Luke 8:4-15 February 19, 2017 A+D
+ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. +
Our text this morning is Jesus’ parable of the sower, focusing on Luke eight verse five: “A sower went out to sow his seed.” This is our text. The parable of the sower has been called the parable of parables. Again, it is one of the few Jesus explains to His disciples. Great crowds continue to follow Jesus, but many follow Him for selfish reasons. Jesus begins a series of teachings in the form of stories to which the people can relate, but it is not always obvious to them (or to us) what Jesus is really saying. With this parable, Jesus sets the stage for interpreting all the parables that follow. Jesus preaches the parable to the crowd, but the meaning of the parable is for the disciples – and for us. Today, Jesus talks about the sower and the various types of ground the seed falls upon.
The trouble Jesus foresaw was that the Good News was to be proclaimed, sometimes in the the most unlikely of places. He knew that the Word of God would not be received and taken to heart by all, but He feared His disciple’s becoming discouraged by this. Then, by becoming discouraged, their faith and the fire burning in them to continue to proclaim the Word may dim as well. This discouragement is no different for us today when we share the message of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ to our friends and neighbors, and it seems to fall on deaf ears. Sometimes, the message doesn’t penetrate to our hearts, either.
Those of you who garden or see the many nurseries in our area know that when you plant seeds, you dig up and turn over the soil, fertilize it, and plant the seeds in neat orderly rows. Not so the sower in this parable! This sower scatters the precious seeds everywhere! Some falls in the rich soil, yes, but others fall on the hard-packed path, some among the thorns and weeds, and others upon the rocks! How wasteful! You wouldn’t plant a garden that way, would you? But that is exactly what the sower in this parable does. It is as if he doesn’t care where the seeds land – as long as they fall on the ground somewhere, he thinks, the job is complete.
Do any of you remember the song Big Spender from the musical Sweet Charity? It was written by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields in 1966. Do you remember how the song goes? “Hey, big spender! Spend a little time with me.” The sower in our story, God, is definitely a big spender. In fact, He spent it all for you. He’s here now with us, spending a little time. How will you receive that which He has spent on you? What kind of soil will you be?
Sometimes, we are like the path, packed down hard into ourselves and so wrapped up in what we think is important, we don’t let God’s word in. It’s like trying to use your cell phone by going into the sub-basement of a building, or deep in a cave to search for a signal. You might have the best of intentions, but the signal is just not going to reach you.
Sometimes, we are like the soil sharing its space with both the seeds and the thorns. We think we can compromise and accept the world as it is, and still be faithful to God and His Word. Those thorns come up mighty fast, though, and push out the good plants. There is too much competition for a limited resource. Our attention spans are just too short and our will too weak. The thorns, that don’t take a lot to grow, flourish and choke out the good seed that needs care and attention to grow. It’s like when there is a major blackout and everyone dials their cell phones at the same time, trying to get hold of the power company. No one can get through because the switchboard is overloaded with calls.
When seeds fall on rocks there are dead leaves and such, maybe a little soil too. Add a little moisture and the sun lets the seeds sprout right away. They soon use up their nourishment and dry up and blow away. Sometimes, we are like that insufficient soil. We gladly hear the Gospel message, and we are fired up for Jesus – ready to spring into action! How can I help? What can I do? Over time, often our enthusiasm wanes. The fruits we were showing dry up, and we wonder is God still out there? What happened to the burning in my heart? Or, do we even notice it is gone? What tempted us away from that passion we had before? Have you ever had some chores to do around the house, maybe not even chores, but something you really wanted to do – say a hobby you really enjoy doing; but you thought, “I’ll just play one more little game on my phone, then I’ll get right on that.” Suddenly, hours have passed, and the day is over. You’re out of time. You let a distraction become your passion.
The best kind of soil to be in this parable is the good soil. We all understand that. Good soil produces abundant fruit. But good soil also takes work. Passers-by don’t see the digging, the furrowing, turning the soil over and over. They sure don’t see all the manure that has to get spread around, either! It’s no wonder that this carefully prepared and tended soil yields a great crop! This is hard work!
Fortunately, this parable isn’t about you. It’s not about what kind of soil you are today. It’s not the parable of the four kinds of soil. It is the parable of the sower! The sower is our lavish God. God so lavishly and extravagantly throws His Word, the seeds, everywhere – not caring where it lands. He wants it to get into every crevice, every nook and cranny. Every dark place and hard head. The seed bag is seemingly bottomless. God is like those big cell phone towers relaying messages all over the world, where ever the signal needs to go. They stand in the background, quietly going about their business, sending signals to every place, time and situation. God just keeps sending it out, until the message is received. Yes, it will bounce off many. Some are going to think it’s just a telemarketer selling something. For those who take the call, and listen and take it to heart, His Good News will bear abundant fruit indeed. You will know that Jesus died for you. You will know He is out there listening when you call. What do you do when you have “no bars” and are searching for reception? We do this, don’t we? [Hold up the cell phone like you’re searching for service] And that is exactly what God wants us to do. When it seems like we can only separate ourselves from our distractions when it’s time to call the 911 line to heaven, because we’ve got big trouble and nowhere else to turn – He’s there! He hears and He listens. God expects this! Jesus preached and taught to the bottom rung of society. He brought hope to the hopeless. He brings hope to you – His promise of forgiveness and eternal paradise with Him. Call on Him! The line is never busy. And our lavish God is so abundant with His message, He just keeps throwing it out there – He keeps on dialing you until you pick up! God has the unlimited minutes plan, and He is in no way shy about using it to get to you.
The children won’t know what a party line is, but most of you folks remember. Everyone shared a single phone wire in the neighborhood, and if someone else was on when you picked up the phone, you were on the phone with them, too. We’re sitting in the ultimate party line right here. This is where God continues to throw the seeds on you, and together we partake of what that seed’s potential can become. You see, when God turns up the soil, digs in with His law and tears you up inside, you are prepared for the good seed He plants in the place where the sin was and leaves it to grow. You need to tend the garden. You need to keep the battery charged. You do it right here. Come get your sins forgiven. Come be fed and watered by His Word and Sacraments. If the little plants pop up and start to wither, God is going to keep throwing that seed at you. Yes, sometimes He will even have to dig into you and turn you over again. So what? Jesus came only for sinners. If we were able to do this on our own, we wouldn’t need Jesus. But we do need Him. Even when we’re bearing fruit and growing nicely, the weeds threaten to take over. Our sinful nature and the power of the devil try to overload the network and block the signal. But God rains down Jesus on us and washes all that away! His call goes out on every line. Take the call! It’s free! Even the toughest rock will be worn down into fertile soil if you bombard it with enough seeds. Even the hardened path with be made soft when it is rained on enough. God promises His Word will not return empty. Hear it. Share it. Search for the signal – it’s out there if you just open your ears and listen. It’s Jesus calling! He says you are forgiven, you are His, and you are free!
+ In the Name of Jesus, Amen. +
And now may the peace which surpasses all human understanding keep your hearts and your minds focused on Christ Jesus.
+ Amen +