Pentecost 7A 2023

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year A

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

“He who has ears, let him hear.” Or, if you prefer, “she who has ears, let her hear.” The Greek implies both - this imperative is all-inclusive. If you have ears, use them to listen to what Christ says. That’s the punctuation Jesus puts on the end of his parable of the Sower - the first parable told in Matthew’s Gospel account. This phrase is used in various places in the Gospels and elsewhere in the New Testament.

When Jesus teaches using a parable, it’s more than just a story. It’s helpful to think of it as a riddle, a puzzle, a problem to solve. Jesus is giving his students something to think about…something he wants them to learn, understand, and take to heart.

In this parable, Jesus is the actor; this is very typical of his parables. He’s the one doing something in this riddle. For this one especially, it’s important to remember that it’s JESUS doing this action, not just some random person. Because it’s Jesus, then we can know for certain why he’s doing this, and why he’s doing it in a particular way. In these parables, often things don’t make sense - which is why we need to exert some brain power and think about them. But we know quite a lot about the person performing this action, and that takes some of the mystery out of the riddle.

So Jesus is the one who sows the seed. Now, I think I’ve confessed before, and happy to do so again: I’m no farmer. But it seems clear that this method of sowing seeds isn’t how most farmers would plant a crop. NO farmer would plant this way. If your crop is your livelihood, you’d never plant this way. You’d make sure that seed only went where you wanted it to go, and you’d prepare the soil in advance: you’d soften it, fertilize it, ensure it didn’t get infested with weeds or thorns, and you’d protect it from birds and animals.

This sower doesn’t follow any of that logic or care. He dropped some seeds on the path where he walked…an easy snack for birds. Was he careless? He scattered some on rocky ground - not deep enough for the seeds to take root and get enough water - they got scorched by the sun. Again - was he careless? Negligent? THEN he threw seeds in among “thorns” - briars we might call them. The kind of plant that would easily overpower the seeds and the new plant that might grow from them. No crop to be had here, either. Why would he throw seeds among thorn bushes? Careless? Maybe he’s wasteful? Why would he do that?

Then, FINALLY, he let some other seeds fall on good soil, where they would flourish and the plants would grow and produce their grain. And it was magnified many times over - clearly a good crop. Why would any farmer plant like this, with such careless and wasteful sowing?

This is part of the riddle that Jesus is presenting to his students, and you and I may consider ourselves among them. And THIS particular parable gives us the blessing of an explanation from the teacher himself. The seed is the “word of the kingdom”. Simple enough, huh? The Gospel - the teachings of Christ, the Law and Promises of God. All those things that get in the way of this Word taking root in our hearts are what he explains. A lack of understanding, a superficial acceptance of God’s Word, a conflict of values between the Gospel and worldly cares & riches. All these things are causes that Jesus tells us will prevent the Word of God from taking hold in our hearts and, to continue the metaphor, bearing fruit.

No plant will bear fruit if it doesn’t take root, receive proper nutrients and water, protection from harmful elements and critters that might eat it. Why is fruit important to this parable? “Fruit” is what comes from faith. Remember: faith is not something we come up with ourselves. Faith is a gift from God - it is the Holy Spirit working on us, beginning in our Baptism. And Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that “...faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Any time you read or hear the Holy Scriptures, you are giving the Holy Spirit more opportunity to refresh & rejuvenate your faith, to give you a booster shot of the best kind. That same word that is the seed in this parable.

This then begs the question: what kind of soil am I? If you’re anything like me, then you can probably relate to all of these examples, can’t you? Either I didn’t understand the Bible, or I didn’t accept it well enough to help me weather a storm in my life, and doubt crept in. And certainly there have been times that the cares of the world and the “deceitfulness of riches” got in the way of the message that God’s Word wanted me to hear. And yes, sometimes my heart was good soil for the seed to fall onto. Thanks be to God that He can till even the hard clay of my heart.

