Today’s suggested reading from the Gospel of Matthew invites us to hear the story of the sower who goes out to plant seeds, and how the seeds fare in relation to the types of soil upon which they were scattered.
Although it is a fairly straightforward story, we should all be somewhat grateful that the disciples still needed to have its meaning explained to them – since we get to listen in (we, of course, would have understood Jesus’ meanings immediately, so would not have needed to have anything to be spelled out to us, as the disciples did…or so we like to think…).
But as we ponder that explanation, and challenge and inspiration that his words contain, we cannot help but realize that the parable of the sower and the seed is just as relevant and important, today, as it ever was.
To experience this meaning more fully, it is important to pay attention to where we “find??? ourselves in the story. Who are we and how do we understand our “role??? in the parable?
The seed, according to verse 19, is what the Gospel writer refers to as “the word of the kingdom??? – in other words, the proclamation of the good news that God’s reign had begun; the message which was meant to lead to repentance, to transformation and to salvation. The rocks are those things, in our lives and in our world, that block and obstruct the word to take root and go deep within us. The thorns are, as the text states, “the cares of the world and the lure of wealth??? which choke the word and do not let it bear fruit.
Which means that we – you and I – are wise to place ourselves and our lives, in this story, in the role of the dirt. We are the soil, the ground over which the seeds are scattered and in which they are meant to take root and grow.
Which begs the question — what kind of ground are we? And what kind of dirt should we strive to be if we truly want the fruits of the Spirit to grow, and if we want to participate in the fulfillment of that glorious vision of God’s kingdom, God’s reign in this world?
What I find intriguing about the parable is that we can probably find ourselves reflected in each of the different types of soil that are described.
Consider.
The first example that Jesus uses is the image of the seed that falls on the path. Likely hard baked and crusty from the sun, and worn down from footsteps that trod it down, the seed could not penetrate the hardened ground on which it had fallen on the path, and birds came and snatched it up. Jesus’ explanation for this particular type of earth is clear – “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.???
Sadly, most of us can relate to that type of soil, at least from time to time, in our own lives. We, too, can become a bit hardened, unable to absorb what is being shared with us. The struggles and challenges that we have had to face in life are wearing us down and hardening our hearts. And as a result, there is an unwillingness, within us, to open our lives to the growing presence of that word that has the power to challenge us, to change us, to inspire us and to transform us. What we hear of God, what we read in the Bible, none of it really seems to sink in – any more that the seed that fell on the path was able to sink into the ground that should have received it.
So, what are we supposed to do if we find our lives and our faith reflected in that type of soil?
Well, keep listening.
The second example is the seed that fell on rocky ground. At first, the possibility for this seed to bear fruit seems marginally more promising. The ground was ready and willing to receive it, and as the text states, “received it with joy???. But the presence of rocks made growing something in that soil to be an exercise in futility. There was no way that the roots could go very deep.
Again, the parallel to our own lives is clear. There are times when we receive the message of God’s calling, to us, with great joy. We are thrilled and thankful to hear it, and we have the best of intentions to embrace its meanings, to put into practice what we have heard. We have probably all had one of those great spiritual mountaintop experiences where God’s intentions for our lives all seemed so clear, so evident. We may even have found ourselves making wonderful promises in those moments – from now on, God, I’m all yours. I will read the Bible every day, I’ll go to church all the time, I’ll serve the sick and the poor, I’ll forgive everyone, I’ll trust in you regardless of the circumstances and struggles that come my way, I’ll be filled with peace and joy and love in every single experience of my life, I will shine my light for all to see.
But then, life goes back to normal. And over time, the daily stresses, the regular responsibilities, the usual preoccupations move back into the center of our attention. What had been so joyfully and enthusiastically embraced now becomes something that we might try to get back to when we have the time.
Which we never seem to do.
