Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 13 (The Parables of the Sower, the Weeds, the Mustard Seed, the Yeast, the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl, the Net; A Prophet Without Honor)
The same day, Jesus went out of the house
and, by the lake, sat. Gathered such large crowds
around him that he got into a boat
and sat in it, while folks stood on the shore.
Then, many things in parables, he told
them, saying: “Out, a farmer went to sow
his seed. As, his seed, he was scattering,
some fell along the path, and the birds came
and ate it up. Some on those places fell,
the rocky ones with insufficient soil.
It sprang up at a quickened pace because
the soil was shallow. But when up, the sun
came, all the plants were scorched, their roots weren’t deep,
because of that, they withered. Other seed
fell ‘mongst the thorns, which grew up, choked the plants.
Still other seed fell on good soil where it
produced a crop — at harvest time, its yield?
A hundred, sixty, thirty times, that field
where each seed planted was the increase seen.
Whoe’er has ears to hear, now let them hear.”
Disciples, his, came to him and inquired:
“Why, to the people, do you speak this way,
in slanted parables, the things you say?”
Replied he, “‘Cause what to you has been giv’n,
the secret knowledge of the kingdom, heav’n’s,
but not to them. Whoe’er has, given more,
they’ll be, and an abundance in their stores
what they will have. Whoever does not have,
e’en what they have, from it, they’ll be deprived.
In parables, I speak to them, that’s why:
“‘Though seeing, even then, they have no sight;
though hearing, they don’t hear or understand.
“Fulfilled, Isaiah’s prophecy in them:
“‘Ne’er understanding though you e’er will hear,
perceiving not despite that you e’er peer.
For calloused has this people’s heart become,
they hardly hear, with their ears, any sound,
they’ve closed their eyes or otherwise they’d see
with their eyes, and with their ears, sound, receive,
and, understanding, have inside their heart,
and turn and I would heal them!’ But blessed are
your eyes because they see, your ears because
they hear. For truly I tell you their want,
how many prophets, righteous people longed
to see what you see but, see it, did not,
to hear what you heard, but hear it, did not.
“Then listen to the sower’s parable,
its meaning: anyone, when they, hear, will,
the message of the kingdom and who does
not understand it, comes, the evil one,
and snatches ‘way, inside their heart, sown, that.
This is the seed, was sown along the path.
The seed, on rocky ground, where it had fell,
refers to someone who, the word, hear, will,
and they at once receive it with great joy
but briefly last, with no roots to employ.
When trouble, persecution, ‘cause the word,
comes to them, they, quick, fall away, disperse.
The seed that falls ‘mongst thorns, about him spoke,
who hears the word, but to him, it is choked,
the word, by worries of this life, and too,
of wealth, by its deceitfulness, no fruit
that he’ll bear. But on good soil, falling there,
the seed refers to someone who has heard
the word and understands it. This is who,
the one, a crop, with bounty, will produce,
a hundred, sixty, thirty times the food,
compared to what was sown, is that, its yield
Another parable then Jesus told:
“The kingdom, heaven, of, is like a man
who in his field sowed good seed. Everyone,
while they were sleeping, came, his enemy
and sowed some weeds among the wheat, its seeds,
and went away. When, sprouted up, the wheat,
the weeds appeared right by the wheat, it’s heads.
The owner’s servants came to him and said:
“‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field?
Form where, then, did all of these weeds arise?’
“‘An enemy did this,’ how he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to
go pull them up?’ He answered, ‘Don’t, that, do,
because while you are pulling up the weeds
with them you may as well uproot the wheat.
Let them, together, grow till harvesting.
Then I will tell the harvesters these things:
First, them, collect, to bundles, tie, the weeds,
them to be burned; then gather up the wheat
and to my barn is where, it, they should bring.’”
Another parable, yet, told them, he:
“The kingdom, heaven, of, a mustard seed,
is like that which a man took to his field
and planted there. Though out of all the seeds,
it is the smallest, yet, still when it grows,
the largest of its plants the garden knows,
becomes a tree, so that, can come, the birds
and in its branches, they can find a perch.”
Again, a parable, then told them, he:
“The kingdom, heaven, of, is like some yeast
a woman took and mixed the yeast into
‘bout sixty pounds of flour until, it, through,
worked, all the dough.” These things, all, Jesus, spoke,
in parables, the crowd, to; he’d not quote
aught to them but except through parables.
What, spoken by the prophet, this fulfilled:
“I’ll open up my mouth and utter thoughts
in parables, things that were hid from sight,
since the creation of the world, forgot.”
Then he, the crowd, left, went, the house, inside.
Disciples, his, came to him and inquired:
“Explain to us, the parable, the weeds,
those of the field.” This how he answerèd:
“The Son of Man, the one who sowed good seed.
The field’s the world, the seed I said is good,
for people of the kingdom does it stand.
The people of the evil one, the weeds,
the devil sowing them, the enemy.
The harvest is the ending of the age,
the harvesters are angels. As the weeds
are pulled and they are burned up in the flames,
the ending of the age, so it will be.
His angels will the Son of Man dispatch,
they’ll weed his kingdom out, they will extract
from it all things that ever would cause sin,
and all who, evil, do, they will throw them
into the blazing furnace where there’ll be
much weeping and, too, gnashing of the teeth.
Then will the righteous shine out like the sun,
the kingdom of their Father, where that’s done.
Whoe’er has ears, let them hear, understand.
“The kingdom, heaven, of, in a field, is,
like treasure hidden. When a man found it,
again, he hid it, in his joy, expressed,
he then went out and sold all he possessed
and bought that field. Again, what it is like,
the kingdom, heaven, of: for pearls, those fine,
a merchant looking for them. When he finds
one of great value, he will go away,
sell all he has to buy it that same day.
“The kingdom, heaven, of, is once again,
just like a net let down into the lake
and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full,
up on the shore, the fishermen, it, pulled.
Then they sat down collecting the good fish
in baskets, but, the bad, they threw away.
How it’ll be, the ending of the age.
The angels will come and they’ll separate
the wicked from the righteous, thrown away,
into the blazing furnace, where they’ll be
much weeping also gnashing of the teeth.
“Have you, all of these things, now understood?”
asked Jesus. “Yes,” how they replied, him, to.
He said to them, “Therefore, each teacher of
the law who a disciple, has become,
of heaven, in the kingdom, is like one,
the owner of a house who brings out from
his storeroom, treasures, new, old, too, he’s brung.”
When Jesus, with these parables, was done
moved on from there, he. Then to his hometown,
on coming there, to teach, what he began,
the people in their synagogue, and they
were all amazed. “Where did this man obtain
this wisdom and these pow’rs, miraculous?”
they asked. “Ain’t this the carpenter’s son, just?
Is not his mother Mary and aren’t they
his brothers, Judas, Simon, Joseph, James?
Aren’t all his sisters with us here, this place?
Where then did this man get all of these things?”
And they, offense, took of him, words that sting.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is
not without honor but except in his
own town, and in his home where he resides.”
And there performed, he, fewer miracles
because their faith in him was minimal.
T.H. Chalm 