Just Sow it!

Proper 10A; Matt 13:1-9, 18-23; Isa 55:1-5, 10-13 St. Paul’s, Smithfield, NC 7/16/2017

Jim Melnyk; “Just Sow It!”

There was once a sower of seeds who traveled throughout the towns and villages of the countryside.  And everywhere the sower went he sowed his seeds.  The people where he journeyed were rather skeptical of this particular sower of seeds.  They thought him a bit crazy, and a bit careless, for wherever he went he scattered the seed – wherever he could find a spot of bare earth.

“Sower, why are you scattering your seed so haphazardly?” they would ask.  “You don’t seem to care where it lands – look, there on the pathway, and over there on the rocky soil.  And what about all those thorns and weeds over there – you’re wasting the seed, sower!”  And the sower would look at them and smile.  “Why aren’t you doing this in a more orderly fashion?” they asked.  “You should be planting your seed in orderly rows – straight and correct so we can watch the progress of the plants – so we can better see the results.  And there should be fences and walls built around the gardens and the fields to keep the thieves, the outsiders, and the ne’er-do-wells out and our crops in.”  And the sower nodded and smiled, and continued to sow – haphazardly, graciously, and with great abundance, he sowed.

And the people said again, “You’re doing it all wrong, sower!  And why waste your seed over there – and why aren’t you saving the best seed for us over here where it belongs?  And why let all those other people benefit from your sowing?  Why should they deserve what we have?”

And the sower smiled and kept on sowing – haphazardly, graciously, and with great abundance, he continued to sow.

Now there was nothing particularly extraordinary about this sower of seeds – the sower’s identity takes a back seat.  And in this story, as in Jesus’ parable, the sower isn’t meant to be Jesus. 

In fact any man, woman, or child you might picture with your mind’s eye could be the sower in the story.  And there’s enough disagreement about the technique used by the sower to make us realize that farming is not the point of the story at all – rather it’s actually about sharing the Good News – it’s about evangelism (Bill Brosend, Conversations with Scripture: The Parables).        

As both stories begin, it seems to make no sense – you just don’t waste seed in such a fashion – scattering it on the rocks, or among the thorns, or on the hardened pathway.  And so the first three examples of sowing in today’s parable show little or no result.  The temptation for us over the miles and years is to focus on the obstacles to a seed’s growth – on what makes some of the planting not successful – rather than on the planting itself.  Too often we focus on what won’t work – on what we think can’t be done – and miss all the many possibilities before us.

And the next temptation – after obsessing on the failures of growth – is to say the story is about what type of soil we should be (Am I, are you, good soil or not?).  But the story – the parable – is not about the soil, either.

Jesus never worries about which soil we are – he doesn’t say, “Become good soil and then you can follow me.”  Jesus says, “Follow me and you will find yourselves transformed.”  Jesus says, “Proclaim the Good News to everyone, not just those we deem proper and good.”

By the time Matthew writes all this down there are struggles between those who follow Jesus and those who don’t.  There are people being persecuted for their faith.  Jesus followers can’t understand why everyone hasn’t jumped on board.  And so Matthew adds a rather pointed, exclusive interpretation of the parable, making it about the types of soil that receive the seed – the reason why everyone doesn’t turn to Jesus and believe – leaving us with the temptation to accept the interpretation as the only way to understand the story. 

But the parable isn’t meant to be “an encouragement to be fertile soil, but [rather, it’s a call] to be sowers of the word, [and] in particular, to be sowers of the word without regard to the potential fruitfulness of the soil in which the [seed – the word – is cast”] (ibid).  It turns out the story is about the faithful sower – who keeps at it – going for every bit of ground there might be – perhaps even in the least likely of places.  In spite of the wasted seed and the many obstacles there is a bountiful harvest – some a thirty fold, some sixty, and some one hundred fold! The parable may even cause us to ask, “Where and to whom am I most reluctant to share the Good News?    

And so obviously, the seed in our two stories is not meant to be the kind of seed one finds in a burlap bag from a feed store.  This is the seed of the Good News of God’s love made known to us in Christ and offered to all.  It’s the seed of compassion, it’s the seed of love, and it’s the seed of respect.  It’s the seed of forbearance, of mercy, and of truth – it’s the seed of righteousness – the seeds of the Kingdom, or the Community, of God! And where compassion is sown, up springs understanding and thankfulness and community.  Where respect is sown, up springs dignity and a renewed sense of the image of God found in each and every human being.  Where peace is sown, up springs reconciliation and welcome.  And where love is sown?  Well, there even greater love will spring forth!

What are the seeds we’re sowing at St. Paul’s?  How faithful a bunch of sowers are we – and where and for whom are we reluctant to sow?  Do we scatter the Gospel seed wherever we go – haphazardly, graciously, and with abundance?  How much and how willingly do we invest in the seed of the Good News?  It’s tough when the world calls us in so many different directions, and demands so much of our time, of our giftedness, and of our treasure. 

The prophet Isaiah reminds us in a portion of his book, just a few verses before today’s lesson, about how often we spend our money for that which is not bread, and work for that which does not satisfy.

Do we hold back on sowing the seed because it’s uncomfortable to share our faith, or because we’re uncomfortable with who might respond?  Do we struggle with the temptation to believe, “Well, if anyone is looking for a faith community they’ll find us” – and let the rest of the world tend to their own?  Those are very real temptations which follow the world’s conventional wisdom all too carefully.  What seeds are we sowing at St. Paul’s?  Do we scatter the Gospel seed wherever we go – haphazardly, graciously, and with abundance? 

Jesus hopes his listeners will understand the story – an old Nike parable of sorts, but instead of “just do it!” our slogan could be “just sow it!”  Sow the seeds and look for God’s Spirit to take care of the harvest.  Do the work – remain faithful – never stop sowing – sow with wild abandon – with joyful hearts – and hope for the best.

Having come into this place this morning to worship and pray together, to be fed at this Holy Table – receiving the Body and Blood of Christ – and being strengthened, nurtured and nourished by this Holy Meal we’ll be ready to gather our sacks of Gospel seed and set out into the world – trusting God’s grace to be with us. 

And hopefully we’ll go our into our many communities and scatter that seed with joyful abandon – haphazardly, graciously, and with great abundance – talking about and living out in our communities the teachings of Jesus.  And as we live faithfully into our calling as sowers of God’s grace – as sowers of God’s love – as sowers of the Good News – then by about this time next week we’ll realize that our seed bags are close to empty – and we’ll return to this place. We will gather together to be fed, to be strengthened, and to give thanks to God for the sowing. And we’ll pray God’s blessing for the growing, and for the harvest.  Finally, we’ll gather new seed to take with us as we leave once again, continuing the call to sow the seeds of God’s grace.

As the prophet says, “[We] shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace…” (Isa. 55:12a). And again he says, “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:10-11).

And the Gospel seed will grow all around us – and within us – and those around us will see its growth.  And it shall be a bountiful harvest.