Preaching the N.T. parables poses a
special kind of danger for the preacher; the danger of over interpreting
something that is in and of itself self-explanatory. Indeed, when Jesus used this special form of
teaching, he mostly let the parables simply stand on their own merit. That is
he told the story, and allowed the listener to draw his or her own implications
and meaning from his teaching. So, when a preacher preaches from a parable the
greatest temptation is to say too much. Truly, for the most part, the stories
stand on their own merit.
It
is no wonder that Jesus choose to use parables to speak with the crowds, for
parables are wonderful teaching tools. At a basic form level, every parable has
a narrative, and people like stories. Moreover, parables are incredibly
flexible in that they inherently point to a meaning greater than the mere sum
of the characters and events explicitly mentioned. By definition, the parable
form is open-ended and expansive.
Additionally,
parables such as the Mustard Seed, or the Widows Mite, or the Prodigal Son, or
the one before us this morning featuring the sower, offer the listener numerous
points of entry into the teaching point. Without a doubt parables are powerful
tools for teaching and changing people’s lives. Approaching a parable then with
the preaching task in mind, sometimes the less said by the preacher the better
off we are. It is indeed perhaps the better wisdom to simply let the Holy
Spirit impress on us what we need to know from a
particular parable at a particular point in our lives.
However,
in the parable of the Sower, Jesus himself deviates from his normal practice
and actually interprets the meaning of the parable for his attentive listeners.
Jesus tells the parable, and, then later, sets about the task of defining the
terms of the parable. So, to an even greater degree than normal with any
parable, preaching this parable presents the preacher with a real dilemma. What
more can I add that Jesus has not already said?
Well,
in the interest of fulfilling my calling I am willing to try. [I don’t want
anyone to feel as though I have let them down this morning.]
I
have been a pastor and preacher for a number of years now. I have served fairly
large congregations and I have served fairly small congregations. In my four
pastorates I have served in a variety of different contexts. I have served in
small towns, rural communities, and suburban and urban contexts. Each of the
congregations I have served are unique and in some ways quite distinct from each
other. However, despite their differences and regardless of the geographical
distinctions and economic variances among them, they all have something quite
important in common: God’s grace. I have had the great privilege to come to
realize that God’s gracious love and forgiveness are offered to each of us
regardless of where we are in this life. Each congregation in a slightly
different form has received this gracious and life changing invitation.
To
use the terms of this parable of the sower to describe what I have come to
know, is to say that the seeds of the gospel are sown wide and far and in
people of all ages and types. Indeed, regardless of our circumstances, we
receive the seeds of the gospel as we receive the witness of our Lord Jesus
Christ into our hearts.
Nonetheless,
it is equally true that not all of the seeds grow and yield a bountiful
harvest. Why? Obviously, some of the seeds do not fall on fertile soil. I say
obviously because it is patently obvious that we all, at one point or another
in our lives, fall short of what God intends for us in this life. Given this
reality, the question then becomes, “What is it that makes fertile soil for the
seeds of the gospel to fall into and grow a bountiful harvest?”
The
question we all face, as individuals and as a corporate body is how do we
become fertile soil? What can we do to receive God’s Word and allow it to
germinate and grow within us? What can
we do to allow the seeds of God’s love for us grow into an abundant harvest to
His glory? How can we live the lives God intends for us to live?
At
the risk of saying too much, let us look again at the parable of the sower. As
we noted before, unlike most of the parables in the N.T. this one comes with an
explanation. That fact alone sets it apart. Yet what really distinguishes this
parable is its straightforward acknowledgement that our spiritual journey is
not always an easy one. The brutal truth is that we are not always the fertile
soil God intends us to be.
