“When we think of the parables Jesus told, the parable of the prodigal son and the good Samaritan come quickly to mind. My hunch is the parable of the sower would be third on our list. Recorded in both Mark and Matthew, this parable is not only one we remember but also one of the few parables to which our Lord gave an interpretation. In case you are already saying to yourself, “Heard that, know that, thank you very much,” I dare you to listen again. You might just hear another twist on this old story.”[1]
So according to one
commentary I read the farmer puts his seed in his sack and heads out to the
field and starts to sow his seed. “In those days, farmers broadcast seed across
a field before plowing. That’s right; seed was first sown, and then gently plowed
into the ground. You might find it interesting that this methodology is being
reclaimed today by farmers wanting to better care for God’s earth. “No-till”
corn is quite the rage in parts of the Midwest. Using refined technology, a
farmer can sow and cultivate a corn crop without deep-plowing the field.”[2]
So this farmer broadcast
his precious seed, some fell on a well-worn path cut by foot traffic through
the fallow field. Ok I am not a farmer I
had to look up fallow means ...It is a plowed then roughly smoothed out field
often left to rest for a season or seasons to allow for a recovery period. When
the fields were left fallow for a while foot travelers would cut walking paths
through the fields, taking the shortest distance between two points. Fencing was
rarely if ever used in the first century. So some seed landed on the path. And
when it did, the birds quickly enjoyed lunch.
Other seeds, said Jesus,
fell on rocky ground. Because there was little soil there, the seedlings sprang
up quickly and then withered under the scorching sun. Thorns choked off other
seeds, denying them the light of day and the promise of their bounty. Finally,
some seed fell on good ground and brought forth a bumper crop yielding thirty,
sixty, even a hundredfold. Jesus ended the story admonishing all to listen;
listen carefully, deeply, thoughtfully. Listen! Listen Spiritually.
When Jesus says listen
this is a soul thing. This is not meant
to be heard and decide you know the meaning and move on. It means to analyze the story with your soul.
Who or what are you in this story. Can
you see yourself as the farmer? Can you
see yourself as the land? What is unexpected in this story is there more than
the explanation given?
Some time passes.
Probably alone with his disciples, Jesus gave an interpretation to this beloved
parable that has endured through the ages. Many believe that our Lord’s explanation
of the parable, as representing various kinds of people, is the only interpretation
though Jesus explains one meaning there could be more.
Timothy Owens writes “What
if, as I believe, this parable has, can have, and even must have many meanings
to it? As with all our Lord’s parables, the key is to listen and let the word
take root in our lives.
I have another take on
this great story; a twist to the text I invite you to consider. What if the
parable could be applied with equal power to every individual life, to everyone
who listens? If that is so, all of our lives have worn, rocky, thorny, and yes,
good soil in which seed can germinate and grow. What if this parable is about
you and me? If so, what is God saying to us? If your life is like mine, you
know how daily living creates well-worn paths. We call them ruts. We drive to
and from work using the same route day after day. We shop at the same grocery
store, fill our tanks at the same convenience store, thankfully attend the same
church, and, more times than not, feed our families predictable menus of foods
we know they will eat and enjoy. Routines are often required, but sometimes in our
relationship with God, routines can become ruts. We can attend church week
after week, hear the scriptures read (like this familiar parable), sing
familiar hymns, go through the church routine, and in so doing, give the good
seed God sows us to the birds of indifference. Trust me. It happens and may be
happening even now. Truth be told, God’s seed also falls on the rocky places of
our lives. Life, by definition, can leave us cold, sharp, soilless, and rough.
Pain, the cruelty of insensitive friends, and the crude comments of strangers
can leave us lifeless and unmoved, rocks void of God’s bounty. Thorns pop up in
our life’s ground as well. None of us intend to succumb to the cutting
brutality of thorns, but there they are, choking out God’s blessings, robbing
us of God’s promise.”[3]
But thanks be to God,
some seed falls on good ground. When it does, the miracle of germination,
cultivation, nourishment, sunshine, rain, and care yield a generous harvest no
one thought was possible. It happens in all our lives in ways that leave us
speechless. I am thinking today of countless individuals through the years who
have started to tell me a story with these words: “You’ll never believe what
happened to me today.” Or, “I had no idea God could take what I did and use it
to bless another’s life.” Tell your story. Look back and see all the times God
sowed good seed on the good ground of your soul, and from that small beginning
came a generous harvest that still leaves you amazed. Here is the needed twist
in this old, old story. Yes, there will always be people who are worn out,
rocky, wasted, and yes, good. But the gospel reminds us there is far more good
in all of us in which God’s grace can take root than any of us imagine.”[4]
All manner of ground exists in the fields that
are our lives. So in some ways we need
to clear out our own rocky ness, till our own worn out pathways and then seek
out and trim our thorny parts. You know. This is spiritual work. This is paying Attention to what is happening
in our lives and exploring ourselves so weed out was is blocking us from
connecting with our faith in healthy ways.
I would add That we need
to pay attention to the sower in this
story as well. Does the sower stop to
discern where he is tossing the seed. If the seed is the word of God. If Jesus is the sower and this message of his we
are now commissioned to be responsible for then we must act as the farmer did
in this story.
Do you see where I am
going with this? We are called to walk
the path of Christ, we are called to serve our neighbors and the world with
abundant grace and extravagant welcome.
This means going out there and participating in projects we know Christ
would call us to do. This means for
example, setting up a table at the progressive fair. Letting the world, well
Petaluma, know we are still here. We are
Gods people and we have a message to share.
That message needs to be
shared and shared just as
indiscriminately as the farmer sowed her seed.
She scattered it afield and waited.
Waited to see what would grow. In
the same way we need to participate in our community and with each event with
each opportunity to serve we must not only serve but let people know who we
are. Who we are as a community. That we are working to bring forth this
radical message of an all loving inclusive God.
You see you say it over
and over and over again and you offer that welcome that invitation over and
over and again and eventually something will grow, someone will say yes. I want to be a part of that. But you have to
be persistent, you must not and cannot be picky about who you might be brave
enough to speak to. Sometimes it may
mean you might seem annoying to a person and at another time it may be the most
needed invitation someone needs to hear.
We have people who come
to the church seeking help. Sometimes
it’s for food, sometimes for gas, sometimes for rent, sometimes it’s for prayer
and or just to talk to someone. Most time we will never see them again and
other times they maybe a regular visitor seeking assistance. Sometimes I we may be conned most of the
times I suspect not. It doesn’t matter I
treat them all the same. I offer what resources I can, I offer prayer and I
always invite them to join us on Sunday.
The results of those
encounters I honestly cannot say. That’s
not the point we do not share our gifts, our ministries to see results. We share our ministries and resources because
that is what we are called to do. As you may recall the farmer scattered the
seed. It falls where it will but on the occasion that it falls in the right
place the yield was a hundred-fold, in another sixty-fold and still another
thirty. I hear this part of Jesus parable and I hear …do not worry about the
results.
This is about hearing
Gods call to care for our brothers and sisters spreading Gods message of
all-inclusive love to all we encounter and using words if we must. Through that
indiscriminate ministry we are sowing seeds and some, just some may flourish.
So again, I am asking you
when you leave this place. In your
spiritual practice and prayer life pray for this congregational and the
community around you. Where are we being
called to sow the seeds of Love. Where
do we need to be more active in our community?
Do we need a mission trip? Do we
need to sign up for a habitat project?
Do we need to reach out to our neighbor churches and see if there is
something we can do together for we are stronger together than as one little
congregation? Hold these ideas in prayer
and remember this is your congregation, your church, let’s make it yours.
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