This reflection was delivered at Christ Episcopal Church in Yankton, South Dakota on July 21, 2020
Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the 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. Let anyone with ears listen!”
“Hear then the parable of the sower. 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. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 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. 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. 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.”
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
+In the Name of our Life-giving God+
The Parable of the Sower is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke with very little variance in their telling. In all three, the seed is linked to what Matthew identifies as “word of the kingdom.”
In this parable, Jesus is talking about something rather specific when referring to the word of the Kingdom; that it is at hand, that it is very near to us, and that it is all around us. In this sense word of the kingdom is about awakening us to its existence, awakening us to its rule.
How this seed, this word, is thrown about rather flagrantly reminds me of today’s messaging, texting, or twittering.
Generally, in Jesus’ parables one can readily identify with various characters or situations within the parable. The only specific character portrayed in this parable is that of the sower, the one sending the message, the person who has the word of the Kingdom and is throwing it out there; much the same way people who post things on social media throw things out there without knowing, or for that matter, without caring who is on the receiving end of that message.
Before going further, let us consider the word about the kingdom. Another word that is used and preferred by some biblical scholars is to speak of this kingdom as the realm (the rule) of God; which is not about a conquest of the things and people, but rather a conversion of the individual’s heart; a transfiguration of it that sees the importance of loving one’s enemy, of loving one’s neighbor, and of loving one’s self.
The one rule or law in God’s kingdom is that we love one another. This seed contains a desire to actively love by addressing the needs of others; particularly, the poor, the homeless, the rejected, and the outcast. That is the potential contained in this seeded word.
Big things come in small packages, as the saying goes. Further along in Matthew 13, Jesus likens the Kingdom to a mustard seed that is being sown. What is interesting about his choice of the mustard seed is that the middle eastern variety of mustard has a seed considered to be one of the smallest in the world, but which can grow into a tree or a large rambling bush.
When we hear Kingdom we think big, but when Jesus talks about the Kingdom he starts with the very small, with a mustard seed. Seeds are about potential. Every seed contains a power, an inherent will, and a cosmic desire to grow exponentially. But for seed to grow, the conditions must be right, and this is where Jesus’ parable of the sower literally gets down to earth and starts talking about the soil of the soul; the core of one’s life, the place where the seed of God’s Kingdom has the best chance to release its potential and take root in a person’s life.
Jesus presents a series of scenarios for us to consider, both from the perspective of the messenger and from the perspective of the recipient of the message. As mentioned earlier, the messenger’s job is to spread this word-seed; to get it out there. In agricultural terms of today, the idea is not to waste seed like corn, soy beans, or wheat but to target its deployment for the best yield.
When it comes to spreading the word-seed on the field of humanity, however, one can’t tell what type of condition it is going to land on. When it comes to us humans, one can’t tell the condition of another person’s soul by what one sees or hears. The only thing you can do as the messenger is throw this word-seed out there freely and flagrantly.
A large part of this parable has Jesus describing the various conditions in which the word-seed is received. In his explanation of this parable, one cannot help but hear an implicit question Jesus poses to his disciples as to whether any of these conditions are applicable to them, and by extension, to us.
Where do I fit in on the spectrum of receptivity?
Am I clueless with regard to what I have received in the word-seed?
Do I get it? Do I even care?
Am I one of those who likes good news; am happy to receive it, but find it wiped out by everything that is going on around me?
Am I the one who get the message but then gets distracted by my own problems and all things that glitter, or am I the type that nurtures the message, find that it has taken root in my being, has become a part of who I am and feel motivated to share it?
Am I seeing this word-seed produce results in my life and in the lives of those around me?
If we want to become sowers of this word-seed, we must nurture it in ourselves, let it take root in our lives; constantly nurture it through study of Scripture and water it with prayer.
There is a practical side to what Jesus is talking about when it comes to the kingdom of God being compared to seed. When we take this word-seed in, it grows inside us; and as it grows, we grow; and as it begins to bloom, we begin to bloom, and when this seed ripens, we become full of seed; so much so, that we cannot contain it and find ourselves taking on the role of the sower.
When we begin to see the love of God take shape in ourselves, a love that embraces our understanding of self; as in, being truly concerned with our personal wellbeing, embracing our personal hurts, embracing the wrongs we personally do so that we can learn from them, grow from them, and forgive them, then we have ripened to a state where we are capable of embracing everyone else we meet in the same way. It sometimes takes a great deal of personal manure to turn ourselves into a healthy plant, but once a person starts to bloom; this caring love of self easily transfers to others, as we find ourselves loving that which God loves.
In the bloom of God’s love we have the capability to draw others to God. The end result of blooming is the production of seed and this seed can be taken up by others, and spread by the currents of life swirling around this role we undertake as a labor of love, dispersing this transformative word-seed to hungry world.
An important observation with regard to Jesus’ parables of the kingdom is that God takes the edge off of job performance.
We live in a world that is obsessed by measurements. The more you make, the better off you are. That is not how God measures productivity or success. The work of the sower is only to spread whatever seed that God produces in our being, because the seed is God’s, and in any one seed is the full potential of God’s kingdom.
Grant then, O gracious Father, that the seed Jesus cast upon the upon the world, takes root in our lives and produces abundant fruit so that your kingdom is realized in every person that it falls upon. Through the same Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Until next time, stay faithful,
Norm
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