The actions of the farmer in Jesus’ first story seem somewhat outrageous. There is a carelessness about his scattering of seed, a lavishness that does not bode well in view of all the potential hazards to the harvest. Perhaps because plowing was done after sowing, the farmer’s actions would not seem as strange to an ancient audience as to moderns. For any audience, however, there is a sense of waste and risk: birds take their toll; weeds will prove troublesome; hidden rocks and paltry soil will impose