Pentecost 6A – July 12, 2020 | A sermon on Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 | by the Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS |

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.“

(Mat 13:1-9,18-23 NRSV)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Today we have as our Gospel lesson one of the more memorable parables, often called The Parable of the Sower.  What makes this parable so memorable is that not only does Jesus tell the parable, but he explains the parable.  That doesn’t happen with all the parables recorded by the Gospel writers.  Matthew records Jesus telling 6 more parables following The Parable of the Sower, and only one has an explanation (The Parable of the Weeds is found in Matthew 13:24-30 and its explanation is found in Matthew 13:26-43).  So that makes our Gospel today fairly unique.  You may notice that the lectionary combined the parable with its explanation by omitting vs. 10-17.  In those verses Jesus explains the purpose of the parables, which is to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom to those who listen to his words.  This brings me back to our lesson for today.  Although often entitled The Parable of the Sower, is that actually a faithful title that describes the parable?

Jesus himself actually gives the parable this title in verse 18, which is the beginning of the explanation.  As believers in the Word, we can quickly look at this parable and see that perhaps we don’t really need an explanation.  This parable is pretty straightforward.  Jesus is the sower, the seed is the Word of God, and the ground is our response to the Word.  But as I read this parable, I always thought that perhaps this parable should be called The Parable of the Seed.  After all, it is the seed that is scattered by the sower that seems to be the focus of this parable.  In other words, it is the Word that is scattered by Jesus.  How it is scattered is very important, because it isn’t always scattered in neat little rows in a field.

This parable makes it seem as though the Sower himself was actually a little careless with the seed.  Jesus didn’t say that the sower carefully picked out good seed to sow or made sure that he wasn’t dropping it in the wrong places.  It’s scattered everywhere; among the good soil, the rocky soil, the path where everyone trods, and even among the weeds.  While this seems careless, in reality this gives me hope for the world.  If God spreads the Word everywhere, then there is no place in the world in which the Word has not been cast.  How humanity receives and responds to the Word is a different matter. Keep that in mind as we break down the parable.

Jesus tells us that as the sower sows, the seed falls upon the path that is walked daily.  A path is dry, hard, compacted land.  The seed would be easy prey for those who are hungry, in the case of the parable that would be the birds.  The birds come and eat the seed off the path because the seed is not buried.  There is no depth.  In the church today we find people who are still hungry for the Word.  They are looking for some instant nourishment to fill a void.  But like the birds, they fly away when they have had their fill.  The seed also falls on rocky ground.  Rocky ground usually has good soil mixed in.  Add water and the seed sprouts quickly.  But because the ground is rocky, the seed cannot find the depth needed to sustain itself when the hot sun comes along and burns it.  The seed withers away.  In the church today there are people who for some reason or another are not finding the depth of the Word that they are seeking.  It leads to burn out in the church, and they wither away until they can find brief nourishment again.  The sower continues, and some of the seed falls among thorns.  Thorns grow up and choke the seed.  Thorns also grow in good soil.  Sadly discord and arguments happen in the church.  Sprinkled in the good soil of the church are thorns.  Those with the loudest voices usually win, and usually are what we would call weeds.  Thorns are incredibly hard to get rid of, and cause more damage than good.  We could probably all name an example of the church being choked by a thorn.  And yet the church still exists.  No amount of thorns can overcome the Word.  Thorns are persons that the church continually holds in prayer, hoping that their ways of choking will turn to ways of producing goodness.  Finally the seed falls on good soil, absent of rocks, people walking, and thorns.  This seed brings forth good grain, many times more than was planted.  The seed multiplies and becomes a rich harvest.  The Word multiplies.  It finds depth.  It provides nourishment.  It doesn’t get trampled or choked.  The sun doesn’t burn it out.  And out of it comes a harvest that will continue to blossom.

As the church today, we always want the Word to fall on good soil.  But perhaps we should be more like the sower, and not be as concerned where it falls.  Instead, embrace the work of the Holy Spirit and do our part to spread the Word everywhere, perhaps even a little carelessly.  We always want it to be on the good soil, but if it hits the paths of daily life, the rocky ground, or even the weeds, that is ok also.  All places need to be touched by the Word of God.  And so spread the Word knowing that it may take some time for the seed to grow, the roots to take hold, and depth to be found.  This is because to produce the fruit of God takes time.  And so after we sow, we do our best to care for what has been sown.  The Spirit has given us all the tools we need to receive and to respond to the Word that has already been sown in us.   Let us be an example then to everyone else, so that as we all receive and respond to the Word we produce a bountiful harvest which bears the fruit of the kingdom for all to see and share.  In the name of the Father, and the +Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.