Jesus compared that type of spirituality to ground that was strewn with rocks, and in which the soil was neither ready nor able for the seed to really take root. There may have been great joy and enthusiasm, at first, but what was left was soil and rootless seeds that are scorched by the heat of the sun.
This need for depth and rootedness in our faith is one of the dimensions of this parable that we are wise to take particularly seriously in a time and a culture in which depth and rootedness are sometimes in short supply. Our era is one in which we try to reduce complex and complicated ideas down to sound-bite sized chunks, all of which can take up no more that 15 or 20 seconds on a newscast, or which can fit into 140 characters on a mobile device, or which can be displayed as a catchy phrase on some technologically circulated meme. We want great and elaborate truths conveyed to us as simple, as quickly and in “user-friendly??? a way as possible.
But truth, and wisdom, and love – they go deeper than that. And they need to take root deep within us if they are going to be able to do their transforming and powerful work.
So, what are we supposed to do if we find our lives and our faith reflected in that type of soil?
Well, keep listening.
The third example that Jesus uses is the image of the seed that falls amongst the thorns, and his explanation should make all of us squirm, at least a little bit. “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.???
The cares of the world and the lure of wealth. We hear these words, and we think that we comprehend them – Jesus was speaking against things like greed and jealousy and the idolatry of money. Which he was, but I think that his caution goes deeper than that.
Rather, what are the cares of the world? They are the worries, the anxieties, the stresses that consume so much of our thoughts and so much of our attention, on a daily basis. In an earlier part of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus had addressed the power of worry and stress when he called his followers to let go of worrying about their needs, and instead seek the kingdom of God above all else, and let God provide for those needs. But even in spite of hearing those words thousands of times, who among us can truly claim to be free of these cares of the world?
When we realize that most of us can spend a lot of our lives preoccupied with worries, stresses and anxieties, Jesus’ words should provide challenge to us. His implication is clear – allowing the cares of the world to preoccupy us can choke out the potential for the word to grow in us. Allowing ourselves to live with stress, with worry and with anxiety rather than with an abiding trust in the One who loves us and cares for us and provides for us undermines the power of the word to do its work in us. Worry rather than trust can consume the seed that is meant to grow in us.
So, what are we supposed to do if we find our lives and our faith reflected in that type of soil?
Well, keep listening.
And the reason that I say that we need to “keep listening??? is because a close reading of this passage reveals a most startling and intriguing fact. According to this passage, it’s all about how we listen, and how we receive what we hear. In verse 3, the first word out of Jesus’ mouth, according to the Gospel writer, was “listen!??? Not “obey???, not “take notes???, not “read this???, not even “believe???.
Rather, his invitation was to listen.
In verse 9, the same word is highlighted. “Let anyone with ears, listen!??? And then, as his words of explanation about the meaning of his words is offered, he again and again points out that it was all about how the various types of soil heard the message – “when anyone hears the word…??? or “this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy…???
The fourth and final type of soil continues this theme of hearing in a way that leads to growth and transformation. “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 another sixty, and in another thirty.???
These words about listening and hearing remind us that the Christian faith is a faith that is conveyed through speaking and listening. Yes, we are called to read about it, yes we are called to put what we believe into action, yes, we are called to pray and contemplate. But at the very heart of it all is the act of hearing, of listening and in so doing, of exposing ourselves to the transforming seed of the word that the sower continues to sow in this world.
And so, the question and the challenge for each of us is this – do we have the ears to listen? Do we take the time to try to hear better, to free ourselves from the cares, the troubles, the competing voices that seek our allegiance – to allow our hardened minds and hearts to soften, to clear away the rocks and thorns that distract and choke us, to make our lives ready and willing to receive God’s challenging, inspiring, nourishing, life-giving, death-defying, hope-inspiring, faith renewing word?
Well, let’s hope so – because our lives are meant to be the ground in which the seed of God’s transforming word sinks in, takes root, grows, and bears the fruits of God’s Spirit at work in this world.
May it be so.
Amen.
