Rev. Michael Cofer
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
I’m not much of a farmer. The closest I’ve gotten so far is a few potted mint plants and an aloe. Now, I should tell you that I have this thing I do. First, I get a plant that’s perfectly fine and healthy. Next, I follow the instructions on the label/booklet/internet. And then, miraculously, it turns brown and shrinks.
I know. It’s a gift.
So, when I read the parable of the sower, obviously I’m coming at this thing as a bit of an outsider. Still, with my limited knowledge of farming, there are some weird things going on in this story. The most glaring one, to me, is that the sower is blind. Well, maybe not blind, but at least careless.
That’s not really what farming looks like, is it? You don’t just go around throwing seeds all over the place. Rather, farmers till the ground, they plow furrows, and drop the seeds in them. Why are they so careful? Because seeds are their livelihood. They are valuable. And if you’re going to make a living off of your crops, you can’t go wasting seeds on hopelessly hostile terrain.
But the sower in our story is going nuts! He’s just throwing seed all over the place: on the road, in the thorns, over in that rocky stuff… oh and he even managed to get some on the field.
On the other hand, this parable seems to be as much about dirt than it is about the farmer. After all, when Jesus explains the parable (which is something he rarely does) he doesn’t talk about the sower much at all. He unpacks the metaphors of rocky soil and thorny soil, and all that stuff.
All of which leads me to ask the question: “Who am I in this story?” It’s a good question to ask when you read a parable, because if you don’t ask it, you can let it roll off your shoulders. But if you have a role in the story, then it’s personal. It’s not just sterile facts, but it might actually change your life.
So, who in this parable are we? At first glance, it might look like we’re supposed to be the ground. If that were true, then the moral of the story might be something like “Be good dirt.” Fair enough, I suppose, except that dirt is dirt. It can’t be anything other than what it is. And if that’s true, then what hope is there for rocky soil?
Well, if we’re not the soil, then maybe we’re the sower. I think that is probably true. After all, we know that the seed represents the Word of God… and whose job is it spread God’s Word? It’s ours, of course. But then, what is the point of the story? “Well, you win some and you lose some.” Maybe. When it comes to sharing your faith, that is probably true… but I’m not sure that that is Jesus’ point.
No, to get his point, let’s look at the sower’s conduct again. Did he just sow into the fertile ground? Did he save the seeds for the ground that had the highest likelihood of growing up? Or did he throw seed all over the place?
See, here’s the thing about the gospel… it’s a bottomless bag. You don’t have to be conservative with it, you can throw it all over the place, because you’re not going to run out. And sure, you might know some fertile soil to sow in, and you definitely should plant those seeds. But if you can’t run out, then why not sow all over the place? After all, you don’t really know what will take root and what won’t until it is time for the harvest. I think the moral of the parable isn’t, “You win some; you lose some.” Rather, it’s something like, “Sow like crazy. Who knows where you might find some fertile soil!”
But if that’s all there is to it, why all the talk about different kinds of soil? I think there might be someone else in this story that isn’t mentioned… the landowner. To put it a different way, the soil isn’t me, but it is my heart. See, we have a responsibility to take care of our hearts.
We have a responsibility to clear away the stones, and make room for our faith to run deep. Digging out stones can be a lot of hard work, and it may not seem worth it, because on the surface everything looks good. On the surface you look healthy and normal and ready to grow. But your faith isn’t about appearances. It’s not just a lip service, bumper sticker kind of thing. Shallow faith won’t carry you through the rough times.
We have a responsibility to identify the weeds. There are a lot of competing voices and priorities in our lives, trying to blot out the sun (Son) and eat up the nourishment that God sends us. And if we can’t distinguish between thorns and the wheat, you’re wheat is going to struggle – at best. And chances are, you’ll never be rid of them all. But knowing which things growing in your heart are springing up from the seeds of God’s truth, and which are springing up from the lies that this world, the devil, and are sinful nature try to sell us is absolutely vital if we want to bear good fruit.
Now, before you start trying to weed and till someone else’s heart, bear in mind that I said your heart is your responsibility. It’s like when we confess our sins. Some of you might want to confess the sins of the person sitting next to you: “Dear God, I’m sorry that Bobby is liar and rude and terrible at doing laundry, and…” But that’s not how confession works. You have to own up to what you have and have not done. Sure the people around you are sinners, too, but you really only have this one field to work.
No, your job is to keep your own field in good shape, and to sow like crazy on everyone else’s, because the seed that we carry doesn’t just grow into one kernel of wheat. When the word of God takes root in the heart of a believer, it grows and multiplies way beyond what was sown. Because to you, telling some one that Jesus loves them or that they God wants more out the relationship than judgment or inviting them to church… to you that may not seem like you’ve done a whole lot. And you might never see that seed grow to fruition. But those seeds have a massive potential.
And guess whose job it is to make those seeds grow? Is it the sower’s job? Is it the guy who is tending the soil? No. Neither of them can send the rain nor make the sun shine, or coax the plant out of the safety of the ground. God makes it grow. Of us, he only asks that he tend this one field, and that we sow like crazy. And if we do that, God is well pleased with the work we have done.
