The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost ----- 16 July 2017

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 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. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!"

18 "Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." 

Listen! A sower went out to sow.

• -        I must confess right now that I am uncomfortable preaching on the Gospel reading this week. Among you today are people who know so much more than I do about planting, seeds, crops, and harvesting. Me… I grew an African violet once. I’ve bailed hay and I’ve cut grass. I even set a tractor on fire once, but that’s a story for another time… or maybe never.
• -        Well, anyway. In telling this parable, Jesus used images familiar to a farming society. Sowing, reaping, weeds, and birds are still with us today; that’s why this parable still makes sense.
• -        There are problems however. Really now, what farmer of sense would sow seeds everywhere like our parable’s farmer? On the footpath? On the rocks? Among the weeds and thorns? Makes you wonder if the guy can see what he’s doing. After all seed costs money and who would waste it?
• -        Jesus does explain the parable to his disciples, telling them what the birds, the hot sun, and the weeds and thorns mean. That’s all pretty straight-forward and we can all translate these figures into our lives as they are today.
• -        For better or worse, the birds stand in for “the evil one” and all the direct challenges to the Gospel that we hear daily fill that role just fine, as could our human desire for novelty. The rocky ground and the growth without roots sound a lot like people who don’t find what they think they need in the Gospel and wander off, often to sprout and grow and fade again and again in other places. The growth choked out by weeds plays the part of those whose concern is focused on success and (dare I say?) greed or maybe on the more ordinary cares that any of us might find in life – health and the catch-all of “things-we-gotta-do.”
• -        What remains is the image of God as a rather foolish sower who throws seed indiscriminately on whatever soil presents itself. That strange image alone is a recurring image of grace. We might forget that seed is planted every year. Who knows what the ground might be like by next planting time? Since we’re using this image for the grace of God, we are assured that there will be a “next time.”
• -        We can say that it is only the power and grace of God that can overcome all the obstacles the world introduces into our lives, whether those obstacles are despair and cynicism, our hunger for new things or easy answers, the ease of becoming very, very busy (and congratulating ourselves for it) or the curse of greed for so many things – whether worthwhile or not – that we can fill our lives with.
• -        Through all this, the farmer continues to throw seed at places we might see as unlikely or ridiculous or against the odds. We’d best remember that we’re not talking about farming or gardening, but the word of the Kingdom. When it come to the Word of the Kingdom, Jesus has it in abundance and has no need to store it up or save it.
• -        The parable shows that Jesus understands what the Word and the Kingdom are up against and how difficult it can be for people to hear and take the Word to heart.
• -        What we continually talk about here in this place is grace and when talking about grace, it isn’t the difficulties or the odds against it that are the topics. It’s about the abundance of grace and the persistence of the one who rains grace upon everyone, the good and the bad. Grace rains without stopping and if it’s a flood, then it is a flood of the love of God and it is by grace that we are saved.
• -        The seed is sown again and again and it will bear fruit. It isn’t for us to decide where the seed will fall or how much fruit it will bear. All we can do is be grateful.
• But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.