"Of Dirt and Discipleship"

            In my sermon series on the “Parables of Jesus” this week, we encounter a unique parable.  Our parable is the “Parable of the Sower,” as recorded in Matthew 13: 3-9.  What makes this parable unique is that later, while he is meeting privately with his closest followers, Jesus explicitly interprets the parable; see Matthew 13:  18-23. 

            This parable tells the story of a farmer who goes out to plant his field.  Unlike contemporary American farmers, who use sophisticated GPS equipment to precisely plant their seeds, the farmers in Jesus’ audience planted their fields by hand.  This involved walking the field, carrying a sack of seeds.  As the farmer deliberately walked along, he would reach into the seed bag, scoop out some seeds with his free had and sling the seeds in an arc across the ground in front.  Continuing to walk, he would scoop another handful of seeds and sling those seeds in an arc in front.  He would continue this process until the field was covered with seeds.

            As you can imagine, this method of sowing seeds does not give the farmer much control over where the seeds fall.  And, it was this lack of control over the seeds that is pivotal in Jesus’ parable.  In his parable, Jesus describes how the seed falls into different types of soil.  Of course, the quality of soil significantly determines the ability of the seed to sprout, grow, and reproduce more seeds. Jesus describes four different types of soil where the scattered seed fell:

     1.      A hardened foot path.
     2.      Rocky soil.
     3.      A plot of land filled with thorny thistles
     4.      Good, rich soil.

           Here is the parable, as Jesus taught it:  “And as he [the farmer] sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.  But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”  (Matthew 13:  4-8)

           Later, when he is alone with the disciples and his closest followers, Jesus interprets the parable.  In Jesus’ interpretation, the parable is an allegory that explains how different persons hear and respond to Christ and his teachings:  The sower in the parable is Jesus Christ; the seed represents the teaching or preaching of Jesus; and the various soils represent how we may differently hear the Word of God through Jesus and respond.

           For instance, Jesus interprets what happens to the seed that fell on the hardened foot path in this manner:  “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path.” (v. 18) 

            The interpretation of what happens to the seed on the rocky ground is similar.  This second soil signifies a superficial understanding of the faith.  When someone has a superficial faith, they are not prepared when they encounter difficulties in life.  Consequently, they lose their faith in times of trouble because it is not deep enough to sustain them.

            The third soil, which is already crowded with thorny thistles, represents persons who allow distractions to crowd out and, ultimately, kill their faith.  Jesus describes these distractions as cares of the world and the lure—or, temptation—of wealth and affluence.  Finally, the good soil represents disciples who hear and understand the Word.  These disciples develop a deep faith, which sustains them and allows them to productively serve God by helping to establish God’s Reign on earth.

           I’ve tried to capture the different types of soil and what they represent in the following table:

Soil	Responses to Jesus by the Individual
Hardened foot path	Failure to understand leads to eventual loss of faith
Rocky soil	Superficial faith, leaves the individual unprepared for difficulties in life and they fall away from Christ and the church
Already crowded with thorny thistles	Other activities and distractions, as well as lure of personal wealth chokes down and marginalizes love for Christ and faithful discipleship
Good, rich soil	True studying and understanding the Word, leads to a deep faith that sustains the disciple and enables them to work productively as a partner in building God’s Reign on Earth

 Usually this parable is heard and understood as exploring the individual response of particular persons to the teachings and vision of Christ Jesus.  However, in my message this Sunday (August 23rd), I am going to explore expanding the scope of the parable to include whole churches, which I understand to be collective, communities of faith.  For instance, what kind of church response does the hardened foot path represent?  What kind of church does the rocky soil represent?  Put another way, I want to examine what a third column on my grid might contain, depicted as follows:

Soil	Responses to Jesus by the Individual	Responses to Jesus by the Church
Hardened foot path	Failure to understand leads to eventual loss of faith	???
Rocky soil	Superficial faith, leaves the individual unprepared for difficulties in life and they fall away from Christ and the church	???
Already crowded with thorny thistles	Other activities and distractions, as well as lure of personal wealth chokes down and marginalizes love for Christ and faithful discipleship	???
Good, rich soil	True studying and understanding the Word, leads to a deep faith that sustains the disciple and enables them to work productively as a partner in building God’s Reign on Earth	???

 Come, join us this Sunday, August 23rd, as we explore the “Parable of the Sower” and what it says to us as individuals and as collective communities of faith.  Christ United Methodist Church is located at 4530 A Street in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Our classic worship services are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday mornings. 

Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.