The passage from the first reading describes the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel to God. Using the language of imagery, Jeremiah states that the crimes of the Israelites against God are two-fold. Firstly, they abandoned God who is the source of living water and secondly, they have chosen pagan gods who are described as "broken cisterns that hold no water" and, as such, cannot be depended upon.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples that the gift of understanding is given to them but not to others. Since the others fail to see and hear Jesus' plain teaching about the kingdom, he is forced to use the mysterious speech of the parables. The spiritual disposition of the disciples make them capable of seeing and understanding the parables, while the others remain incapable of doing so. Because of this, most people are not capable of allowing the seed, God's word, to bear fruit in their lives.

Often, God speaks to us in a variety of ways, even in mysterious ways. However, because we may be so busy or spiritually indisposed, we fail to listen to his voice. We may, therefore, remain incapable of seeing and understanding his message to us. And when we cease to listen to God's voice, we may turn our hearts away from him towards those things that cannot be depended upon. As a result, God's word does not bear fruit in our lives.