4. Sunday after Pentecost , 07/10/2011

Sermon on Matthew 13:1-23, by David H. Brooks

13That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. ²Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. ⁶But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹Let anyone with ears^* listen!'

10 Then the disciples came and asked him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?' ¹¹He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets^* of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹²For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ¹³The reason I speak to them in parables is that "seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand." ¹⁴With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
"You will indeed listen, but never understand,
   and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
¹⁵ For this people's heart has grown dull,
   and their ears are hard of hearing,
     and they have shut their eyes;
     so that they might not look with their eyes,
   and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn-
   and I would heal them."
¹⁶But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.

18 ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When 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. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet 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.^* ²²As 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. ²³But 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.'

From The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

"That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach."

It had already been a full day. Matthew hints at a flurry of activity; it seems that, at a minimum, the day was occupied with a healing of a demoniac, a confrontation with a group of Pharisees and scribes, and the famous expansion of Jesus' family to include any who do the will of God the Father. And now he sits on a boat, a vast audience before him. Matthew calls this a parable; truth is, Jesus is merely describing the scene.

"A sower went out to sow..." and with that introduction, Jesus begins sowing, looking out over the crowd and perhaps wondering to himself, where is the rich soil? For Jesus is the sower, casting the seed of his words over the crowd-the crowd, full of fishermen, Pharisees and everyone in-between. Not everyone will understand; their hearts and minds are not turned toward God, not tuned to God's work in the world. Not everyone will endure; they will begin with enthusiasm but disappear at the first sign of trouble. Not everyone will respond; they will want to do more but have too many other things demanding their attention and effort. But Jesus casts out seed that day, confident that God will give such growth as will yield 30, 60, even 100 times over what is sown.

So Jesus is the Sower. More accurately, Jesus is the Word, sent into the world by God to accomplish the specific purpose of redeeming all things, restoring all things, recalling all things to their proper place-including crowds of people who represent all types of soil. Jesus is the embodiment of God's extravagance, the only-begotten Son sent into the world on behalf of all who are under the penalty of sin. The Exsultet of Easter, one of the most ancient songs of the Church puts it this way:

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?
Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

Jesus enters into the world as the extravagant gift of God, the original Sower who scatters seed, yes, but who also sends rain and snow in due season, who ensures that there is a sprouting and a tender shoot and a strong plant and a harvest of plenty.

So, even though Matthew is being accurate in saying that Jesus taught in parables, the deeper truth is that Jesus himself is the Parable, the in-the-flesh example of what God and the Kingdom are all about. The Kingdom sets demons to flight, and those who suffer under their dominion are set right. The Kingdom brings truth to all things, where all the results that erupt from all the words and deeds that people do out of their hearts will be shown in their proper light. The Kingdom flings its borders wide, claiming every man, woman and child who walk trusting the gracious will of God who gives through an extravagant love. The Kingdom is such that there will be an abundance received far beyond what might have been wasted-there will be joy at the end.

But it does not stop with Jesus sitting there on the shore of the lake. He continues to sow seed, scattering it down through the ages, always finding rich soil that brings forth the fruit of the Kingdom. That scattering of seed results in you. Here you are, the fruit of others who understood the purposes of the Kingdom of God and received the Word that it might work in them. You are the result.

You see, you might think that the proclamation of the Word, the scattering of the seed, happens here in this room-and only in this room. And that is not true. Someone does stand here and preach each Sunday, but only to ensure that the true sowing will happen where it should happen-out in the world, out there where you go every day. Jesus is still scattering seed, only now the scattering happens through those who are called into the Body of Christ. Jesus looked out one day over a crowd gathered in the midst of everyday activities, activities very much like the ones you engage in each day. And who knows-you scatter some seed among the crowds you see every day and there may be a story told one day that goes like this:

A young graduate, asked to tell of the person who had made the greatest impact on him as he went through school, said without hesitation "the janitor."

A pause, and then the interviewer pushed the question: are you sure? It was not a teacher, or a principal, or some other leader?

"I think his name was Sam" the student went on, and told of the janitor from his high school that in the course of four years had spoken to him twice. "He was the one who said to me "God has given you a lot, and God knows you will use well the gifts he's given you."

This student, looking back on all of his schooling, saw the words of an ordinary man whose name he could barely remember as the pivotal point in his life that shaped everything that followed. Some man took a moment to be a sower and the harvest was great.

So what are you waiting for? The day is still young. Go scatter the seed of the Kingdom. Amen.

Rev. David H. Brooks
Cary, NC, USA

E-Mail: David.Brooks@ChristtheKingCary.org

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