and generosity necessary preconditions for grasping their meaning. In this way, Jesus suggests that our response has to match God’s generous initiative. For Jesus, our eager willingness to accept divinely revealed truths is the only way to honor God’s initiative to enlighten us on spiritual truths. 

Jesus helps us realize that parables are earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.

Let us pray that we may be spiritually awake to perceive and understand the daily revelations that come from God. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar