Pentecost 8, 2011
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Isaiah 55:10-11
“Good Soil”
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
One of the first persons that I met back in college that grew up on a farm was Stacy Reetz. Stacy, who talked about all the jokes people would say about his name, was a “country strong” farm boy from Iowa. While he would often join in on jokes about Iowa he loved his home state and the fact that he indeed grew up on a farm. There was one thing that Stacy didn’t like about farming… “rock picking.” That was something that I could only shrug my shoulders about until he explained what it was. How many of you have ever been rock picking? Is it fun? Or is it a lot of hard work?
What I wondered, after Stacy explained what rock picking was, was why on earth would you go through the trouble… the hard work… the sweat and struggle… to go out in the fields following the tractor picking up rocks. Was it really worth it? If the ground had that many rocks…why not farm somewhere else. Simply put…you have to work with what you got. If that’s the land you have…you have to work with it. While Stacy didn’t care for picking rocks…it did have a positive effect. Stacy got stronger and the crops also grew stronger.
Our Gospel lesson talks about a farmer that plants his crops in some very peculiar places. Our text says, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:3-9)
Now, as I have said on numerous occasions, I’m not that experienced with farming, but it seems to me that even I would know better than to plant on a path, in rocky soil, or in thorns. One might start to ask the question what kind of farmer is this? I doubt that many experienced farmers would waste their seed on ground that bad. The farmer in our text did plant some seed on good ground where the crops varied in production but at what cost? How could the farmer waste so much to gain so little? Maybe the real question should be…Who is this farmer and what is the seed that He sows?
The farmer is God. It is God that is sowing the seed; which is His Word. It might be hard to believe that the farmer of our text, who doesn’t seem to know what he is doing, is actually God. God planted His Word in such horrible soil? Ah…yes, the soil. The soil is sinful people. Just look at the different types of people that God shares His Word with…and the results that follow. What doesn’t make sense is how the Gospel text that speaks about the Word being wasted on bad soil relates to our Old Testament text. Isaiah wrote, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)
God’s Word, the Gospel, is like a two edged sword. It creates faith and it convicts sin. While it looks like the farmer in our text is wasting good seed (God’s Word) he really is not. God is spreading the Word among all people…but not all people believe. Let’s take a look at how Jesus himself explains the parable of the sower.
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:18-23)
What kind of soil are you? Maybe we need to start from the recognition that we’re not one of the soils, we’re all of them. We are indeed a reflection of this sinful world…for we are sinful. We are constantly showered by the grace of God's Word, but it has different results at different times. There are times when the word hits us and bounces off without effect. It almost seems like God’s Word is in one ear and out the other. We come to Church…we hear God’s Word…but we don’t act like Christians are supposed to act once we leave.
Then there are times when we receive the word with joy but it takes no root. We get excited about what God has done for us and how joyful we are that God loves us so much…but we forget that joy as soon as there are troubles in our lives. There are times when the word starts to take root, but it is choked out by the pleasures and cares of the world. Far too often we know we aren’t supposed to do things…but we do them because we want to. Even when we know something is a sin in the eyes of God we ignore God’s Word and sin anyway. And there are times when the word takes root and bears fruit. Thanks be to God that He never gives up on us and leads us closer to Him. Thanks be to God that His Word “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
There is much in this text that warns us of hearing God’s Word and ignoring or rejecting it. We must look at our lives in the context of this warning. But do not get discouraged my brothers and sisters in Christ, for this text is truly about God’s radical grace. God keeps sowing the seed of His Word so that you and I; all people may hear the wonderful news that Christ died for us, took our sins upon himself, and rose for us that we would have eternal life. While you may look like soil that couldn’t possibly produce fruit…God’s Word produces…it produces faith…and it never returns to Him empty. You are His child. God’s Word has produced faith in you. That faith grows and shares. It shares God’s love. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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