Pentecost Five, 07/13/2014

Sermon on Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, by Carl A. Voges

The Passage

"That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, 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 produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.'

"'When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This what was sown along 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 he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he 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 deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.'" [English Standard Version]

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." [Romans 8.5]

In the Name of Christ + Jesus our Lord

Considering today's Gospel when we have resumed our normal work schedules or kept a vigil with a dying friend or are anticipating a week's vacation at the beach, we have to ask - What is the point of this passage? We know this is the season to be growing various crops. Is our Lord giving us a lesson in agriculture with this parable about seed planting?

A first look would seem to indicate that this is the case. The seed in the parable was thrown out by hand, the seed around our homes can be distributed by drop or broadcast spreaders, the seed around our farms can be distributed by tractors pulling immense rigs that drop the seed exactly where it needs to be, guided by computerized systems that provide for a maximum harvest.

Working off this look, then, would bring us to the conclusion that the parable's point lies in making sure that the proclamation of the Gospel does not get wasted, that it lands successfully in more than one place out of four! Perhaps, though, we should hold off on that approach.

It is significant that at the end of the parable, there is this phrase spoken by our Lord - "He who has ears, let him hear." Then there are the verses between the parable and Jesus' explanation of it. In verse fifteen Jesus notes that the people, because they are absorbed with themselves, will listen but not hear, they will see but not understand. In verse sixteen Jesus quotes Isaiah, noting that the heart of the people has grown coarse, that their ears are dull of hearing, that their eyes are shut. In and around today's Gospel then, our Lord is ordering us to listen and to hear three times!

Recall that the biblical meaning of "listen" is much than a casual notice of something, it is an actual receiving and doing. In order to cut through the natural self-absorption and dullness of the life into which we are born, it is necessary for Jesus to command us to honestly listen to what he is saying in this parable. That phrase at the end of parable now brings us to the explanation in the second part of the reading.

What dominates this explanation is Jesus' references to the "Word". This Word is THE reality streaming from the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament it is described by the Hebrew word, "dabar" (it occurs nearly four hundred times!). In the New Testament it is described by the Greek word, "logos" (it occurs more than three hundred times!).

The Word is the speaking and the doing of the Lord God. The Word streams out from the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures (those holy writings are its only source), it bores in on the world's people from eternity and to eternity. The Word is identified most clearly with the Son, Jesus Christ, and is most clearly expressed in his crucifixion and resurrection. The Word's activity breaks people away from the world's life, freeing them, and immersing them in the Trinity's Life. This activity is saving and rescuing because the world's life - as attractive as it may be - is dominated by the unholy trio of sin, Satan and death.

Thus, it is significant that Jesus mentions this eternal reality six times in his explanation of the parable. He describes the people who hear the Word of his kingdom but they do not understand it. The unholy trio snatches away what could make a huge difference in their lives. Jesus describes the people who hear the Word and immediately receive it with joy. Such people do not have deep roots. When there are difficulties in their lives or they are being thrown into turmoil because of the Word's activity, the joyful reception disappears.

Jesus then describes the people who hear the Word, but the pressures of the world's anxieties and the deceptiveness of its riches choke their reception of it. Here, too, the unholy trio is able to put off the Word's activity. Finally, Jesus describes the people who hear the Word and understand it, their lives receive it and they reflect it on differing levels.

The parable's point, then, lies in the activity of the Lord's Word. The activity encounters

difficult and wrenching circumstances, but it is the Lord's intent to keep bringing the Word to the world's people. He desires to rescue people from the life given them by the world at birth and to imbed them in the Life he gives at Baptism.

Today's Gospel, then, is much more than a lesson in agriculture about seed planting! What our Lord is doing is grounding the ministry of his parish communities in the activity of his Word! This is refreshing and energizing! Through the Word's activity he has gifted parishes with the four holy places of Baptism and the Scriptures, Forgiveness and the Eucharist.

Through the Word's activity these places stand at the center of a parish's life. They make it possible for the Word to be reflected to all those who are grasping for it. Today's Gospel makes it clear that such work is not easily done. The unholy trio unleashes everything it has to ignore, blunt and distort the Word's activity because it is death to them. And there are times when a parish will cave into their attractions. But the Lord will continue to press that Word into the life of a parish and its members because it is Life to them!

That's why we assist the Lord's people in the actual recalling of their Baptisms on a daily basis. That's why we provide numerous opportunities for the Scriptures to be read, heard and studied. That's why we offer, publicly and privately, the Lord's Forgiveness. These are the moments where we confront our sins, confess them and be restored through his Forgiveness. That's why the liturgies of a parish's week are dominated by the Lord's Supper. It is vital for all his baptized people to be eating his body and drinking his blood as often as they can.

The Word keeps pressing the realities of the Son's crucified and resurrected Life into our own so that we, in turn, can reflect them to the world in which we find ourselves. May our lives continue to be crossed by the Lord's holy places so that we remain imbedded in the Life he has given us. May our lives continue to be crossed by those holy places so that when the Lord orders us to listen to him, we hear!

Now may the peace of the Lord God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus our Lord.

Pr. Carl A. Voges
Columbia, SC
E-Mail: carl.voges4@icloud.com

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