March 11: "Seasons of the Soil" (4th Sunday in Lent)

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

That day Jesus went out of the house and sat down beside the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he climbed into a boat and sat down. The whole crowd was standing on the shore.

He told them this parable: “A farmer went out to scatter seed. As he was scattering seed, some fell on the path, and birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. They sprouted immediately because the soil wasn’t deep. But when the sun came up, it scorched the plants, and they dried up because they had no roots. Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorny plants grew and choked them. Other seed fell on good soil and bore fruit, in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one. Everyone who has ears should pay attention.”

Jesus continued, “Consider this parable of the farmer. Whenever people hear the word about the kingdom and don’t understand it, the evil one comes and carries off what was planted in their hearts. This is the seed that was sown on the path. As for the seed that was spread on rocky ground, this refers to people who hear the word and immediately receive it joyfully. Because they have no roots, they last for only a little while. When they experience distress or abuse because of the word, they immediately fall away. As for the seed that was spread among thorny plants, this refers to those who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the false appeal of wealth choke the word, and it bears no fruit. As for what was planted on good soil, this refers to those who hear and understand, and bear fruit and produce—in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one.”

MESSAGE     “Seasons of the Soil”

I had an interesting experience recently. About 12 years ago, I read a book that I absolutely loved. The book was “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson. It’s the story of Bryson’s attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, even though he had never done any kind of long-distance hiking before. The story is filled with Bryson’s wonderful humor, but also with danger and tenderness. I just loved it.

Then, last year, I decided to read the book again. And I was so surprised! I still enjoyed it, but not the way I did the first time I read it. Some of the parts I found funny the first time weren’t so funny the second time around. And some minor things in the story that I hadn’t really paid attention to the first time were very moving the second time. The first reading made me feel happy, but the second reading left me emotionally drained.

So what had happened? It was the same book. I was the same person. Why did I react so differently 12 years later. What had changed?

I’ll get back to this in a few minutes.

For now, I want to talk about Jesus’ parables.

We’ve looked at a couple of parables so far during this season of Lent: the parable of the Prodigal Son, the parable of the Good Samaritan, and the parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin. Today we’re looking at another parable, which is commonly known as the parable of the Sower.

When we look at these stories that Jesus told, we have to remember that he did not intend them to function like fables that have one clear moral. Jesus used these stories to challenge people to think about God and about their faith, maybe in ways they weren’t used to thinking about those things.

In the past 2,000 years of Christian history, many people have tried to turn Jesus’ parables into allegories. That is, they would look at the stories and say, well, this character stands for this, and that character stands for that, and so on. We saw, a couple of weeks ago, that we run into trouble when we try to force this kind of interpretation onto the parables. If you’ve missed the other sermons in this series, I encourage you to go check them out on my sermon blog. (Sorry for the shameless plug for my blog!)

Anyway, another problem we run into with these parables is our tendency to fit ourselves in to the story somehow, or to identify ourselves with one character or one aspect of the story. And then, of course, we also tend to fit other people into the story, too.

For instance, in the story of the Good Samaritan, it’s easy and comfortable to see ourselves as the Samaritan who stopped to help the man who was beaten. And it’s just as easy to think of people who fit the profile of the two priests who didn’t stop to help.

In other words, we sometimes use parables to make judgments about who is right and who is wrong, about who is a good person, and who may not be so good.

Using Jesus’ parables to judge and label people? I’m pretty sure that’s not what Jesus intended.

Now, for today’s parable. This is a story about a farmer who goes out to sow seed, and, naturally, the seed falls on different kinds of soil: hard, packed soil; rocky soil; soil filled with thorny plants; and good, fertile soil. Most of the seed the farmer sowed wasn’t able to take root and grow because it fell on soil that was not well-suited for growing. Only the seed that fell on the good soil grew and produced grain.

This is one of the rare times that Jesus explained his parable. His disciples often didn’t “get” what Jesus was trying to teach through these stories, and evidently, they were struggling with this story.