In
this parable there are four types of soil upon which the seeds fall. (1) First,
there is the well-trodden path. A pathway with soil packed so tightly that the
seeds cannot penetrate it. (2) Second, there is the rocky soil. While receptive
to the seeds, the rocks prohibit deep root formation. To protect itself against
the elements, a plant needs deep roots to guard against the trying times of
drought and wind. (3) Thirdly, there is the soil that is in a sense too
fertile, it has both the seeds of the gospel and the seeds of this world’s weeds
growing in it. As the weeds and thorns grow, the good seed is choked out. (4)
Fourthly, there is the fertile soil receptive to the seeds of the gospel. This
is soil that receives the seeds, allows them to take deep root, has the weeds
and thorns regularly removed, and thereby yields an abundant harvest.
As
this parable speaks to us today, Jesus intends for us to identify ourselves.
Which soil are we? As we hear God’s Word, which of these four possibilities
seems to best describe our lives? Clearly, Jesus told this parable using the
different types of soil as metaphors for the types of lives we are tempted to
lead. Through our attitudes and actions, by our emotions and feelings, we can
discern the type of soil we are as we wait for the seeds of the gospel. In a
similar manner, the seeds in the parable are a metaphor for the gospel message
that in Jesus Christ God loves and forgives us. So, then, which soil are you?
Are
you the hardened soil of the well-trodden path? Have you been beaten down and
trod upon by others so many times that you have become resistant to receiving
the good news that God still loves and forgives you, and has promised to never
let go of you? If this is you, then the seeds just bounce off your hardened
shell of cynicism and God’s word leaves you untouched.
Or,
are you the rocky soil? Do you allow God’s Word to enter your life and lay
claim to you – but only so far! Perhaps you make a few changes in your life to
accommodate the Word, but ultimately you want to leave in place the rocks of
pride and self-sufficiency that prohibit deep root formation. If this is you,
then when misfortune comes your way, as it inevitably will at some point, the
question you must ask yourself is whether God’s roots are deep enough into you
to sustain you against the drought of disappointment and the winds of betrayal?
Perhaps,
you are the soil with both the seeds of God’s love growing in you and the seeds
of the thorn bush. This type of soil is quite common among us. When you are
this type of soil you hear God’s word for you and your heart races, yet at the
same time you also can hear the siren call of this world with all of its
seductions and lures, and your heart also races? With this type of soil the
cares of this world threaten to choke out the love and joy God intends for you?
If this is you, then the pre-occupations and distractions of living in the
world are strangling the growth of God’s bountiful harvest within your life.
The thorn bushes of hedonism and selfishness constantly threaten to choke off
the seeds of the gospel.
Now,
we come to the fourth soil; the fertile soil. Are you fertile soil for the
seeds of the gospel? If you are, then God’s word is sown deep within you. It is
sown in you through your constant study and regular service to the scriptures.
Through regular and disciplined fellowship with the saints you become deeply
rooted in the eternal and unchanging truth of God. If you are this soil, then
you have carefully cultivated your life to make room for the wonderful and
altogether holy seeds of an abundant harvest.
In
fertile soil, the seeds of God’s love are carefully nurtured, faithfully
watered, and accordingly grow beyond our wildest dreams. In such fertile soil
the seeds of the gospel will survive the harshest of droughts, the fiercest of
winds, and the most devastating floods, all because they are deeply rooted in
God.
If
this is the type of soil you are, then you can overcome the dark and pervasive
cynicism of our time. It is a cynicism that has hardened many hearts. Hearts
hardened as we continually hear of child murderers and serial killers among us.
If
this is the type of soil you are, then when misfortune comes your way, you have
the spiritual resources to meet it head on and face it full tilt. You can do
this primarily because you know that you are claimed by God. You know in your
heart of hearts what the Heidelberg Catechism says, “You belong to God in Jesus
Christ in both life and death.
If
this is the type of soil you are, then you have the spiritual grounding to face
the concerns of this world in proper perspective. That is to say, the
sovereignty of God is unchallenged in your life. You know that there is no
power that can hurt, destroy, or separate you from God’s power.
Even
so, the temptations of this world are many, and we often try to meet them
without the power of God working within us. For example, it is a given that we
need money to live and eat. But at what level do we need to live and eat?
Sometimes we are called to have other priorities before making money. If money
is what drives us, then we are allowing the thorns to choke out the seeds of
love.
