In Matthew’s Gospel, we encounter a number of parables that are intended to describe the inbreaking of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus is announcing. The first of these parables is the Parable of the Sower, found in Matthew 13:1-23. In this parable, Jesus instructs his disciples to hear, understand, and the bear fruit—meaning that they should listen to Jesus and act accordingly. As the Kingdom of Heaven arrives through Jesus, we join in the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount: that God’s kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. These parables teach us that God’s reality, God’s kingdom, is truly arriving in the person of Jesus, and we can join in bringing this kingdom to bear in our world.