Reverend Ref +

SERMON
8 PENTECOST
PROPER 10A

Starting from the time I can remember sermons, this has been a popular gospel to preach on. I don't know what it is, but it seems like we hear the parable of the sower more than once every three years. And although this parable appears in all of the synoptic gospels, this vesion from Matthew is the only one we read as part of the Sunday lectionary.

This is one of those parables that everyone seems to know; maybe because it's in all three gospels, who knows. Anyway, it seems to be very popular, from camp programs to youth events to weekend retreats to televangelists, they all seem to utilize this particular gospel, and the general theme seems to be, "Which kind of seed are you?" Or maybe the theme is, "What kind of seed do you want to be?"

Are you the seed that never makes it to the soil and gets eaten up immediately? Are you the seed who hears the gospel and immediately tries to live it out, but eventually falls away from Christianity as if it were just another spiritual fad? Are you the seed who hears the gospel but then gets sidetracked by keeping up with the Jones' and allows the cares of the world and the lure of wealth to choke away your commitment? Or are you the seed who hears the gospel, develops a deep root system and eventually produces fruit?

And maybe for camps and weekend retreats that isn't a bad way to explore this gospel. "Am I living out my faith in such a way as to develop a deep root system and produce fruit for the kingdom?" Part of the problem of focusing on that aspect of the parable, though, is that it can lead to guilt and self-doubt. If you are like me, you tend to project yourself into a variety of scenarios, none of them good.

"I didn't go to church this week, am I being snatched away?"
"I try to live out the gospel every day, but I get so tired of the struggle; am I being scorched?"
"I was going to pledge to the church, but I bought a new bass boat instead; am I being choked to death by the world?"

Very rarely will I look at this and say, "I'm a good seed and I'm producing fruit for the kingdom." If all we do with this passage is look at it and try to determine what type of seeds we are, then I think we are missing the boat. So if you haven't considered a different reading of this parable, let me give you something else to think about.

Instead of focusing on the seeds, let's focus on the sower. The sower is a disciple of Jesus and is working to spread the news of the kingdom. His job is to touch all of the seeds in his bag. In other words, he needs to try to plant all of the seeds he has and he can't decide to quit early; because if he quits, then that will guarantee that some seeds aren't planted and there won't be a crop.

Notice that it is NOT his job to ensure that all of the seeds are planted in good soil that will allow them to produce fruit. Nor is it his job to determine ahead of time which seeds have the best possibility of producing fruit. Nor is it his job to take iventory of the seeds that fall in the good soil and produce fruit. And you might be able to make an argument that it's not even his job to care for the seeds.

Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't be concerned with what happens to the seeds we sow, because we should. We should be concerned about those who might be snatched away. We should be concerned with those who haven't developed a good root system, and we should help them to develop. We should be concerned with those who place a higher priority on the values of this world than the kingdom, and we should try to show them a better way. But all of that is going beyond the parable of the sower.

Sticking strictly to that parable and seeing the sower as a disciple of Christ, then at the very least, we are all sowers. We all need to work to spread the news of the kingdom of God. Our seeds are the people "out there." We need to try to plant all of the seeds in our bag. Some people won't listen. Some people will be excited for only a short period of time. Some people will be too busy keeping up with the Jones'. And some people will become active members and bear fruit.

It's not our job to try to figure out what seed is what, or whether it has landed on the path or amongst the thorns; it's simply our job to sow the seeds. It's our job to touch all of the seeds in our bag. It's our job to talk to as many people as we can about our faith and invite them to join us. And I'll tell you this: if you don't at least attempt to plant the seeds, then we won't have a crop at all.