okieinexile
Well-Known Member
Sowing the seeds: Weeding our lives
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
13:2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
13:3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.
13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.
13:5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.
13:6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.
13:7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
13:8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
13:9 Let anyone with ears listen!"
13:18 "Hear then the parable of the sower.
13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path.
13:20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
13:21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.
13:22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.
13:23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
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Jesus often spoke symbolically and the Parable of the Sower was one of those times. He first tells his message in symbols, and then he repeats it in more straight-forward language in order that we might understand it better.
Let me recap today’s passage for you in the most straight-forward, down-to-earth language that I know so that I can make sure we are all on the same page.
First, when you go out to tell people about The Kingdom, there are folks that will hear what you say but it just isn’t their cup of tea. It will go in one ear and out the other and have no effect.
Then there are the folks who will say, “Great, wonderful.” They go like gangbusters for a while, but then they peter-out. They just don’t have what it takes to go the full distance.
Some people get it and start walking the walk and talking the talk, but then life gets in the way. There is so much going on, there are so many demands on their time that they no longer can grow in the Lord and just get choked out.
Finally, there is the category that would represent the ideal, the folks that bear fruit and produce enough to make up for all of the grain that was lost on the other seeds.
This is a good story because it doesn’t leave you with any illusions. If you are doing the work of an evangelist, you are going to fail at least three-quarters of the time. Don’t have any false expectations that you are going to save the world. But is also lets you know that the job doesn’t end with you. The seed you plant will grow to bear fruit and create more seed to plant somewhere else. This is process that goes on forever because it is meant to go on forever. We are not only instructed to spread the Gospel to the end of the earth but until the end of time.
In one of his letters, the Apostle Paul said, “I planted the seed, someone else watered it, but God makes it grow.”
I have to believe that Paul was referring to this exact parable when he made that statement. I believe this because, when I read the parable myself, I worry about those lost seeds, the ones that fall on hard ground, the ones that fall on shallow soil, and the ones that the weeds choke out. What can we do to help in those cases?
I’ll start out by saying what I don’t know how to do. I don’t know how to make soil not be hard. There might be some who have the know-how, but I’ve never been able to make someone listen who didn’t want to. God hasn’t given me that ability, neither in the classroom nor in the pulpit.
I don’t know how to keep soil, or people, from being shallow either. By God’s grace there it is a process. I know because I’ve seen people grow over time, but it is beyond me.
Weeds I do know about because my life is full of them. This is what I want to talk about today.
I know a lot about weeds, because, like I said, I have plenty of them in my life. The thing about weeds is they steal nutrition from the plant that you are trying to cultivate. While I am getting plenty of nutrition in the sense of food, sometimes I wonder if my soul is getting enough nutrition. It seems like each way I turn there is something else making a demand upon my time, another activity calling me to participate. Get enough of these activities, and there is not enough time to do the things that bear fruit. Church becomes just another thing clogging up your calendar.
This is not an uncommon problem. Some of you out there might be leaning forward in your seats, wanting an easy answer. Here’s an easy answer: Stop anything but church. (Some of you are thinking to stop church while you are at it as well.) As appealing as this suggestion is, it is not a good ideas. If you are only involved with church work, then you are only coming in contact with church people. You never meet the people Jesus sent us to; you never get a chance to sow your seeds; and you miss out on the broader circle of the world where Christ’s light is meant to shine.
The alternative is to turn your “weeds” into a means of producing fruit. Remember they are weeds and don’t let them take over your life, but use the contact they give you with the rest of the world to help you provide a Christian witness.
I don’t mean for you to go to every group that you belong to and start haranguing other members about church and Jesus, but don’t hide your light under a bushel either. There is a natural way that you can talk about your faith. In real human interaction, the subjects of life and death and living and growing come up, and Jesus is a part of all of that. Make real friends, form real relationships, and show your real self. This is how most people sow their seeds for the Kingdom. People will grow toward Jesus by knowing you, and you will grow in Jesus by offering him to others. This is God’s gift to us.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
13:2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
13:3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.
