Matthew 13:3-9
Jesus told the people many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away.
Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. If you have ears, hear!”
Last week if you recall, we talked about telling stories as a means to link people’s lived experience with a moral or ethical point being taught. This was a tool Jesus would use many times in his attempts to explain the workings of God’s kingdom.
We’re still in the 13th chapter of Matthew’s gospel, where previously we heard Jesus explain just why he told stories. The subject matter of this story or parable, would have been entirely familiar to most of his listeners if they heard just the part that I read at the beginning today. These were not folks who just ran by the grocery store to pick up the things that fed them. They might not personally grow every grain or every fruit they ate, but they lived closer to the earth than most of us do today and they certainly knew where those things came from and how they came to be. They knew the difficulties in getting seed to successfully ‘take’ and produce crops in a dry and rocky land.
But Jesus then went a little deeper hoping they could hear the intended meaning of his words, when, after a few more verses, he came back to explain this parable. He was not, after all, truly talking about agriculture, but people.
Seed sown on a pathway, trodden hard by many feet passing over it is like the word of God’s kingdom in an unprepared heart. There is seed and there is soil but the seed cannot penetrate the soil, it simply lands on the surface – going no deeper. It lies there unsheltered, open to being casually blown away by wind, or picked off by birds. The seed was good, but the soil wasn’t ready or able to receive it.
Seed sown on rocky ground, is when someone hears the word with great enthusiasm and tries to take it in, but never having been properly prepared themselves basically has no ‘root’ to anchor new growth, and the word withers away for lack of nourishment.
And seed sown among thorns? These are the ones who hear the word well, but the cares of the world, or perhaps the lures of wealth choke God’s word with their own neediness, and it ends up yielding nothing.
But as for what was sown on good soil – soil that has been prepared and nourished and waits, ready to receive the seed, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, and the fruit of this seed, in this soil, grows and blossoms and multiplies a hundred-fold.
So, the question I have is: What kind of soil are we? Are we ready and prepared to hear God’s words spoken to God’s beloveds? Are we open to receiving the seeds sown around and in us, or is the soil of our hearts and minds packed hard against any new word getting in? What about the rocks and thorns of fear and anger, mistrust and disinterest? Do they choke out any chance of the word finding fertile ground in us?
I’m not speaking just about what is printed in our Bibles. That’s not the only “word of God.” I mean every one of the many, many ways God speaks with us – through prayer and study and worship – or through the sweetness of a freshly picked fig, the freshness of rain on a dry land, the laughter of a child – or that deep joy we occasionally feel, out of nowhere – a joy we somehow know is shared with Someone, Something, far beyond us, while at the same time, being right here with us. These are all ways God speaks to us.
And then there is a second question for us to ponder: When we have received a word, a “seed”, what do we do with it--what have we done in the past?
Have you noticed that every word from God appears to require a response of some sort? The word might be something like “Don’t worry. I’m here and I love you” – something that doesn’t seem to require any answer but “Thank you”, and our grateful acceptance and maybe a small shift in how we approach the world.
Or it might be something immense seeming like, “Jonah, go to Nineveh, and tell the people there to repent.” To which, as you may recall, Jonah’s first response was “nope, not happening.” We all know that Jonah ended up in Nineveh anyway doing what God wanted. That, too, was a response – just not the one Jonah thought he was giving.
I’ve referred in the past to God in this story as the Extravagant Sower, tossing the seeds of love and knowledge around everywhere in the hopes that some will land on fertile ground in our minds and hearts. Perhaps we could pay a bit more attention.
Sowing and receiving seed is not a one-way deal – it’s a conversation.
We’re still in the 13th chapter of Matthew’s gospel, where previously we heard Jesus explain just why he told stories. The subject matter of this story or parable, would have been entirely familiar to most of his listeners if they heard just the part that I read at the beginning today. These were not folks who just ran by the grocery store to pick up the things that fed them. They might not personally grow every grain or every fruit they ate, but they lived closer to the earth than most of us do today and they certainly knew where those things came from and how they came to be. They knew the difficulties in getting seed to successfully ‘take’ and produce crops in a dry and rocky land.
But Jesus then went a little deeper hoping they could hear the intended meaning of his words, when, after a few more verses, he came back to explain this parable. He was not, after all, truly talking about agriculture, but people.
Seed sown on a pathway, trodden hard by many feet passing over it is like the word of God’s kingdom in an unprepared heart. There is seed and there is soil but the seed cannot penetrate the soil, it simply lands on the surface – going no deeper. It lies there unsheltered, open to being casually blown away by wind, or picked off by birds. The seed was good, but the soil wasn’t ready or able to receive it.
Seed sown on rocky ground, is when someone hears the word with great enthusiasm and tries to take it in, but never having been properly prepared themselves basically has no ‘root’ to anchor new growth, and the word withers away for lack of nourishment.
And seed sown among thorns? These are the ones who hear the word well, but the cares of the world, or perhaps the lures of wealth choke God’s word with their own neediness, and it ends up yielding nothing.
But as for what was sown on good soil – soil that has been prepared and nourished and waits, ready to receive the seed, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, and the fruit of this seed, in this soil, grows and blossoms and multiplies a hundred-fold.
So, the question I have is: What kind of soil are we? Are we ready and prepared to hear God’s words spoken to God’s beloveds? Are we open to receiving the seeds sown around and in us, or is the soil of our hearts and minds packed hard against any new word getting in? What about the rocks and thorns of fear and anger, mistrust and disinterest? Do they choke out any chance of the word finding fertile ground in us?
I’m not speaking just about what is printed in our Bibles. That’s not the only “word of God.” I mean every one of the many, many ways God speaks with us – through prayer and study and worship – or through the sweetness of a freshly picked fig, the freshness of rain on a dry land, the laughter of a child – or that deep joy we occasionally feel, out of nowhere – a joy we somehow know is shared with Someone, Something, far beyond us, while at the same time, being right here with us. These are all ways God speaks to us.
And then there is a second question for us to ponder: When we have received a word, a “seed”, what do we do with it--what have we done in the past?
Have you noticed that every word from God appears to require a response of some sort? The word might be something like “Don’t worry. I’m here and I love you” – something that doesn’t seem to require any answer but “Thank you”, and our grateful acceptance and maybe a small shift in how we approach the world.
Or it might be something immense seeming like, “Jonah, go to Nineveh, and tell the people there to repent.” To which, as you may recall, Jonah’s first response was “nope, not happening.” We all know that Jonah ended up in Nineveh anyway doing what God wanted. That, too, was a response – just not the one Jonah thought he was giving.
I’ve referred in the past to God in this story as the Extravagant Sower, tossing the seeds of love and knowledge around everywhere in the hopes that some will land on fertile ground in our minds and hearts. Perhaps we could pay a bit more attention.
Sowing and receiving seed is not a one-way deal – it’s a conversation.
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