Göttinger Predigten
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Pentecost Five, 07/13/2014
Sermon on Matthes 13:1-9, 18-23, by Walter W. Harms
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 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, 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 produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear."
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 has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along 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 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. 22 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. 23 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."
What's Going to Happen?
I saw a seed being planted last Sunday. It was the day that Isabella Grace was baptized. The seed of faith was planted. She became a part of the One Holy Christian and Apostolic Church. Of course, that seed needs to be nourished-fed, watered, and the ground has to be weeded. That's the reason the Church handed her over to those who are going to do that for her-her parents received her from the church. Pray for her and her parents! The responsibility is great; it's wonderful work; it's rewarding work for them and for her local group of caring Christians. What's going to happen? At the great harvest all of us will see.
How many of you are farmers? They're a minority group in this country now. When I was growing up, they were a majority. Today few people under the age of 30 seem to know what it takes to get that cereal into that box, the loaf of bread into that cellophane wrapper (that is if you know that word, cellophane).
Food seems to almost magically appear in giant supermarkets. Who knows where the fast food we consume ever originated? No one knows the risk taken to produce all we consume and waste in abundance.
Today farmers are almost more economists than planters of seeds. But when Jesus was telling this parable about sowing, seed and the results, seeds were scattered by hand. I doubt if many of you today have ever done that. We buy seeds in neat packets, carefully open them and most often drop them one at a time into neat rows.
This parable told by Jesus doesn't mean this sower doesn't know his soil. Rather the ability of the farmer to know his land is not the question here, but there were paths along the edge of the fields. Rocky areas in fields were common. There were no herbicides for weed control, often sown with seeds planted by mega farmers today.
Jesus, of course, carefully explains the point he is making. He is talking about what happened when people hear the word. Three quarters of the seed sown seem to end up wasted, useless. One fourth turns into a bountiful harvest, making the planting worthwhile.
So what is the point? The sower should be more careful? Well, no! The sower should prepare the soil properly before sowing? No. What then?
It's obvious that the sower needs a harvest. The only way to arrive at a harvest is to sow seed. The seed produces more seeds, sometimes in great amounts.
Ok, so we are to sow. At least I take that to be part of the take on this parable. What are we to sow? It is called "the word." If you have been in the church for sometime, you probably think of the word, word, as God's word, perhaps the Bible. I hate to disillusion any of you, but the Bible doesn't do much all by itself. The Bible is God's word all right, but the real word is the Word made flesh who dwelt among these followers of Jesus, filling them with grace (that's God's underserved kindness) and truth (about themselves and their relationship to God the Creator and Judge of all).
Jesus was talking about a contemporary situation and well as the ones we meet today. If you heard last Sunday's Gospel reading, you heard about how the religious leaders thought John the Baptist was too stern and ascetic, while Jesus was too loose, eating and drinking with prostitutes and other flagrant violators of God's sovereign Law. They couldn't dance with Jesus nor mourn with John the Baptist.
Could it be that when you and I (yes, we are to "sow" the seed, Jesus) tell some about Jesus, it will be like the seed that fell on the path? Some will totally ignore Jesus. Lots of people today see no need for forgiveness. After all, what have they done that is so wrong that some kind of God, whoever or whatever that might be, is needed to intervene in their lives?
There are people today who will hear what you say about the love and forgiveness of Jesus through his cross and resurrection that will think it is wonderful. But it is superficial to them. They listen, perhaps even join the church because they like some of the people or perhaps they think it will look good on the resume of their lives that they were "members" of a Christian church. Rock hard underneath a thin layer of belief.
Some persons have grown up in the church. God has prospered them and they found that they no longer needed those simple people who trusted in God. They had made it themselves. Why waste time and energy on stuff that no longer is needed? It like continuing to use a TV that gives you only black and white.
Or perhaps, life has treated these Christians with troubles. Devastating illnesses, loss of income with no future employment on the horizon, or loss of a family member that creates havoc in the home-all come to people, Christians as well. I wonder what the Lutheran pastor in Pilger, NE thinks today. His home and his church were destroyed, blown away by double tornadoes. Here is a man and his wife, dedicated to serving this Jesus and look what happens. God, if there is one, certainly doesn't seem to be treating them well. Isn't that what you would think?
Ah yes, the cares in life and deceitfulness of riches seem to snuff out faith with no hope of ever getting that candle relighted. Every pastor who has served people a long time knows people like those where the Word fell on weedy soil.
Yes, of course, then there is the seed that fell on the good soil and produced like crazy. Do you think that is you Jesus is talking about? Real producers? Real go-getters? "Real" Christians?
Before we reach behind and pat ourselves on the back, perhaps we should examine ourselves a bit more closely. For example, when Jesus has told us and given us the example of treating all people with fairness and dignity, have we done that? Haven't each and every one of us shied away from "certain" people? Ignored them? Perhaps even spoke less than kindly about them?
Have some of us lost our enthusiasm for helping others inside the church or inside the church because it didn't seem to do any good? It's something like trying to wipe out poverty and illness. Woops, it sticks around or comes around again. So we can be cool, rocky when it comes to certain people and giving them the Word. It doesn't seem to do any good so why even try?
How many times haven't we given in to pleasure and the good times? How many times haven't we wondered if all this Jesus stuff and church really is working for us? The Devil is not immune from broadcasting all kinds of weeds in our lives. Never forget that.
Perhaps we have even less than warm about missions and evangelism (I know I have) because they seem to be a waste of time and money.
But I pray that we are also good soil. The Good News of Jesus forgiving us, giving us a never ending life by his resurrection, and being with us through the joys and sorrows of life has taken deep root in our lives and revealed itself to others, through words, through actions, through our prayers, and through our engagement with people in speaking of how great life is because we have Jesus.
This morning I visited a car dealership because I had been sent a notice that I might have won a prize (I still fall for that at times) and reluctantly had to sit and engage with the person who would find out whether I had won anything or not. In the course of things, she told me she was not from here and hadn't found a church yet, so I told her about the church I helped start. She thought she might find us and see how we were. (I did win something, by the way) This was a first step of sowing the seed again in a life of a person who didn't have a place to worship our Lord.
I grew up in a rural area of NE. Farmers always planted. I remember years when rain was lacking and plants didn't produce. I remember beautiful fields, you know, "corn knee high by the Fourth of July" reduced to nothing by hail storms. There were years when rain ruined harvests and bitter cold and early frost and snow make it impossible to harvest. But the farmers went out there every year and planted.
The Lord God of our salvation was really terribly extravagant. He sent his one and only Son into a world that didn't want him and loved evil rather that the good. He was sent deliberately to the cross to take the punishment for the errors, committed and the good omitted by all. He spent time dead in a hole in a rock, like we should and perhaps will, but he was raised from death and promised that whoever believed in him would have eternal life.
That message, that Word, that Seed is powerful. I have seen seeds that sprouted crack pavements, foundations, and structures. The Seed you and I have, by the unmerited and totally underserved kindness of God is more powerful than anything you and I will ever experienced. As St. Paul said, it's dynamite! You and I have it.
A sower went out to sow and .... You are a person with the Seed.
What's going to happen?