You’re probably familiar with “two kinds of people” jokes.  One of my favorites is, “There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary computer code and those who don’t. 

The humor of “two kinds of people” jokes is derived from the common assessment that there are, in fact, two kinds of people in the world: good people and bad people.  This common observation appears numerous times in the Scriptures and other religious texts. 

In Deuteronomy 11:26-28, the observation that there are two kinds of people is described as some people receiving “a blessing” and others receiving “a curse” from following the Ten Commandments.  In Ecclesiastes chapters 20 and 21, the two kinds of people are described as “the wise and the foolish.”  The Didache, an ancient Christian text, describes “the Two Ways,” namely, the Way that leads to God and the way that leads away from God.  Ignatian spirituality uses the terminology of “the two Standards.”  Jesus offered several descriptions of the two kinds of people; one of those descriptions is contained in our Gospel reading today. 

Jesus said that the parable of the sower and the seed is to be understood in the way that the prophet Isaiah understood his vocational call. (Is 6:1-10)  God called Isaiah to preach God’s word by means of a vision in which Isaiah was brought to the heavenly court and purified with fire from the heavenly Temple.  Then, Isaiah was warned that the Israelites would reject the word of God that Isaiah was commissioned to preach.  Jesus experienced the same thing in his ministry; some people accepted his preaching, but many rejected it. 

In the Gospel, the “two kinds of people” are those who accept God’s Word and those who reject it.  In order that we might understand properly what constitutes good and bad, Jesus says that being good requires one to avoid sin, to remain faithful during suffering and persecution, and to avoid self-serving behavior. (Mt 13:19-22)  Then, Jesus appears to add a clarification to his definition of a good person; he seems to indicate that there are gradations of goodness and faithfulness. 

Scripture interpreters disagree about whether the “hundred or sixty or thirty-fold” harvests represent different classes of people. (Mt 13:8)  It is possible that these details were intended only to add interest to the story, but it might also be the case that the three sizes of harvests are intended as contrasts to the three classes of bad people identified in the parable. 

The parable says that some people are prevented from understanding the Word of God because of sin in their lives. (Mt 13:19)  As the primary definition of sin in the Scriptures is a lack of faith in the One, True God, this first class of bad people is the worst of the worst because they have rejected God.  The second group of bad people identified in the parable are those who have insufficient faith and consequently, are not able to withstand suffering and persecution. (Mt 13:20-21)  These begin the life of faith but fail to persevere to the end because of an inability to trust God completely.  The third group of bad people are those who accept the Word of redemption but allow “worldly anxiety and the lure of riches” to prevent them from progressing in the life of faith. (Mt 13:22)  Having begun the life of faith, these switch their allegiance from God to self. 

The three classes of bad people contrast directly with the three classes of harvest that Jesus refers to in his explanation of the parable.  In the order they appear in the parable, the hundred-fold contrasts with the faithless, the sixty-fold contrasts with the weak in faith, and the thirty-fold contrasts with the pious-but-selfish.  If the three sizes of harvest correspond to three classes of good people, there arises immediately a question about why the two groups of weaker faith (the sixty-fold and thirty-fold), are still worthy to be included in the group of “good” people.  I’d like to offer some speculation on this topic. 

First, in order to understand the two classes of those with weak faith as being good despite their failings, it is necessary to understand faithful religious practice as something entirely different from a business transaction with God.  In our culture, this might require some effort.  Heaven, salvation, and forgiveness of sins are very often perceived as personal benefits that one can obtain by means of religious devotion.  This perspective is not Catholicism; it is consumerism.  In order to understand what the Scriptures say about belief in God, one must understand faith as a relationship in which one promises fidelity and God promises mercy.  In Catholicism, salvation is not a personal benefit; it is the state of being faithful to God.  Therefore, the first requirement for understanding Jesus’ various classes of good people is to avoid being in the third class by avoiding the detriment to faith that is selfishness. 

Second, to understand how goodness can be legitimate and still exist in gradations, one must have a right understanding of God’s nature.  I can’t count the times that I’ve heard people complain, “How can a good and loving God allow me/my loved one/the people around me to suffer?”.  These complaints are the result of confusing God with the world.  Physical evil (suffering, pain, loss, death, etc.) is the result of the finite nature of the world.  Physical evil is not punishment from God or the result of God’s negligence; it is simply the consequence of the fact that the world is not perfect.  The world is not perfect because the world is not God; therefore, one should never confuse the two.  The second requirement for seeing gradations of legitimate goodness in people is to avoid being in the sixty-fold harvest; this is done by seeing the fundamental difference between God and God’s creatures. 

At this point, it should be obvious that the third requirement for understanding this parable is to do what is necessary to be in the hundred-fold harvest.  This, however, is easier said than done.  Being truly good requires more than wanting it or wishing it.  Being God’s hundred-fold harvest requires one to be good and do good, not for any reward or personal gain, but simply because one loves the Good. 

Some people are attracted to goodness because it seems better than evil.  Others attempt goodness because it is more trustworthy than evil.  Still others are good because they live every moment aware of eternal Goodness.  All three classes are good people, and all three receive God’s mercy.  Only one group is able to recognize the nature of God’s mercy: the hundred-fold harvest, those who receive God’s mercy as freely and lovingly as God gives it.