Jesus’ parables are treasure troves of insight and knowledge. For the first hearers, they may have been difficult to comprehend. And not always just for the first hearers! While John doesn’t include Jesus’ parables, in John 9 we can see the parable of the soils acted out in the characters and groups engaged in a battle over the healing of the man. The word, Jesus himself, has been thrown into their midst. What will they do with him? How do they respond? Indeed, these are the same questions we should ask ourselves, and daily: What will we do with Jesus? How do we respond to his commands and his presence? Let us briefly examine our own soil this morning!