So Jesus explains that the seeds falling on different kinds of soil represent different ways that people receive Jesus’ message of God’s kingdom. Some cannot accept that message because they don’t understand it; some accept the message but don’t cultivate their faith so that it can withstand trouble; some receive the message but make the choice to follow the ways of the world rather than the ways of the kingdom; and some receive the message and let it take root within them, so that it produces the fruit of faithfulness in their lives.

It’s so easy to think that we are like those seeds that fell on the good soil. And it’s so easy to think of people we may know who are like the seeds that fell on the path, or the rocky soil, or among the thorns.

But when we do that, we are judging those other people and their faith.

Perhaps a better way to understand this parable is by realizing that during our lives, we all go through different seasons of the soil that affect the ways we receive, accept, and live out the message of God’s kingdom.

It’s just like when I read that book the second time. I received the message of that book and responded to it much differently 12 years after reading it the first time. What had changed? I did. 12 years’ worth of life experiences, of ups and downs, of learning and growing had made me a different person than I was when I first read the book. If I read it again in another 12 years, perhaps I’ll respond in another completely different way.

So the way that this parable challenges us is to make us examine our relationship to God and our journey in faith to determine which season of the soil we are in at any given time.

Sometimes, we are like the soil on the path, which has been beaten down so that the seed just lies on top of the soil, where birds can eat it. Jesus says this is similar to times when people fail to understand his message. Some writers say that the seed that falls along the path is seed that is deflected from its purpose by the hardness of life.

Isn’t that often true when life beats us down? When we are overwhelmed with life or with life’s problems, don’t we sometimes find ourselves unable to understand where God is in the midst of it all? Don’t we sometimes find ourselves struggling to understand how there could be so much hatred and violence in the world? Haven’t we all been in that season of the soil at one time or another? The season of not understanding can come at any point in life, for any number of reasons, when we can’t understand, for one reason or another.

Jesus also described seeds that fell among the rocks, where the soil was very shallow so that the seeds couldn’t take root. Sometimes, we find that our soil is in a season of shallowness, and that’s often because something is hurting our relationships. In order for our soil to have depth, we need to cultivate our relationship not only with God, but with other people. It is in these relationships that we find and learn more about giving and receiving love. When these relationships are strained or broken, our soil becomes filled with the rocks of distrust, anger, or loneliness. And we’ve all been through those seasons.

Then Jesus talked about seeds that fell among the thorns. We might think that the thorns are painful problems we face, but Jesus makes it clear that the thorns represent our tendency to fall prey to the temptations of the world, such as gaining wealth, or reaching a certain level of status, or achieving power and respect. And of course, when we are focused on getting or holding on to these things, we worry. We worry about having enough money, we worry about what other people think about us, we worry about having the power to have control over our lives. These worries are the thorns that choke out the message of Jesus – a message that tells us to put our trust in God, rather than in wealth or status or power.

The irony is that this soil, which is good for thorns, would also be good for the seed. The soil in this season has great potential, but our preoccupation with worry nurtures the thorns and helps them grow.

Finally is the seed that falls into the good soil, where it takes root and produces a harvest. Not always a large harvest, but a harvest nonetheless. Sometimes these seasons of good soil are fleeting. Sometimes, they last a while.

But the best news in all this is that seasons change. Here we are, waiting and waiting and waiting for spring to put an end to this long, cold winter. But we know that spring will come.

And we can know that even if we are in one of the more unproductive seasons of the soil, we will not be stuck there. If we trust in God and if we help each other, we can once again find ourselves in the season where we grow and bloom – in love and in faith.

I invite you to take a packet of seeds from the ushers. Over the next week or so, use these seeds as a way of looking at your life and your faith, to determine which season of the soil you are in right now.

And then know that, no matter where you are now, there is always potential for the soil of your faith to produce a good harvest. Because, through the power of God and the power of love, poor soil can become good soil, even when we least expect it. Amen.