Or
in yet another example, if we work long hours sacrificing time away from
spouses and children in order that we can drive a new car, or have a second home
at the beach or in the mountains, or so that we can wear just the latest
fashions, then the honest truth is that the concerns of this world are choking
out the seeds of the gospel in our lives.
However,
when we consciously decide to live below our means, then we begin to choke out
the thorns. By choosing in this way how we will live, we put the cares of this
world in proper perspective and we allow our lives to become fertile soil for
the seeds of the gospel to grow and mature into a bountiful harvest.
As
we try to discern which type of soil we are it is important to remember that at
one time or another in our lives, we will each be one of these types of soil.
Jesus understood this about our human lives. In verse 9 it reads, “Let
anyone with ears listen”. His point is that we can heed his call.
Regardless of how far you may have strayed, there remains good news. Jesus’
command is to listen. Implicit in that command is to heed his teaching; to
change.
There
are times when we are overcome by the darkness in this world brought about by
the pervasive presence of sin. At times we will be unable to cope with the
misfortunes we suffer. At times we will be lured away from the love of God by
the desire to be our own master and to provide for ourselves independently of
God.
Yet
at other times we will be fertile soil, receiving God’s gracious love and
nurturing its growth within us. This is the promise and the good news of this
parable: That God continues to sow the seeds of the gospel in us, it is up to us how we will receive them.
God
not only continues to sow seeds of his gracious love into our lives as
individuals, but also to us as a community of faith gathered in this time and
place. When Jesus employed this parable in Matthew’s context, he was speaking to
both individuals and to the gathered community. In the verses I did not read
from chapter 13, Jesus addressed the disciples and spoke to them about groups
of people who either would not or could not receive the teaching of the gospel.
So, then, the question is not only how do we as individuals become fertile
soil, but how do we as a corporate body become fertile soil to receive the
seeds of the gospel for this time and place?
In
truth, there is not much difference for us a corporate body and us as individuals.
The basic characteristics of fertile soil for the seeds of the gospel for both
individuals and communities are: an attitude of prayer – listening for God,
an emphasis on studying scripture – hearing God, and an enduring
commitment to mission to each other and the world outside our four walls – responding
to God.
Through acts of worship we listen for God to speak to us. Prayer is
always the beginning act of worship. Without an attitude of prayer, worship
will always elude us. So often we think of prayer as something we do; asking
God for this or that. Yet, the scriptural model for prayer is two fold;
petition and response. Think about Jesus in the garden before his arrest. He
asked the Father to let the cup pass from him, but then he waited for the answer,
and while he waited he sweated out drops of blood as he anticipated the
response. In our prayer life, are we that passionate as we await God’s word?
Studying the scriptures we hear God’s will for our lives. God has
chosen to use the Bible as the normative way to share his will with us. To
discern that will we need to learn it. Christian education and Bible study do
not stop with confirmation. For us as a community to be fertile soil we need to
constantly offer opportunities for Bible study for all ages. Hearing God’s
word, we become fertile soil for the seeds of the gospel to grow strong in us.
We respond to God’s gracious love for us by reaching out to serve
others. We do care for each other through our shepherd program, our fellowship
groups and activities, our Stephen ministers, and numerous other internal
actions. Yet through our faith we are called beyond ourselves. Such mission in
the world models the very way God interacts with us. In Jesus Christ God
stepped outside of himself and into our very messy and sinful world. In similar
ways God leads us beyond our relative security. We are called to risk ourselves
through service to others. It may be messy. It may be risky. But it is
faithful. By responding to God through mission to one another and to the world
around us, we become fertile soil for the seeds of the gospel to take root in
our community.
Jesus calls us to be fertile soil, both as individuals and as a
community. May we hear the call from God. Let us pray.
Let us study. Let us do. In these ways God will indeed create in us the fertile
soil to receive the precious gift of his seeds that we may yield an abundant
harvest to his glory. So may it be for us. Amen.
Reverend Marc V. Mason
Trinity Presbyterian Church
Travelers Rest, SC