The gospel reading we heard this morning is often called the Parable of the Sower, but it could be called the Parable of the Four Soils or the Parable of the Miraculous Yields as well. For many folks it lends itself to an allegorical interpretation, for example: the sower is God, the seeds are God's Word, humanity contains different conditions for responding to the Good News preached by Jesus, and we'd better work to be good soil—if possible the highest yielding soil.
This interpretation might lead us to believe that being a good person, or a good church, will make THE difference in the arrival of God's reign. That, of course, would not square with the faith expressed in the Nicene Creed: “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ . . . For us and our salvation he came down from heaven . . . He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” It does not square with St. Paul's understanding of God's acting to save us from the bondage of sin and death. In the passage we heard from the eighth chapter of Romans, Paul said: “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ has set you free from the law of sin and death.” God has acted through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to create fertile soil in the human heart—to free us and to save us. All we must do is open our ears, our eyes and our hearts to receive God's gift of grace.
Perhaps a descriptive interpretation would lead to a more “fruitful” understanding. Is Matthew simply reporting Jesus' words as describing the world as it is or the human heart as it is? Perhaps God's word will take root and with some people in some places, but not in other people or in other places. Perhaps the different types of soil are all contained within each of us at different times in our lives. Some people live lives that could be described as downtrodden or rocky or full of weeds or thorns. At different times in our times we may have felt that God has allowed life to become too difficult, so our faith begins to waver or almost dies. Someone as saintly as Mother Teresa wrote that she felt God had abandoned her spiritually. At other times we feel blessed and close to God, touched by God's love and grace. In those moments we feel ready to be God's heart and hands in the world, acting mercifully, showing compassion, witnessing to our faith in God.
Yet even this approach does not do justice to the complexity of this parable and the complexity of our lives in Christ. Matthew reported that Jesus first spoke the parable to a great crowd, but later addressed the disciples privately when they asked him why he spoke in parables. This section of chapter thirteen is never read on Sunday, so we never get to hear Jesus tell his disciples: “To you it has been given to know the secrets [sometimes translated “mysteries”] of the kingdom of heaven . . .blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.” Then Jesus gives the disciples the explanation of the parable we heard in the second part of the reading from Matthew.
Jesus' interpretation of his parable is allegorical, but he does not prescribe what our response should be. In fact, the way he interprets the parable appears to encourage us to ponder the mystery of the kingdom, the mystery of God's coming reign: “ . . .blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.” Your eyes . . . your ears. Is Jesus asking the disciples to take the risk of trusting their own experience of God—their experience of God revealing God's self through the teaching of Jesus?
My experience of this passage today can be “blessed” by its asking me to marvel at God's work of salvation in me and in each of you. It may be “blessed” by my learning to place more trust in what God is doing here at St. Nicholas' and less in my own efforts to be your pastor.
Let me say how grateful I am for the support of each person at St. Nicholas’ today. This community is blessed by you. I am also grateful for those who worship here regularly, but who are not with us today. They are away on vacation—or they’re taking care a family matter—or some other important reason draws them away. We are blessed by them.
Let me say how grateful I am that this community is a haven for folks who show up to worship and are welcomed, some for a season and some simply passing through. We are blessed by their presence. Then, let me say how grateful I am for the support we give each other every Sunday, so we can go back to our everyday lives with renewed strength and hope through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are blessed by each other.
Indeed this parable forces me to ponder the mystery of how God is working here. Were I to make a suggestion to God, I would suggest that our chairs be filled a little more every year. I am not praying for explosive growth. I am praying that gradually more and more people would come to know Jesus through our community here at St. Nicholas'. I pray that we who belong to this community would become so fired up in the Spirit that we can hardly bear to miss Sunday worship here—50 Average Sunday Attendance becomes 52 then becomes 54 and so on. Right now I have faith God is working out God's purpose for us here at St. Nicholas.' Yet I find this process mysterious. Do you?
What should we pray for then? We should pray that our eyes, our ears and our hearts will be both opened and blessed by our experience with Jesus Christ in this community. May God scatter the seed of God's word among us. May God enrich the soil of our hearts and minds right here, right now. May we ponder the mystery of this parable and then trust in the fullness and fruitfulness of God's grace to lead us as we live into the promised kingdom, the reign of God.
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