Quite a Difference! (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)
Listen.July 13th, 2008
Rev. Dr. Craig A. Wagner
Introduction
Years ago it was quite popular to begin a conversation by asking someone the question, “What’s your sign?” The interesting thing was that almost everyone knew what their zodiac sign was. People were interested in their horoscopes which were governed by the sign under which they were born. It seems to me that the big craze for this was somewhere in the 1970’s. People knew if they were born under aquarius, sagittarius, capricorn, virgo, leo, and so on. Perhaps many of you still know your sign.
There are twelve signs of the zodiac and the presumption is that your sign reveals something about you. Your personality and characteristics were found in your sign. Someone who was versed in the characteristics could say, “That was a very gemini thing to say” or “that was a very scorpio thing to do.” And of course, the presumption was and is that your future was somehow affected by your sign.
Scripture offers a far more revealing set of categories. This morning we see that although there are twelve signs of the zodiac, there are only four types of soil mentioned in our reading (see Emphasis p. 16 for background). So the question for us to ponder is “What’s your soil?”
As we read the lesson for this morning, we discover the four different types of soil that the seed lands upon. The types range from hard, rocky surfaces with poor growing possibilities to rich fertile soil that will produce great yields. “What’s your soil?” There is quite a difference between each type.
The farmer
Our text for today is very familiar to most people. We have heard it again and again and the repetition has us tune out and think of different things when we hear it being read or hear it as a sermon emphasis. This morning I want to place a different thought in front of us as we think about this passage; think about it from the standpoint of a subsistence farmer.
A farmer who is living from crop to crop with no margin for error and with no barns in which to store excess produce or grain. This man can not afford to waste any seed and needs good weather and abundant crops in order to feed and cloth his family. The scattering of seed takes on tremendous importance when it is a person’s livelihood.
This type of farmer goes into the fields with a bag of seed. The common method for planting that seed was to broadcast it over a certain area. A person would simply take a handful of seed and toss it as evenly as possible over the field; walk to another section and do the same thing; over and over again. This is not the precise planting that we know of when a tractor pulls the planter and the corn seed is automatically deposited in the dirt in an orderly fashion. However, with the grain seed this method worked for the farmer in Israel. The problem was that not all of the seed would land in the fertile areas of rich dirt, but would land in various places.
Some would land on the hard packed path that was used for walking through the fields. The birds would come and eat that seed. Some would fall on rocky ground, with no depth of soil, the plants would grow rapidly and spindly and then be scorched by the heat and die. The root system was inadequate. Some of the seed would fall among the thorns and thistles and would be choked to death. But some of the seed would fall onto the good soil and would grown healthy and strong and produce the fruit in varying amounts; some thirty times, some sixty times and some one hundred times. This was quite an exaggeration and quite a difference. A hundred fold harvest would have been beyond normal expectations of any farmer; but this parable would hold out hope to the one whose livelihood depended on a good harvest.
Usually, as I have just done, we think of this parable in terms of the sower who went out to sow the seed. In fact, Jesus begins the parable in this manner, but I suggest this is a parable that is not really about the farmer or sower at all. The reality is that the parable is about the seed. It’s about where it falls and the reception it gets from the various types of soil. The seed is the “word of the kingdom.”
This word will fall in various places. In some it will be snatched away quickly by the evil one. In some places it will begin to flourish but will not have the depth necessary to endure when it gets rough. In other areas it will be strangled because of worldly issues and cares, but in some areas it will flourish and grow and produce abundantly. This parable was told to explain why some are faithful and produce the fruits of faith and others either do not respond favorably or are antagonistic toward the word of the kingdom of God.
The seed
As we consider the interpretation of the parable as it pertains to each one of us, we can see several different possibilities. Initially, we understand the arable to signify that Jesus and his disciples are the ones who sow the seed. That would mean that each one of us is called to sow the seed; In other words to share the word of the kingdom with others. Thos of us who believe in Christ and who know of God’s love and salvation are to share that good news with others.
It’s true that as we share the word with those around us, some will respond negatively while others may respond positively. Some will hear the word and accept the good news, but not allow it to overcome the cares of the world, or will not allow the faith to be rooted in them deeply. But some will, and so we optimistically share the word with others.
Again, we can interpret this parable in a second way as we consider ourselves the soil. What type of soil are we? Are we like the path where the word doesn’t even have the chance to take root and sprout? Or are we the type of soil that is rocky ground so that the word begins to grow, but when problems happen and difficulty arises or people confront us about our belief, we lose heart and our faith withers and dies. Or are we like the thorny areas where our faith looks great and deep and abiding but we care so much about the things of the world, the success, popularity, wealth, power and other culturally derived cares that our faith ends up choking to death?
I pray that we are the good soil; the people who produce the fruit of faith- search your own life deeply this morning and consider where your faith is lacking or empty and pray for God’s word to touch your heart and increase your faith – the result will be felt in one’s life and the effects will be seen by others.
A third way to view this parable is to consider that we are the seed. We are cast into the world and the world represents the soil where we land. If we are the seed we are called to bring God’s word to all people – some of whom will listen and respond positively and others negatively, some will be outright oppressive. As the seed it is our job, our life, to attempt to grow strong in the word of the kingdom regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Considering these three interpretations, we are challenged to search ourselves and ask ourselves, “What would my life look like if I bore the fruit and shared the word as God wanted me to? Allow the spirit to guide and move us toward that future. It would make quite a difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us, won’t it?
The word of the kingdom
There is quite a difference in interpretation, but the bottom line is the sharing of the word and living a life producing the fruit of faith. If we look closely at the parable, we discover that most of the seeds that are cast literally prove unfruitful. Some are snatched before they germinate, others as they grow without deep roots, and still others as they are choked off from the sun and the nourishment of the earth because of weeds and thorns.
This could be a very negative parable, but let’s put it another way: Consider you have 1,000 seeds that you sow in this broadcast manner. Of the 1,000, 750 end up being no good. This means that 250 of them will fall on good soil and produce the fruit; some thirty fold or 7,500, some 60 or 15,000 and some 100 fold or 25,000. Running the numbers, we see that the once negative tone of the parable become much more hopeful and positive. The word of the kingdom will succeed and produce faith in people.
Sometimes it is difficult as the word falls into difficult places. In Mark Twain’s book Huckleberry Finn, Huck tells about the Sunday they went to church on horseback. When they arrived, the men took their guns inside and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall. “It was pretty ornery preaching – all about brotherly love, and such like tiresomeness; but everybody said it was a good sermon.
Brotherly love and guns really go together, don’t they? Sometimes even on rocky ground changes can happen and God’s loving word comes through.
The deep richness of God’s word, the word of the kingdom touches the hearts and lives of people we may not think it would. The word brings hope, forgiveness, love and new life. It brings with it the very presence of God and the truth of the gospel. Some will never accept the word, others will, faithfully we are to produce the fruits of God people.
Conclusion
My son, an archeologist, showed me a book that contained the colors associated with different soils. It was a great deal like a book filled with various color paint chips. However, knowing which soil is found where can help determine whether an archeological site has been tampered with. I look at about 50 or 60 different colors with varying shades. I look around at us and I see people with various talents and abilities and gifts to be used in spreading the word of the kingdom. What type of soil are you? It does make quite a difference. Amen.