There have been MANY times that I didn’t understand what I was reading or hearing from the Scriptures. Going to seminary helped, sure, but I still gather weekly with the most senior pastors in this area to study the lessons and to wrestle with them, to grow in my understanding. And I have a master’s degree in religious studies. I have not nearly “mastered” everything that the Bible has to offer. I’m still learning. What do you do when you come across a verse or a passage you don’t quite understand? Certainly there are many tools available to help you help yourself. Do you study it with anyone else? I love talking about this stuff - I’d gladly work through it with you. And if you don’t know, our Vicar is VERY good with Bible study. And she’s more fun than I am. Enjoy that while you can. ;-) The point is: understanding the Bible doesn’t just happen by osmosis. It requires reading and study and wrestling with it. And the more we read God’s Word, the better we’ll understand it. That’s one way to till the soil.

That second problem that Jesus describes in his parable is a little harder to swallow. I don’t like to think that I have “no root in myself”… but I think we all face that at times. This is not necessarily a matter of maturity, but having a good root means it has to have time to grow deep. But here’s the thing: there’s a Wicked Foe out there who looks for the opportunity to pull up those roots where he can. He’s the accuser. He sows doubt and unbelief. It’s been his work from the very beginning. His work got our first parents ejected from the Garden. He’s good at what he does. So what can we do? Give the Holy Spirit more opportunity to work on our hearts than we give that Wicked Foe. Spend time in God’s Word, attend worship, hear the Gospel preached, receive the Sacrament, be among God’s people. The more we do this, the deeper and stronger the roots grow. Deep, strong roots are harder to pull up.

The third problem is truly insidious. Think about the narrative of the Old Testament. Over and over again, when the Hebrew people prospered, became comfortable or even wealthy, when life was good… it seems like every time they got to that place, they thought they didn’t need God anymore. Every.single.time. They didn’t listen to God’s Word, even when He sent His prophets to warn the people…they didn’t want to hear it. They wanted to enjoy their comfort, their wealth, their worldly cares. And every time, they would lose all of it - their lives were unfruitful. God doesn’t see earthly wealth as fruit… not the wealth by itself. If wealth is to bear fruit in this sense, then it must be put to use in God-pleasing ways. Notice Jesus doesn’t say it only bears a little fruit; he says it is unfruitful. When riches are more important than God, His Kingdom, His Word, His Son… there’s not going to be any Kingdom fruit. The thorns of wealth have choked off the plant that would bear fruit. We must take care that all those things that make us comfortable do not become too important in our lives. We must prevent ourselves from putting our hope in earthly things… even money. We must remember that they are blessings given to us by God: “our selves, our time, and our possessions, signs of His gracious love.” And by reminding ourselves that they come from Him and ultimately always belong to Him, we pray for His guidance on how to put them to good and Godly use. That’s how to fight off the thorns.

This riddle is a way that Jesus teaches all of his students how to make our hearts into soil and to protect those seeds from anything that might prevent it from bearing fruit. Don’t be ashamed if you find yourself struggling with one of those obstacles. We are facing forces that want to pull us away from God. I mean, do you watch the news? Think of it this way... besides the essentials: sleep, eating, and working, how do you spend your time each week? How much of that is spent in God’s Word, worship or devotion, or work for God’s Kingdom?

Ok, now the rest of your week - what’s the messaging? What does the world around you tell you? Is it pointing you toward God or away from Him? Do the things you participate in, listen to, or watch help you grow in your faith? Do they nurture the work of the Holy Spirit? Are they tilling the soil of your heart, or are they sending birds to come and eat the seeds off the path? Are the roots of those seeds growing deep, or is something coming to pull up the roots, or scorch the plant that hasn’t grown roots deep enough yet? How many thorns are around the seeds? Are there thorns taking over the soil and stealing the nutrients from God’s Word to keep it from growing in you?

Again, faith is a gift from God - we don’t muster it ourselves. But we can provide opportunity for its growth. Shortly we’re going to enjoy perhaps the best opportunity - the Sacrament of Holy Communion. We’ll receive the Body and Blood of our Lord in the closest way we can possibly enjoy this side of Judgment Day. As you receive that precious Body and Blood this morning, give thanks for this most precious gift, and pray that God would use it to till the soil of your heart once more, and keep doing so, that His Holy Word would take root and bear fruit - a hundredfold, or sixtyfold, or even thirtyfold… wherever He wants you to. And that’s the riddle that’s personal for you - figuring out where that is. Pray for His guidance there, too. And as you bear that fruit, watch how your part of His Kingdom prospers around you. Won’t that be a refreshing change from the world around us?

In the name of the Father, and the +Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.