Hear the words of the Gospel lesson appointed for the Sunday called Sexagesima, or the Second Sunday before Lent:

“And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.” (Luke 8:8-10) 

In this morning’s gospel lesson, Our Lord is traveling from town to town proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. He makes His way back to the town of Capernaum where Peter lives and He begins teaching again. Now Jesus has been busy – He has been healing people and casting out demons. We see Him again out by the Sea of Galilee teaching on the shore. As He is teaching, the crowds begin to grow. People are flocking from all over to hear Him speak.

Jesus is famous for His parables, a story used to illustrate or teach truth, they are His trademark. He doesn’t just use parables for analogies; He often uses them to make the main point of His message. Throughout Our Lord’s ministry, parables will confuse and frustrate the ultra-religious people and captivate the hearts and minds of those who are sincerely following Him. For the first time, His entire sermon is a series of parables and from this point on parables will play a dominant role in His teaching.

Christ used parables of everyday life to explain the spiritual reality of the kingdom of God. In His ministry He tells a total of forty parables, but He only interprets two and this is one of them. So we know this is an extremely important text. This parable of the sower sets the stage for how we hear everything that Our Saviour has to say and this parable also determines how we will respond to Him.

In Our Lord’s day, Palestine was an agricultural society. Farmers would walk across their fields and, as they walked, they would grab handfuls of seed from a sack they were carrying and throw it across the ground. Very different from how we farm today. Most farmers in today’s

 America will spend time planning and organizing the planting process. They will plant seeds in nice, organized rows spaced evenly apart – they plant very strategically, in order to ensure maximum effectiveness.

In biblical times, farmers didn’t really care what kind of soil the seed landed on because the more they sowed, the more they could harvest. They wanted to make sure that all the good soil got seeds. The difference between how we plant and how they planted can be seen in the animal kingdom. Most mammals will have a few offspring. They will put a lot of time and resources into protecting those offspring and they have a high success rate. Insects, on the other hand, will lay a thousand eggs. Of those thousand eggs about eight hundred will not survive to adulthood. Today, we plant like mammals; back then, they planted like insects.

There are four types of soil which serve as metaphors for our hearts. First, the hard path. As people walk along a path the soil becomes compacted and dense, making it virtually impenetrable for a seed. So, the seed that falls here is picked up by birds and produces no fruit. Then there is the rocky soil. This is a thin layer of soil with limestone or rock underneath. The soil is shallow and lacks moisture which makes it impossible for the plant to develop a solid root system. Seeds that fall here would grow fast and wither away quickly also bearing no fruit.

Some seeds fell among thorns. These are weeds that grow up alongside the plant. Many of them would be attractive, they would grow with colorful flowers, but they would soak up the nutrients and choke out the crop. Again, there would be no fruit. Lastly there is the seed that falls on the good soil. This seed avoids the path, the barriers of the rocks, it stays away from the weeds and grows to produce an abundant crop.

These four soils represent how we respond to Christ. But the soil isn’t any different. The difference is what else is in the soil. Some have rocks, some have weeds, and some have been made hard from the constant pounding of feet. We all start off with the possibility of producing an abundant crop for the kingdom of God.

The disciples are with Jesus when He is preaching and they find His message a bit confusing. Like the disciples, the crowds are a bit confused as well. Our Lord doesn’t explain to the crowds, but He answers the disciples privately. The kingdom of God is not a puzzle to be solved – it is a mystery to be revealed. We don’t need to reason our way to it; we need to listen for God’s explanation. Those who listen will understand. The more we listen, the more we understand. Those who do not listen will not understand. It’s like any relationship – the more time you spend with a person where you are really paying attention to them, the better you will know them.

Our Lord then explains to us what the parable means. He is the sower and the seed is the Word of God. The sowing of the seed is the proclaiming of the Word of God. The different soils are our different responses to Him. The path refers to people who have no desire to hear the word of God. They are like a brick wall. The seed can hit it but all it will ever do is bounce off. Some people’s hearts are hard – they can hear God speak but they refuse to listen. They can see God work but they refuse to accept it and won’t give the seed an opportunity to grow. They refuse to respond to the Word of Almighty God.

The rocky soil represents people who lack security. They accept the Word of God, they grow quickly and with joy, but it doesn’t last. Their faith can’t endure persecution and trials. They believe when things are good, but when the hard times come, they don’t have the root system to survive. When these people go through trials, rather than clinging to God, they walk away from Him. They’re shallow and driven by feelings, not by conviction. They want the comfort and the life that Our Saviour offers, but they don’t want to have to follow Him.

The weeds are the competition – they prevent the plant from growing and getting the resources it needs. These are people who live with a divided interest – they’re caught up in life’s worries, in riches, or pleasures that prevent them from maturing. The Word gets in and it grows but it grows alongside other things – things that distract us from our walk with God; things which prevent us from truly devoting ourselves to Him. The weeds come from denying God access to the entirety of our heart. These weeds are distractions – wealth, power, popularity, success. These things can get in our lives and hinder our relationship with Christ by battling for the throne of our heart. Christ doesn’t want to be just a part of your life – He wants to be your life.

Then there is the good soil, which refers to those who receive the Word of God and obey it. These people don’t just listen; they hear the Word of God; they seek to understand it, to grow and apply it in their lives. They cling to it, even in trials and through suffering. They make Christ the center of their lives – it’s all about Him. Those who realize this and live their lives accordingly are the good soil. Good soil is fruitful – it produces a harvest. Good soil allows for growth, for development; it provides resources. Our task is to prepare our hearts to grow and produce abundant fruit. We might start in the wrong place but if we are willing to let that seed in, it will transform our lives. We are changed from being a seed to being sowers.

We have the ability to choose which kind of soil we are. The hard soil can be plowed, rocks can be removed, and weeds can be pulled out. With proper attention there is no reason all the soil cannot be good soil, productive soil. Some of us don’t see Our Lord clearly because of pain. We’ve been hurt and disappointed in the past and so we put up a wall. If we don’t let Christ in, then He can’t hurt us like everyone else has.

Some of us get excited but we lack perseverance. We like the idea of the life that He offers but we don’t want to make sacrifices to get it. Some of us want Christ in our lives – we just don’t want Him to have control of everything. Becoming the good soil means really dedicating ourselves, it means stepping away from all the world’s distractions so that our lives can be all about Him.

For the most part, we tend to be rather conservative – Jesus Christ is not. This is what is truly amazing about Him – He’s generous; He’s not worried about waste – He’s worried about people not having the opportunity to respond. Our Lord offers His life to everyone, even when He knows some people are not likely to accept it. Now, as we’ve been transformed from seeds to sowers, we‘ve been given the task of sharing His Word with others. We’re not told to judge the type of soil; we’re not supposed to hand pick who gets it. We’re just supposed to share it with everyone…with anyone. Remember, the sower scatters the seed everywhere.

Throwing out all this seed can seem like a waste – a lot of us think like that. We think it’s about the success rate. We think “that person is too far gone; they’re too much work; someone like that will never accept a relationship with God.” Some of us may have had that said about us at one point…but the soil can change. Let’s think back to what kind of soil we were when Christ got ahold of us and what kind of soil we are now.

It’s not our job to determine who in this life is worthy of salvation –  our job is to offer the life Jesus Christ brings to everyone. He knows there are no lost causes – only lost people. Everyone, no matter what type of soil they seem to be, deserves an opportunity to change. Our Lord and Saviour loves lavishly and unreasonably – He never gives up on anyone, and He will do whatever He can to save everyone. As true Christians – as sowers of the seed – so should we.

Amen,

The Rev. Deacon Timothy Fleming