Bethlehem Lutheran Church

It seems everywhere we turn these days it's bad news about the economy.  The almighty dollar is mighty no more.  Home mortgage giants are watching their stocks take a dive.  Unemployment numbers just keep going up.  The increased price of oil and food is taking its toll on economies around the world. People who've lived by the motto "more is better" are thinking about new mottos by which to live such as: Waste not, want not. This is the predominant, current state of mind in our culture.  The picture of a bleak economy has our attention and it's changing the way we live and the choices we make.  The gospel story paints a dramatically different picture. 

The Parable of the Sower is about a lot of things-that's the beauty of a parable.  It's a story-a literary device intended not to answer specific questions but to help those of us who hear the story think and act in new ways.  The New Testament scholar C.H. Dodd wrote that a parable "leaves the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought." There are a number of different messages we could hear in this story-but one message-a message that is very different from our current mo.  The MO-or mode of operation in God's kingdom is never about scarcity.  It's about abundance beyond belief!

The Parable of the Sower is just one out of a line up of 7 in this 13^th chapter of Matthew.  Like the rabbis of his time, Jesus used simple stories about every day kinds of things to help people understand who God is and what God's kingdom or reign is about.  The parables in Matthew are all different and yet each of them are about the reality of life wherever God rules:  the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed-though the smallest of seeds it becomes a tree.  And it's like treasure lying buried in a field, like yeast, like a pearl of great price, like a net let down in the sea. 

If the crowds who gathered to hear Jesus are hoping for step by step instructions on how to make good with God then they were deeply disappointed.  Instead Jesus paints pictures that illustrate what life looks like when people are open to the truth of God's presence already in their lives. 

In the parable we heard today Jesus portrays God as an extravagant Sower, planting seeds with reckless abandon, planting them even in places where they are not likely to grow.  This is the good news of the story-God is the Sower and he never quits sowing! He flings the seeds on rocky ground, on dirt paths, on thorny patches as well as rich fertile soil.  God's not concerned about where the seed falls, only that the seeds keep falling. And what is that seed?  In Matthew's gospel Jesus explains it as the message about the kingdom of God-which is revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ himself.  The grave no longer needs to be feared because death does not have the last word.  The final word in God's kingdom is always life.  This word gives hope, not just for a future with God but for the life we live right now.

Unfortunately, our focus rarely stays on God.  Matthew's interpretation, and our natural inclination, quickly moves our attention away from the Sower and the seed.  Instead, we focus on the ground on which the seed is thrown.

What kind of ground are you?  We ask this of ourselves.  We fall into the habit of trying to determine the answer for others.  What kind of harvest will you yield?  Now the story sounds less like good news and more like a challenge to be different, to be good, to be better.  We begin to wonder about what determines whether or not someone is bad soil or good soil.  And more specifically, in which category does God put me?  We may want to be good soil from which the Sower's seed produces an impressive crop, but we know ourselves too well.  Our hearts can be hard.  We make choices that put ourselves first, with little regard for others.  We doubt our self-worth.  We lash out with words that hurt.  Try as we might to get things right-stones and thorns are an integral part of our lives.  Birds swoop in when we least expect it and steal the seed that has not been able to sink in.

All of this is true but I'm not convinced that's the point of the parable. Jesus doesn't tell this story as a prescription for how to get things right with God.  Jesus tells the story to describe the way things already are!  The different types of ground that Jesus describes exist not only in the world but also within our hearts.  Still, the Sower sows!  He doesn't quit.  He doesn't give up.  He doesn't critique whether or not he's wasting his time or seeds.  These seeds are precious to be sure!  From them new life grows-new beauty, new possibilities, new hope-an amazing crop, an unbelievable harvest.  These seeds that come from God are not scarce.  There is an unending supply-more than enough to go around for all creation!.  So the Sower keeps throwing...and scattering....and spreading... The Sower keeps reaching into his seed bag covering the whole creation with the seed of His truth-with the Word that gives life.  The harvest will be great-greater than any of us can even imagine. God's promise is that God's word will not come back empty. 

We first hear this promise in the words of the prophet Isaiah:   

            For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Living with this picture of God's abundance in mind changes the way we live and the choices we make.  God's extravagance frees us to be gracious and generous people, called, ready and willing to scatter seeds ourselves!  We pray that God would let our hearts be good soil, open to the seed of His word but it is not necessary for us to determine the quality of soil-in us or anyone else-before we live out the gospel of love and mercy and peace. As followers of Jesus, we are to scatter God's seed-to offer a word of encouragement or hope, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, reach out to those who are lonely or afraid trusting that God is at work bringing about his kingdom on earth.

Yesterday this community sent 91 people to the projects in NYC for a mission trip-79 of those people are teenagers-one of them being my niece and two of them, my children.  It was amazing to see that large number at the airport organized and ready to go.  There was a lot of excitement a lot of energy-and some anxiety, though I will admit that most of the anxiety was with those of us who stayed behind.  One thing was sure:  no one really knew what they were getting themselves into.  None of them knows what to expect.  They have no idea about what might happen on this trip-how much of an effect their work may or may not have-- but that wasn't bothering any of them in the least.

Because I've been living with this story of the Sower these past weeks I couldn't help but look around and know that in just this group there was a great variety of soil represented!  When they arrive in NYC and begin their work with neighborhoods there, the same great variety of soil will be present.  But thorns and birds and rocky paths do not keep seeds from being sown.  Lives will be changed.  Miracles will happen.        

So let these kids inspire you.  Don't let fear or doubt or insecurity keep you from sowing God's seeds of hope and new life.  God is with you and will work through you wherever you are at.  We don't know when the seeds planted will take root and grow but let's not let that keep us from the sowing we've been called to do.  Pray for your heart to be open to God's Holy Spirit at work in you and in the world.  And trust God's promise:  God's unconditional, unending love is for you!  Amen.