Seeds and Soil

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23; Romans 8: 1-11

A sower went out to sow.

Seeds were scattered in all directions, in the hope that some would bear fruit.

Some ended up on the sidewalk, where the birds ate them up.

Some landed in soil, but it was rocky, and so the roots did not take hold.

Some landed in better soil than the rocky stuff, and those seeds grew, but there were many thorns and weedy vines, which eventually overwhelmed them and choked them off.

And some landed in good soil, and and avoided being eaten by birds, or compromised by rocks, or overcome by thorns, so that they were able to remain, and take root, and grow, and bear fruit.

Luckily for us, Jesus went on to explain and interpret to his disciples the details about what this parable meant.

The seeds on the path, says Jesus, are like people who hear the word of the kingdom and don’t understand. The word never gets into their heart, and so just like the birds coming by and snatching away the seeds, so the evil one snatches away the word that was placed on their heart.

They never have a chance.

The seeds that land on the rocky soil are like those who hear the word of the kingdom and receive it with joy. The word endures for a while, but when trouble or persecution comes, these people fall away, because the roots were not able to go deep for them.

The seeds that land among thorns take root, but they bear no fruit because the thorns overwhelm them and choke them out. Jesus tells us that these are like those who hear the word of the kingdom, but are overcome by the cares of the world, or the lure of wealth, and those voices and urges eventually choke out the word, so it fades into the background and bears no fruit.

And the seeds that land in good soil are like those who hear the word of the kingdom, and understand, and remain in the word, so that their roots grow deep, and they can stand firm when trouble or persecution comes to them. 

They are unencumbered by thorns or weeds, so that the cares and desires of the world do not overwhelm them.

They bear fruit, some a little, some a lot, but it is good fruit.

So what is the path that prohibits understanding of the word?

And what are the rocks that keep us from putting down good, deep roots in the word?

And what sorts of thorns and weeds overcome our ability to stay focused on the word?

When I think about those who keep us from understanding the word, I think of false prophets. There were false prophets in Jesus’ time, and there still are false prophets today. Those who twist the word of the kingdom to promote their own self-interest, or to exclude or oppress others, or to mislead people into focusing on rules in order to earn their way into God’s favor, are examples of false prophets. I think, for example, of some of the radio and television evangelists whose main focus is to generate fear in their listeners, and who usually close every show by trying to get people to send them money.

Jesus steered the crowds away from the scribes and Pharisees whose focus was on the law and not on the love of God. This is a valid test for us to use today as well, in order to recognize false prophets. If the God they proclaim is not a God of love, there is reason to question the teaching.

And what are the rocks in the rocky ground that keep the seeds, the word of the kingdom from gaining roots that are good and deep? These seeds, Jesus tells us, are like those who hear the word, and receive it with joy, and it endures a while, but falls away when trouble or persecution comes. What kinds of troubles or persecutions would cause new disciples to question or fall away?

It could be the effects of loneliness, or hunger, or homelessness, or rejection, or judgment, or condemnation.

When the people of God do not take steps to help lonely or hungry people, or when they respond to persecuted people with condemnation or rejection, there is no way that those troubled or persecuted people can experience the love of Christ in the actions of disciples such as these.

Good roots cannot take hold.

We sometimes think we are doing God’s work when we focus on sin in others, and point it out, so they can recognize it and work on fixing it. But doing this is turning away from the amazing grace that Christ has won for all of us.

Even Paul calls this out, loud and clear, in our second text today. The very first verse is the essence of the Good News.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Hear again this good news. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

And think about this. The person writing these words, Paul, used to be the chief condemner of those following the Way, the word of the kingdom. Saul, who became Paul, was the persecutor. And he did so with the certainty that he was carrying out the law, the will of God. Until Jesus brought him up short, throwing him to the ground, taking away his sight, and saying “Saul, Why are you persecuting me?”  Now we know that Saul was persecuting the followers of Jesus, but Jesus asked him, “why are you persecuting me?” Clearly this means that if we persecute those who are trying to follow Jesus, we are persecuting Jesus.

If there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, why are so many followers of Christ so focused on condemnation?

Can we really say that we are primarily focused on loving our neighbors, and that describes the principal purpose of our lives? Or are we consumed with worry about whether we are adequately or sufficiently condemning those who we believe deserve it?  

If we are, then we are adding rocks to the soil; we are making it harder for others to become grounded in the word, to put down roots, to trust when trouble or persecution comes.

Thanks be to God, there is no condemnation for us, even when we behave this way – but there are consequences in the way it affects others who might otherwise come to know and trust in the living God through our witness.

Now we come to the thorns that choke out the word. Jesus says the thorns are like the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth. For us today, these are the idols and desires and anxieties that consume us and shift our attention away from God’s kingdom.  It happens to us as individuals; it can be the relentless pursuit of comfort, of safety, of health, of things. It even happens to the church, when we become focused on our programs, our buildings, our budgets, our membership levels. These are like thorns that overwhelm us and choke out our ability to worship, to study, to serve one another and our community, to love God and to love our neighbors.

So finally we get to the good soil, where the seeds can flourish. Jesus doesn’t say much about this soil here, although elsewhere he talks about such things as manure, and softening the soil, and so forth. Here it appears that good soil is the soil that is unencumbered by such things as thorns, and rocks, and birds that steal the seed. These seeds are able to send down roots that are solid and strong, and the result is that they bear good fruit. Some bear more than others. But what’s common about these seeds is that they hear the word, they understand it, and the word in their lives bears fruit, because they live it out. They abide in Christ Jesus. Remember what Paul said? “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” They boldly live as the body of Christ in the world today. They dedicate themselves to loving God, loving their neighbors, even loving their enemies.

One more question. Who are we in this story? Are we the sowers, or the seed, or the fruit? When Jesus told this story, it sounded like he was the sower, teaching and sharing and living the word of the kingdom, and that the listeners were the seeds. But here we are today as the church, the body of Christ, his hands and feet and voice and representatives in the world today. We are called to scatter seeds all over the place.  We are the sowers. But we are also the seeds. Our ability to live as disciples is dependent on the soil in which we are planted, and on the thorns and rocks that threaten to cause us to fall away. And, if you think about it, we are also the fruit. Somewhere along the way, we are the produce that came from someone else in our lives who put down roots and abided in Christ, lived in good soil, and showed us the way. We are all of these, just like every follower of Christ. This is what a life of discipleship is all about.

We are the body of Christ in the world. Our lives are gospels for others to see and receive the love of Christ firsthand. We do it because it is what Christ would do. We are given the power of the Holy Spirit to keep doing it in the name of Christ. Thanks be to God! Amen.