Sermon: Sexagesima - 2020

16 February 2020

Text: Luke 8:4-15

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

The Parable of the Sower is one of the most comforting and one of the most frustrating passages of Scripture.  

The sower, of course, is the preacher, and the seed is the Word of God.  The power is not in the preacher.  The preacher is only the one who casts the seed.  The little seed is where the power is.  But as Jesus teaches us, what prevents the mighty power of the Word of God from working is not a defect in the seed – and unless the preacher is not preaching the Word of God – the problem isn’t in the preacher either.  And in fact, the preacher doesn’t even use his intelligence to find the best place to sow.  Rather he just recklessly throws seed everywhere, “to men who like or like it not.”

The reason the church grows or shrinks is the soil, that is, the receptivity of the hearers of the Word.  Some people harden their hearts, and the Word never makes a dent.  Others accept it at first, but they are shallow and have no sense of being rooted in the church, and they fall away.  Others start off well, but get distracted by the “cares and riches and pleasures of life,” and they too fall away.

But to the good soil, to those who hear the Word, week after week, and “hold it fast in an honest and good heart,” they will “bear fruit with patience.” For the Word of God is life-transforming.  The Word not only changes that one life, but the lives of others who come into contact with this “good soil” – even a “hundredfold.”

Over the last several decades, the church has shrunk.  Not just our parish, but all of Christianity in our country.  And not just in our country, but in the western world.  In Europe, the beautiful cathedrals are, this very day, empty, while the mosques are full.  The church bells are replaced by the loudspeakers calling faithful Muslims to worship in Arabic.  Formerly Christian people no longer care about God.  They are obsessed with sexuality and food and entertainment.  

In our own country, young people are discouraged from marrying young and having children.  And yet, high school girls are introduced to contraception – often without their parents’ knowledge.  Among some ethnic groups, there are more abortions than live births.  We are approaching a birthrate where we can’t even replace ourselves.  

We see the effect of this in increasingly small families.

Moreover, most younger people are not interested in Christianity.  Some are, of course.  But most don’t know the Bible, and they don’t care.  The Divine Service just isn’t a priority in their lives.  They have no commitment.  To them, supporting their church financially would be a waste of money – money that could be used for fun.  Fewer and fewer people see themselves as having a responsibility to future generations for the survival of our churches.  Our synod has recently gone from ten universities to eight, as decreasing enrollment has led to the closure of two of our Concordia colleges.

So why is there so little good soil?  Why are so many people distracted by the “cares and riches and pleasures of life” – if they even allow the seed to germinate at all?  Of course, the answer is sin.  We are not compelled to be part of the church.  God created us free, and we, like Adam and Eve, so often misuse our freedom.

And while gurus and experts peddle programs for church growth, while rich bureaucrats and experts try to convince us parish pastors that it’s our fault because we aren’t targeting better soil, or we’re not using marketing or psychological manipulation on our parishioners – our Lord teaches us how it all works in His kingdom.  And He works through the Word.

Sin inhibits the church from doing its work to save the world.  And the soil is bad, dear friends, because we need to repent.  Do you see all these empty pews?  That’s what it looks like when you choose not to come to the Divine Service.  Do you see the decaying culture all around us?  That’s the result of Christians living just like everyone else instead of being separate, instead of being salt and light for the world.  Do you see the closed Christian schools and colleges?  Do you see the financial statement in your bulletin?  That’s because of soil that is unreceptive to the Word – both ours who are here (myself included), as well as those who are quick to tell you that they are members of Salem Lutheran Church, or that they are life-long Missouri Synod Lutherans, or that they are Christians – and yet do not attend, do not pay attention to the preaching, and do not give of their blessings in time and money to support the church’s work.

For the bad soil has other priorities.  The bad soil looks at the little seed and is unimpressed.  But good soil sees the little seed of God’s Word not as a boring little speck that means nothing, but rather the good soil sees the seed with the eyes of faith, and through belief in the seed’s imbedded power, the good soil sees the seed as a fruitful redwood forest thousands of years old.

Dear friends, our Lord is calling us to repent, to come out of Babylon, to stop living like unbelievers, to treasure the Word of God, to pay rapt attention when the deacon reads the precious and holy words of Scripture, and to listen attentively when the pastor reads the Gospel and preaches.  Neither the seed nor the sower will force you to receive the Word of God.  You are free. 

But don’t use your freedom to your destruction, dear friends.  Your eternal life depends upon the Word implanting and growing in you.  Use your freedom to receive the Word of God, which is the very love of God manifested in Jesus Christ, in His Word read and preached, and in the Word that you eat and drink.  Our Lord is pleading with us now to repent and to open our hearts and our minds to the power of His Word.  The Word connects us to the cross, and the Word of the cross is the power of God – because it is how our Lord forgives us and renews us.

And so if you are guilty of being bad soil, don’t despair.  For Jesus came to save sinners.  Bad soil becomes good soil by the Lord’s grace, by being convicted by the Law and hearing and believing the Gospel: the good news that you are saved by grace alone, through the good soil of faith.  The power is not in yourself, nor in the preacher – only but in the Word.

Hear the Word, dear friends!  Revel in the Word.  Love the time that you have here in this holy place with the Lord who loves you, and who has nothing but love and life to give you, tossed about recklessly like a farmer throwing seeds everywhere, not counting the cost, and not trying to ascertain the goodness of the soil.

And when you receive this seed, when it takes root, when it grows, when it is nurtured and when it grows – you will be the same blessing to future generations – both your own children and others – just as your parents and grandparents and forbears were to you.  

For in Christ, this commitment is our duty but also our joy and our delight.  In the Lord’s kingdom, we give by receiving; we are a blessing by being blessed.

May God the Father,

God the Son,

And God the Spirit bless us!

Let all the world praise Him alone,

Let solemn awe possess us.

Now let our hearts say, “Amen.”

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.