Sowing the Seeds of Blessing Mathew 13:1–9, 18–23 

 

Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Our message is based on today’s Gospel, Jesus’ parable of the Sower.

 

We’re going to talk about sowing the seeds that are a blessing to us and to others.

 

In agriculture, we’ve come a long way since the days of just throwing some seed on the ground and hoping that it takes.

 

Now we use machinery to till and loosen the soil… we have planters that place the seed with precision, at just the right depth, and the right spacing. 

 

Fields are fertilized using GPS technology so that the more productive soil gets more fertilizer… (experimental autonomous tractors and combines) 

 

Fields are spayed with powerful and expensive weed-killing chemicals, so that the crop doesn’t have to compete with weeds for moisture and sunlight.

 

Today’s corn hybrids are genetically engineered to withstand drought, and so dryland corn is raised even in the western Dakotas now.

 

As amazing as modern agriculture is, far more amazing is, what we might call, the agriculture of the Gospel. 

 

By the power of the Holy Spirit, seeds of the Gospel take root and grow and yield abundant love, even in what can be the driest and most barren of places, the most hostile of environments, in the hearts and minds of us fallen, sinful creatures.

 

Today’s Gospel tells us about this amazing agriculture of the soul.

 

In our parable, good seed is sown in four different places: 1) some on the compacted soil of the road. It doesn’t even start. 

 

This stands for those who won’t even give the Gospel a chance… won’t even consider it, the devil and the secular world control their minds.  

 

2) Seed is sown on light, rocky soil. It starts, but the soil is so thin, and the roots so shallow, that as soon as it gets hot and dry, the plants shrivel up and die.

 

This stands for those who are initially enthusiastic about following Christ and growing in His Word, but who quickly lose focus and interest, and fall away from the blessings they were given at Baptism.

 

3) Some seed is sown in thistle patches, where the soil may be good, but the competition for moisture and sunlight and nutrients from the soil is too great, and the crop gets choked out.

 

This stands for starting out in the faith of Christ and the fellowship of His family, but then becoming detached from the fellowship, and more attached to the fellowship and influence of the world… and eventually, falling away all together.    

 

The thing these first three scenarios all have in common, is that they result in unbelief, and therefore, having no spiritual blessings from God.

 

4) Finally, good seed is sown on productive ground, with positive results, plants taking root and flourishing, and the crop yielding in abundance. 

 

This stands for those who believe the Word of Christ, and hold on to it, and grow in faith, and so strive to do good and godly things in the world. They’re not perfect, but God still works through them.

This parable teaches us to remain faithful and fruitful, and it helps us understand the challenges involved in sowing the seeds of God’s Word in a fallen world.

 

The seed that was accidentally scattered on the hard ground couldn’t even take root and get started.

 

This teaches us of the dangers and obstacles of a hard heart and closed mind toward God’s Word, that can’t see the beauty of the Gospel, and the blessing it is to the world.

 

There are all kinds of reasons why people might not honestly and thoughtfully consider and explore the Gospel, but the foremost reason is that our sinful nature makes us natural enemies of God, and hostile toward what He has to say, and what He would teach us… 

 

And so we need the Holy Spirit in order to have the power to believe… and that’s why we pray for those we share the Gospel with, and put it into the hands of God.

 

Some may hear the Gospel, but have negative, preconceived notions about it, and just can’t get past them.

 

Sometimes it may be because of something tragic that’s happened in their life or family, and they still blame God or the Church for it.

 

Our response as people in whom the Word of God has taken root and is growing… is to love and help them as we can… 

 

… and pray for them, and show them God is there for them, and we are, too. 

 

Sometimes people may think that things have gone too far, and there’s no turning back, no going back to God, but there is.

 

What may seem to us, to have happened so long ago, with so much water under the bridge, that we’ve gone so far away from God that we can’t come back now… 

 

… to God, who is eternal, and who loves us forever, it wasn’t long ago at all… to Him it happened just a moment ago… and to Him, we’re just a step away. 

Nothing in time and space can keep God away from us… so may nothing keep us away from Him.

As Paul says in Romans 8:38, 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is for us to remember for ourselves… and to share with those who might think they’ve fallen too far away from God to come back now… they haven’t… God’s arms are open to them, and we still care about them and pray for them.

 

Even if they’ve never believed and been in His grace before, still God’s arms are wide open to them, to embrace them and all in love and faith.

 

For some in our secular-minded society, the Gospel is just so much nonsense… 

 

They can’t get past the miraculous.

 

To some, it’s a miracle-less world we live in… a world void of miracles.

 

To them, what can’t be demonstrated by math and science can’t exist.

 

But what mathematical equation is there to prove or disprove love or joy or faith or hope?

These are the things that make life worth living, and they’re beyond the numbers, yet more real than anything.

 

So it is with God and the Gospel -- too great and too wonderful to be constrained by the limitations of secular knowledge and understanding.

 

Again, our task is to show and share the truth with love, which is more real, and needed, and impactful, more of a blessing than anything.

 

But to share the love of Christ, we must nourish it in us, or it’ll run dry… the devil will snatch it away, as Jesus says in our parable. 

 

And so in the fourth scenario of our parable, the seed that takes root and grows and yields, is the seed that’s nourished with nutrients, and moisture, and sunlight.

 

We need the same, spiritually.

 

We need the light of God’s Word to guide us, so that we don’t slip back into the darkness of a life without Christ.

 

We need the waters of Baptism and the words of Absolution, to cleanse our hearts, so that guilt and shame don’t drive us away from our God and His righteousness… and His Church.

 

We need the nourishment of Christ’s body and blood for our souls, so that the troubles and heartaches of this life don’t strangle us of the hope and joy we have in Jesus.

 

We need the peace that comes in prayer, so that the worries of this world don’t drag us down into despair. 

 

And finally, we need the power of the fellowship, because alone, we’re vulnerable, but together, we’re better, and stronger, and more productive.

May the Word that has taken root in you, grow into a harvest of godly love and abundant blessings.

 

And may the peace of God that’s been planted in you by faith, guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in whom we live, and grow, and serve, and share. Amen.