Matthew 13: 1-23
"The Agriculturally Illiterate"
Paonia United Methodist Church
July 14, 2002
Rev. John M. Nadasi
I remember the day I got my first four wheel drive.
I was so excited because I now had this extra shifter SUV.
Why, with this extra shifter, I could go anywhere, anytime, over anything.
I would drive through downtown city traffic in Kansas City knowing
that at any time, if someone made me mad,
or my route was cut off,
all I had to do was pull my magic shifter and I could climb over anything!
Well, the day finally arrived.
I just couldn’t wait any longer.
I had been out rollerblading down a back country road,
and there was the most beautiful mud bog that I had ever seen.
I pulled my magic four wheel drive lever,
squared off with the embankment,
and slammed the accelerator down.
It was the most exhilarating… 3 seconds of my life as I buried my new
Rodeo up to axles and high centered it on a stump.
No problem I said…
I was ready
I had my trusty WalMart come along here…
Well, that lasted all of about two minutes before it fell apart trying to move a two ton vehicle,
buried in the mud, high centered on a stump up hill.
Suddenly, my 3 second adventure didn’t seem quite so fun.
I thought this thing was supposed to go anywhere!
What happened to my magic shifter?
Thankfully, a passer by stopped and pulled me out.
That day,
I made a mental note to myself…
No more four wheeling through mud bogs.
I had learned my lesson.
I was never going to get stuck again.
Several months later,
I borrowed the neighbors boat for an afternoon at the lake.
All went well. I launched the boat from the bank…
Went out in the boat…
Came back…
And went to load the boat.
That was the day I learned about Colorado Black mud.
If you are not intimately familiar with Colorado black mud,
It first appears like sand when you see it.
It looks like chocolate mousse when you sink in it.
and it holds your vehicle like concrete when you get stuck in it.
It took four men and two full size F-150’s to pull me out that time.
I learned two things that day.
Number one, that you can get stuck in any vehicle…
but to get REALLY stuck, you need a four wheel drive with a magic shifter.
Number two, I realized that the lake of fire in the pit of hell is
guarded by Colorado Black Mud.
Now, as entertaining as these insights may truly be,
There is a point.
And that point is this…
Well, to put it kindly, and in the most political correct
fashion that I can, I will say it like this…
I am deeply agriculturally challenged.
I know just about squat when it come to dirt, plants, mud, and anything else of the sort.
It means nothing to me.
When the parsonage committee decided to beautify my last home,
they planted rows of flowers in front of my house.
To be honest…
I still don’t know what went wrong.
They all died.
I watered them once…
And they still died.
So, as an agricultural illiterate,
I am going to hope that I am not alone this morning
and ask that you will help get me out if I get us buried up to the axles
in this morning’s story.
This morning’s Gospel text comes from… Matthew 13:1-23.
Again, I have decided to give you the full text this morning
as the lectionary abbreviates because of the contextual shifts,
but I promise, I will navigate and even work the wench if we get stuck.
The mud can’t hold us forever.
The Parable of the Sower and the Seeds,
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds
gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on
the shore.
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to
sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds
came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It
sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the
plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil,
where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who
has ears, let him hear."
The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given
to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an
abundance.
Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This
is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the
prophecy of Isaiah:
" ’You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes because they see,
and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and
righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you
hear but did not hear it.
"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the
message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and
snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the
word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a
short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls
away.
The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who
hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it,
making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the
man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred,
sixty or thirty times what was sown."
This is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Like I said before…
this is not a parable for the agriculturally illiterate.
It is actually somewhat confusing.
Oh, don’t get me wrong,
I am sure we have all heard this sermon before…
In fact, if your former preachers have used the lectionary,
you hear it once every three years.
Chances are that you already have a pretty good idea of what Jesus is talking about.
But, for the other non-agriculturally inclined folks,
such as myself, why don’t we go ahead and start from the beginning.
We are to understand, of course, that the sower in this story is God,
the seed is the Kingdom, and the various types of soil represent us--you and me.
On the surface of it, of course, it doesn’t sound as though God is much of a farmer either.
Even I could guess that sowing seed in thorns, or by the road, or mud bogs and Colorado
black mud for that matter
is ever going to do anything.
Yet that is the nature of God.
And, I am going to come back to this in a little bit.
I want you to understand the nature of the sower.
But, before we do let’s take a look at the soil in which he is planting,
or to lose the metaphor,
let’s look at the responses of different types of people
when presented with the Kingdom of God.
Listen again about the teaching of the soil…
As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds
came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It
sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the
plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.
Again, it doesn’t sound like God knows much about agriculture either,
but, for the moment, let’s focus on the soil,
or, the condition of our heart and how we respond to the Gospel.
The first condition of the heart is perhaps the most common: hardness of heart.
Jesus painted a picture of soil that had become packed down under the feet of men.
This was hard soil where seed could not take root and the birds simply
came along and ate it up.
(breathe)
You know, it is easy to become hardened by life.
It is easy to become hardened when you watch the nightly news.
We can be eating a meal while watching television and we can see dead,
charred, and mutilated bodies and we don’t even stop eating.
Why?
Because that is what we watched last night… and the night before.
Even school shootings elicit a response of,
“Oh no… not another one”
And then we go about our way.
Why?
Because we have seen it all before.
The result is that we have become desensitized to the point that we are
hard-crusted, just like the soil in Jesus story.