13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.
13:5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.
13:6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.
13:7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
13:8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
13:9 Let anyone with ears listen!"
13:18 "Hear then the parable of the sower.
13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path.
13:20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
13:21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.
13:22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.
13:23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
/***/
Jesus often spoke symbolically and the Parable of the Sower was one of those times. He first tells his message in symbols, and then he repeats it in more straight-forward language in order that we might understand it better.
Let me recap today’s passage for you in the most straight-forward, down-to-earth language that I know so that I can make sure we are all on the same page.
First, when you go out to tell people about The Kingdom, there are folks that will hear what you say but it just isn’t their cup of tea. It will go in one ear and out the other and have no effect.
Then there are the folks who will say, “Great, wonderful.” They go like gangbusters for a while, but then they peter-out. They just don’t have what it takes to go the full distance.
Some people get it and start walking the walk and talking the talk, but then life gets in the way. There is so much going on, there are so many demands on their time that they no longer can grow in the Lord and just get choked out.
Finally, there is the category that would represent the ideal, the folks that bear fruit and produce enough to make up for all of the grain that was lost on the other seeds.
This is a good story because it doesn’t leave you with any illusions. If you are doing the work of an evangelist, you are going to fail at least three-quarters of the time. Don’t have any false expectations that you are going to save the world. But is also lets you know that the job doesn’t end with you. The seed you plant will grow to bear fruit and create more seed to plant somewhere else. This is process that goes on forever because it is meant to go on forever. We are not only instructed to spread the Gospel to the end of the earth but until the end of time.
In one of his letters, the Apostle Paul said, “I planted the seed, someone else watered it, but God makes it grow.”
I have to believe that Paul was referring to this exact parable when he made that statement. I believe this because, when I read the parable myself, I worry about those lost seeds, the ones that fall on hard ground, the ones that fall on shallow soil, and the ones that the weeds choke out. What can we do to help in those cases?
I’ll start out by saying what I don’t know how to do. I don’t know how to make soil not be hard. There might be some who have the know-how, but I’ve never been able to make someone listen who didn’t want to. God hasn’t given me that ability, neither in the classroom nor in the pulpit.
I don’t know how to keep soil, or people, from being shallow either. By God’s grace there it is a process. I know because I’ve seen people grow over time, but it is beyond me.
Weeds I do know about because my life is full of them. This is what I want to talk about today.
I know a lot about weeds, because, like I said, I have plenty of them in my life. The thing about weeds is they steal nutrition from the plant that you are trying to cultivate. While I am getting plenty of nutrition in the sense of food, sometimes I wonder if my soul is getting enough nutrition. It seems like each way I turn there is something else making a demand upon my time, another activity calling me to participate. Get enough of these activities, and there is not enough time to do the things that bear fruit. Church becomes just another thing clogging up your calendar.
This is not an uncommon problem. Some of you out there might be leaning forward in your seats, wanting an easy answer. Here’s an easy answer: Stop anything but church. (Some of you are thinking to stop church while you are at it as well.) As appealing as this suggestion is, it is not a good ideas. If you are only involved with church work, then you are only coming in contact with church people. You never meet the people Jesus sent us to; you never get a chance to sow your seeds; and you miss out on the broader circle of the world where Christ’s light is meant to shine.
The alternative is to turn your “weeds” into a means of producing fruit. Remember they are weeds and don’t let them take over your life, but use the contact they give you with the rest of the world to help you provide a Christian witness.
I don’t mean for you to go to every group that you belong to and start haranguing other members about church and Jesus, but don’t hide your light under a bushel either. There is a natural way that you can talk about your faith. In real human interaction, the subjects of life and death and living and growing come up, and Jesus is a part of all of that. Make real friends, form real relationships, and show your real self. This is how most people sow their seeds for the Kingdom. People will grow toward Jesus by knowing you, and you will grow in Jesus by offering him to others. This is God’s gift to us.
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