The Sower and the Seed
The parables of Jesus were spontaneous and unrehearsed. They were spoken on the spur of the moment. It was as if Jesus looked around, saw a sower at work, and that became the focus of his lesson.
This woman, carrying her basket of seeds, is casting them on the ground, and the sweep of her arm is extensive. In the parable, some of those seeds fell upon the path that had been trodden by many bare feet. That hard ground was unreceptive, the grain lay on the surface, and the birds, which we see hovering above and around the sower, were quick to devour the seeds.
To the left of the sower's head is rocky ground, where the soil was shallow. The seeds sprouted quickly, but soon wilted in the heat of the sun because there was no depth to sustain them.
At the foot of the sower is a thorn bush. Some seeds fell among the thorns which grew up and choked the plants so that nothing materialized.
But some seed fell on fertile ground where it germinated and grew and matured to provide a crop worthy of harvest.
Notice in the picture of the full window that the seeds are carried across the width of the window. Similarly, the action of sharing of God's love and grace is beyond measure.