July 10, 2005 At Saint Mark Church in Norman,OK
Isaiah 55:10-11 + Romans 8:18-23 + Matthew 13: 1-23
This is a parable of promise, not a parable of judgment.
It is about what will come to be, not about the past.
We need no parables to tell us about that.
But because of the past in which we live minute by minute,
we do need to hear about will come,
what is God’s will, and how to accomplish that will.
And so Matthew gives us this parable on the lips of Jesus.
We begin to get the point as we listen to the prophet today
speaking of how certain and effective God’s Word has become.
As sure as rain, sun, and seed make harvest,
so it shall be with the Word of God.
It will bear fruit.
The seed Jesus sews will bear fruit,
but this harvest does not happen in the gospel narrative.
When Matthew’s Gospel concludes, disciples are sent out to all nations to continue scattering the seeds.
What we do get in the Gospel is the failure of the seed to flourish:
Fleeing disciples who are ashamed and afraid of Jesus;
betrayal by Peter whose name is “rock” by the way, and Judas;
a rich young man who has been given everything will give up nothing.
All of these failures are summed up in three images worth looking at and reflecting upon in the midst of summer.
Perhaps a glance at them today will give us some thought about how we might maker more certain that the promised harvest will happen in our lives.
The image of the well – worn path is powerful when we consider how it contributes to the failure of the harvest. Too busy, too stuck in the ruts and habits of our lives, the planted seed, the gifts we are given bear no fruit. Busy in the fast lane is the life of those who are here today and gone tomorrow. All that can be expected of these people so busy with their lives is that we can hope for nothing except more of the same.
The image of the rocky ground is just as powerful to express what happens when the Word of God is sown into a hardened heart. These hearts, as I spoke of last week, cannot change. No conversion, so response, just stone cold silence, stubbornness, and certitude that I am right and my way is the only way. No harvest here.
The final image suggests a condition too common and pervasive in our culture: the shallow ground. These hearers have so many interests in life, so much to do, so many to please! Their priorities are all a jumble. Their prayer is shallow. The commitment is convenient, and when more is ask or expected, it is replaced by something or someone else.
But there is also the good ground, and the promise it holds.
So we tell the parable again
to encourage ourselves with the promise it proclaims,
to look at the conditions
into which this Word and Promise have been sewn,
and perhaps rejoice and receive the blessing we hear
from the lips of Jesus;
a blessing upon those who have eyes to see
and ears to hear.