Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
“Listen up”
By: Rev. Kenneth E. Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
Corporations spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year producing t-v commercials with the
hope that people will watch and listen to their commercials and be persuaded to buy their products.
We are bombarded with messages like:
“What would you do for a Klondike bar?”
“Aren’t you glad you used Dial?”
“You deserve a break today.”
“Because so much is riding on your tires.”
“Oh what a feeling--to drive a Toyota!”
“We run the tightest ship in the shipping business.”....
...and the list could go on and on.
The business world knows that most people don’t just automatically actively listen.
Most of us mistakenly assume that listening is easy, but evidence proves otherwise.
Just think about the differing perceptions that persons who attend the same meeting might have.
Each person will remember it differently, and this can be true even in family discussions.
After the conversation, one person might say to the other, “but you said....,”
to which the other person might reply, “I didn’t say that.”
Active listening is an important skill that can have great value in our human relationships, and in our
relationship with God.
In our parable for this morning, Jesus makes it clear that we need to be active listeners to God’s Word.
And as part of God’s creation, you and I are created with the capacity to listen to God...
....But how well do we listen?
Jesus was pressed by the crowds as He stood beside the Sea of Galilee and taught.
He was forced to use a small fishing boat as His pulpit, and from that vantage point--He could not only
see the crowd, but he also saw a farmer sowing seed on some nearby hills.
The rest of the parable is about the soil.
The seed was all the same.
But the ground into which those seeds fell was not all the same.
This parable helped the disciples to understand why some people recieved the Word of Christ and others
did not.
The disciples were so thrilled and glowing about the saving message of Christ, but they just could not
understand why everyone else was not just as excited as they were!
And this can often happen to us as well.
When I finally understood and accepted the message of Christ it was like a thunderbolt had gone off in my
head---overcoming the darkness---suddenly I could see! It was all so crystal clear!
My first thoughts were, well, when I tell others about this great discovery they will be just as excited
about it as I am.
In most cases, this did not happen.
Why?
Why does the gospel seem to fail so often in our time?
Why does it seem to fail at any time?
Jesus knew the reasons all too well.
He knew human nature.
He was not about to force people to believe in Him, and no matter how bright the truth shown through
Christ’s Words...
....many people would simply never respond!
But there is a central truth which makes this parable a wellspring of hope....and it is found in verse 8:
“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
This is what makes everything worthwhile!
This is why we are called to sow seed!...
...Because there is fertile ground!!!
There are people out there who have not heard the message, but they are ready.
There are people living pitiable lives who would be more than willing to give their lives to Christ and join
a church--if only we would tell them!
Now, the four kinds of soil described in Christ’s parable can be thought of as referring to four kinds of
hearts--four different ways of hearing and responding to the God who speaks.
All the soil is essentially the same earth.
It’s what has happened to the soil or what has been added to the soil to distort it’s purpose.
And it’s the same with our hearts!
What kind of soil is your heart and my heart?
Jesus tells us that some of the seed fell on the trodden path.
The soil was hard and impenetrable.
The seeds danced on the surface.
The birds descended and plucked up a ready meal.
Both the seed and the soil needed each other, but there was no productive contact.
This soil represents the hard-hearted listener---the person who has closed his or her mind, refusing to
discern or hear the will of God.
As the Bible says: “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
These people fail to realize how important the Word of God is to life. They just feel that they can get
along without the Word of God.
So Christ says that “the evil one” comes and snatches away whatever Word is sown.
People whose hearts are not open and soft are easy prey for the devil.
The Word always stays on the surface of their hearts...exposing them to whatever the devil wants to
grab....
....and ultimately, the devil wants to grab them body and soul and take them to hell with him!
A few years ago a friend of mine had a teen-age son who had a buildup of wax in his ears.
The kid was amazed at the improvement in his ability to hear after the doctor removed the wax.
The wax had collected a little bit at a time until the miracle of hearing was almost completely blocked.
It’s like people who have ears, but do not hear!
Then Jesus tells us that some of the seed falls on rocky soil.