And here is the problem:
Jesus tells us that the seed of the gospel cannot take root in the hardened heart.
The gospel will not take root in that atmosphere.
It is easy to become defeated by the world and believe that there is nothing that we can do
To improve it.
We become fatalistic and quit caring because we do not believe that there is
Anything we can do about it anyway.
Why bother?
The result is that the seed of the Kingdom of God never comes to fruition.
There is a second condition of the heart.
Jesus explained that some seed feel in thick briar patches that eventually choked out the plant.
Jesus went on to explain that the briar patches in life are worry and wealth,
that distract the heart.
I suspect that the worries and wealth of this life are connected to one another.
I suppose in Jesus day and age, the worries of life found themselves in mere survival.
In our present day, our worries are our 401k plans and whether
the Jone’s have a nicer house and car than we do.
His concern is that these other worries distract us from what is really important.
That being the kingdom of God.
You cannot serve God and money.
It is about priorities.
Folks, as a pastor,
I have watched a lot of people die.
I have never, ever, heard anyone cry about the Cadillac
Or the beautiful home that they are leaving behind.
Why do I tell you that?
Because I have watched people serve their possessions and
When it comes time to say goodbye to this world,
All of a sudden, they get the sinking realization that none of it really matters.
They leave behind a life wasted chasing after worldly possessions.
And their life has been meaningless.
Why?
Because God, cannot use this person.
The result is that the seed of the Kingdom of God never comes to fruition.
The parable goes on to say that the other seeds fell on rocky ground, where there was not much soil.
The seed immediately sprouted but since there was no depth of soil it soon withered away.
Sound Familiar?
The quick starter who fades fast.
The gospel will never spread by those
who seek Christ’s gift but resent the cost.
“I will follow Jesus so long as it does not cost me anything…
So long as there is no sacrifice involved.
So long as I am never made uncomfortable in my fat and happy Christianity.
This is the third condition of the heart:
The person that gives up when challenged.
And the result is that the seed of the Kingdom of God never comes to fruition.
Now, I want you to understand something here.
These are just a few of the mud bogs in the land of Christianity.
this is by no means a comprehensive guide on every pitfall to the faith…
Rather, it was just the perspective of Jesus as he sat in his boat giving a message to a group
Of people who were likely staring at him as if he were from another planet.
The seed of the Kingdom will not grow in
Cynical, distracted, and unfaithful hearts.
That’s the message he had for them.
Where will the seed grow?
He gives us that answer too.
Jesus said there was some seed that fell on a fourth kind of soil:
Good fertile soil. And a great harvest came forth and produced fruit a hundredfold.
This is the person who hears the word of God and responds accordingly.
They are a witness in the community.
They tithe a legitimate 10% or more to the church.
They volunteer their time to others.
They actually take time to listen to God in prayer
Rather than just reciting their wish lists.
And the world and the church are a better place because they are in it.
That is the fertile soil God is looking for.
Absolutely, these folks are outnumbered three to one,
but God still uses this 25% to accomplish his purposes.
They produce a crop of 30, 60, and 100 fold.
Don’t get me wrong… I am sure that the 75% have all sorts of excuses why they cannot be less cynical,
more faithful, and less distracted by money and the cares of this world…
It will be interesting how many of those excuses stand up on the Day of Judgment.
Good luck.
But, before we end here,
I told you that I wanted to go back and take a look at the sower himself.
What of this God who sows the seed of the Kingdom on this unfertile ground anyway?
I told you that we would revisit this.
Like I said before,
this is not a message for the agriculturally illiterate…
yet, that is exactly who he is preaching to.
The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given
to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an
abundance.
Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This
is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand."
What are we supposed to make out of this?
After all, here are all these people standing around Jesus as he is preaching to them
Out in his boat.
What are they doing there?
Why is he giving them this message if they are doomed to not understand it?
Since this is in Palestine and not Colorado,
We can assume it is not because they are stuck in black mud and unable to move.
So, what are they doing there?
Well, my guess is that they are listening.
Perhaps, just out of curiosity,
Maybe out of contempt…
Who knows, we really don’t have that.
But, Jesus preaches to them anyway.
Why?
Well, again, we don’t have that either…
So, I am going to take a guess here.
Perhaps our sower knows that even though the soil is bad
Maybe, just maybe, one seed will hit a spot that will grow.
Why?
Because this is the nature of our God.
He sows even in rocky, hard packed, and shallow soil hoping that something will grow.
He is relentless in his mercy and constantly reaches out to those
who are beyond reach.
He is not limited in his resources.
One might say that our sower has a season pass to the Home Depot.
Seeds are not in short supply here…
It is useable soil that is the precious commodity…
And our God sows without restraint or abandon.
Why?
Because that is the nature of the sower.
Hear the word of the Lord.
Our OT reading today comes from the book of Isaiah 55
Invitation to the Thirsty
1 "Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor."
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the Lord , and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the Lord .
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord ’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed."
This is the Word of the Lord
The good news this morning is that one does not have to become agriculturally literate
for the seed of the kingdom to grow…
People of God,
I don’t know the difference between shale, loam, or sand.
Thanks be to God that I don’t need to.
Because we have a God that doesn’t care about the difference either.
He casts the seed of forgiveness grace and mercy abundantly.
It is up to us whether we allow it to grow or not.
He casts the seed of the kingdom evenly, even where logic says it will never grow.
Why?
Because he loves his creation… you, too much to ever gives up.
