15 October 2019
Text: Matt 13:1-23
In the name of +
Jesus. Amen.
The
Parable of the Sower is a text that preachers preach on, and hearers hear, year
after year. And there is always more to
be said, and more to hear!
And with our Lord explaining the parable, there is no way that it can be misunderstood. The sower casts the seed everywhere, and whether or not it takes root, grows, matures, and produces fruit – depends on the receptivity of the soil.
And with our Lord explaining the parable, there is no way that it can be misunderstood. The sower casts the seed everywhere, and whether or not it takes root, grows, matures, and produces fruit – depends on the receptivity of the soil.
In
this one parable, our Lord teaches us about preaching, hearing, faith,
justification, sanctification, and how the church actually grows. He teaches us about the Word of God, which is
to say, dear friends, he teaches us about Himself.
One
aspect that I find interesting is the sower’s indifference about where he
sows. The Rev. Dr. Martin Franzmann, the
professor, poet, and hymnwriter, uses the word “reckless” to describe how the
sower sows: “his reckless love scatters abroad the goodly seed.” Modern scientific agriculture would consider
this a waste, knowing full well that casting seeds on bad soil will just result
in dead seeds. Nevertheless, the sower
sows.
There
is an old farming term for this kind of sowing: “broadcasting.” It is funny how words are adapted to each new
generation. To broadcast is to sow seeds
recklessly, without a central plan. It
means to “cast,” that is to “throw,” broadly.
The farmer doesn’t make judgments about which soil is worthy of his
attention, he just broadcasts it everywhere.
He figures God will take care of the rest. The term “broadcast” was appropriated in the
early days of radio, as programs were “broadcast” over the airwaves. In our day, we have altered the word to
“podcast” – as these audio broadcasts can be accessed individually on demand,
like “pods” of words.
And
so we preachers broadcast – sometimes over radio, sometimes over the internet,
though most often in a church sanctuary.
But in any case, we cast the Word of God abroad, not knowing or caring
where the seeds land. For though the
soil may appear to us to be a hardened pathway, or a thorny ground, or a place
of shallowness – often the grit and tenacity of the little seed’s embedded DNA
of life can be shocking. We’ve all seen
stubborn little plants pushing up through the cracks between sidewalks, or even
growing out of the sides of brick buildings.
The
Word of God takes root wherever and whenever the Holy Spirit wills. Luther said that the Word did everything in
Wittenberg, while he and Melanchthon were drinking beer. And that is the beauty of the Word of God,
dear friends. Its effectiveness, or as
we say in theology, its “efficaciousness” isn’t about the skill of the
preacher, the piety of the lay people, the wealth of the congregation, or the
beauty of the church’s architecture.
It’s not dependent upon the quality of the sound system or the beauty of
the vestments. Preaching the Word is not
like selling or marketing.
It’s
a simple seed: the Word bearing the DNA of Jesus that God Himself created. The seed is sown in our hearts, and by faith,
it grows. Its fate is in God’s hands,
not ours. As the poet said: “The Harvest
Lord Who gave the sower seed to sow Will watch and tend His planted Word.” Amen.
In the name of the Father
and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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