This doesn’t mean that the soil happens to have a few rocks in it.
Rather, it refers to bedrock that is covered over with a thin layer of soil.
Seeds lodged in this soil take root, but soon the roots reach the rock and can’t go any further.
This refers to the person who hears the Word of God....
...receives it immediately....
...but has very little spiritual strength to withstand the trials and persecutions of life.
Pressure from circumstances or former friends of the world--mockery, abuse or whatever causes them to
cave in.
What is under the surface layer of the soil for me and for you?
What forms the rock that halts the growth of our roots?
Jesus says that some of the seed falls into ground that is infested with thorns.
Many voices clamor for our attention and compete for our loyalty.
Worry, riches, and pleasures are mentioned specifically by Jesus.
We may get so busy with so many things that we can’t hear the voice of God speaking to us.
We often hear what we want to hear.
The gospel of Jesus Christ can be choked out.
The good seed of the Kingdom requires that our absolute loyalty and our first priority be given to God.
The good seed does not prosper if it is crowded out by the thorns of our own agendas and prior
commitments.
We live in a time when there seem to be so many ‘other gods.’
Therefore, we must recognize these idols for what they are....
...and allow God to enable us to examine our loyalties and rearrange our priorities.
What are my thorns?
What are your thorns?
What weeding is necessary in our lives?
Jesus said that some of the seed falls on good, fertile soil. It bears fruit and brings forth, some a
hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
What makes for fertile soil?
When it comes to the environment needed to produce a healthy and well-adjusted human being, there
are many necessary ingredients...
....but none is more important than love.
The connection between love and growth can be seen in the Helen Keller story.
When Ann Sullivan came to live with the Keller family--as her live-in teacher--Helen was out of control.
Being deaf, dumb and blind, she was locked in a solitary prison.
Love freed her, fertilized her and caused her to grow....
....as she testified: “The most important day of my life was when my teacher, Ann Sullivan, came to see me.
On the afternoon of the fateful day I stood on the porch, dumb and expectant.
I guessed vaguely from all the going to and fro in the house that something unusual was about to happen....
....I felt approaching footsteps, I held out my hand.
Someone took it and I was caught and held close in the arms of her who was to reveal all things to me, and
above all things, to love me.”
Fertile soil represents the heart that listens and responds.
It is a sincere heart.
It bears the fruit of the Spirit.
It is open and receptive to the things of God.
It is willing to be stirred to the depths.
It is willing to give the first priority and allegiance to God.
One of the joys of this parable is that even if a lot of seed is wasted, some seed falls on good soil and a
great harvest is a sure thing!
And this should be an encouragement to us who are sowing seeds and nothing seems to be happening!
As a young man, John Harvard emigrated from England to America.
Everyone predicted that he would have a bright future as a brilliant scholar.
After he got to America...he died after only one year.
When he died he left a little over 700 pounds and a collection of more than 200 hundred books to a new
university in America--a university that became Harvard University!
The death of John Harvard looked like a waste, but it produced an abundant harvest.
So, in our lives, results, though delayed, will come. The harvest is sure!
There is some type of soil in all of us--at different times and under different circumstances.
Our hearts are responsive....when we take the leap of faith from activeley listening to God--to putting
our faith into action!
What is needed is a mind-set, a lifestyle, that actively listens to what God is saying and does what He
says.
This kind of listening allows God to plow, and blast through the bedrock, and weed out the thorns of the
soil of our hearts.
God has made us to be good soil.
God loves us and wants to bring joy into our lives!
God also has a plan for our lives.
If we are faithful to God, we will listen, choose, and respond.
If we don’t respond appropriately we are forsaking our Creator, our Savior, our God and our salvation!
When we respond actively and concretely we are new creatures in Christ who are living puposeful,
successful lives in accordance with God’s will....
....and our lives produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown!
Let us pray: God of seed time and harvest, you have generously sown the good seed in
our hearts. May what you have planted, not only take root, but flourish, producing abundant
fruits of faith and love. In the name above all other names we pray, Jesus,ourLord.Amen.
