Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: 'Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!. . .'Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.

Sermon Text

"I listened to what the Good Book said and it made good sense to me

Talking' 'bout reapin' what you're sowin', people trying to be free

Now we've got new names & faces, this time around

Gospel changes, Lord, still goin' down"

That's how John Denver sang about conversion, the changes that happen in a person when the God's good news takes root in him or her, and then grows and grows to bear good fruit, lots of good fruit. Before we go any further with Jesus' sowing and reaping parable, we need to ask what this good news is. What do we mean when we speak about the Gospel?

The word means "good news"; but what good news? Jesus taught again and again that God is merciful, and ready to forgive us. No matter what we've done or left undone, God is always ready to receive us with open arms, like the loving father in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Now, this might not seem like news to many of you, who have heard it in Sunday school since you were old enough to talk. But to many people, this message--that the almighty God who created you is not angry with you, is not bearing a grudge against you, and furthermore, cares about you very deeply?to many people, I say, this message sounds new and wonderful. Because many children are born into families and communities that neglect and abuse them. They grow up thinking that they're no good, not worth loving. So, Jesus' message, that God loves you and wants to embrace you and receive you as an honored member of the family, this message is very good news indeed. Let's not any of us take this message for granted.

The second part of the Gospel is that we have a guide for helping us live in God's embrace. Jesus is that guide. He is the way. We don't have to grope our way along. We don't have to invent our own way. Jesus shows us how to live in God's light. That's mighty good news, too. We won't get lost if we follow Jesus.

Jesus talks about Gospel changes in this morning's parable. He says that if God's good news is to grow in a person, it must find good soil. What could he have meant by that? What is good soil for the Gospel?

Well, some early Christians made a stab at that question, and we have their response in the second part of the reading from Matthew. The church began its interpretation of Jesus' parable this way: Some Gospel seeds fall on people who are like a firmly trampled path. They've been beaten down by people walking all over them. To protect themselves from being hurt further, they've developed a tough skin, a hard and resistant exterior. Gospel seeds never have a chance of germinating in such people, because they can't get through that hard outer layer.

Secondly, the church taught that some people are like rocky soil. The seeds of God's good news do sink into them very quickly, and quickly they sprout, but they don't grow very long, because there's not a sufficient supply of nutrients in these people to keep the sprouts growing. I'll speak in a little while about what those nutrients might be.

Thirdly, the church taught that some people are like ground where weeds and thorns already reside. Weeds and thorns are whatever competes with Gospel devotion. If you love to drink more than you love anything else, then you have a thorn in your soil. If you care more about getting and keeping stuff than you do about sharing what you have, then you have a weed in your soil. Even if you care more about being pious than you do about following the forgiving and self-emptying way of Jesus, then there's something growing in you that doesn't belong there, and must be weeded out. If you don't get the weeds out, Gospel shoots won't last long in you. The distractions will crowd them out and choke them to death.

Finally, the church taught that some people are like good soil, permeable and nourishing soil, free of competing distractions. That's some help, but the interpretation doesn't take us far enough, for it doesn't explain what constitutes good soil. It describes good soil mainly by saying what it isn't: It is not hard and resistant; it is not lacking for nourishment; it is not strewn with distractions. But in positive terms, what is good soil for the Gospel? What kind of person is likely to hear God's good news, and receive it and allow it to grow in him or her, and then persevere with the growing pains until the gospel shoots grow into strong trees and bear good fruit?

What kind of person makes good soil for the Gospel?

I'll take a stab where the church didn't. Here are the ingredients of such good soil:

First, you have to have some hope in you. You don't have to have a lot, just a wee bit. But a little is definitely required, because if you have none at all you'll be like hard, resistant ground: Gospel seeds will never have a chance in you. Let's take a moment and ponder whether we might have even a little hope in us. Do you have even a little hope that things might get better for you? That you might get reconciled with someone you once loved? That you might find a job that gives purpose to your life, as well as daily bread? That you might feel just a wee bit better--get rid of some of your daily pain? Do you have just a tiny bit of hope? Then you have one necessary ingredient for God's good news to grow in you.

Secondly, do you have courage? You see, when you begin to hope, you open the prospect of change; and allowing something fundamental about yourself to change is sometimes scary, even when it's a change for the better. Do you have courage that you can endure change, once you've allowed yourself to hope? You don't have to be a Rambo. You just have to have enough courage to take the next step--of trusting.

That brings us to the third ingredient of good soil for the Gospel: trust. Are you willing to entrust yourself to a good guide? Are you teachable? Before you answer yes too quickly, understand that no person out of diapers is a blank slate. We acquire all sorts of habits, all sorts of trusted ways of getting along. So to change, we have to be willing to unlearn old ways, and give up the coping mechanisms that have become second nature to us. Walking the first time without our crutches is scary! Abandoning old ways before we have time to test new ones requires considerable trust, the kind that a person must have who is learning to swim: "You say that if I just lie out on the water and relax and move my arms and legs a little, I won't go under? And that until I can learn to swim, you promise that you'll keep your hand under me, and not let me sink? O.K., then. I don't know whether you're right. I do have my doubts that I can do this, but I'll give it a try, because I trust you."

Finally, if we are to be good soil for the Gospel, we have to have patience. Any gardener will tell you that you can't have a good crop overnight. You have to wait for the shoots to grow, and you have to tend them all along. Otherwise, those pesky weeds and thorns will do their thing. Bearing good fruit for God takes time and dedication--no way around it. We Americans are enamored with the quick fix. We want our diseases to go away with one pill. The way of Jesus is not quick, and it is not easy. It is a long row to hoe, to tend, to water, to weed. But if we do our part, and can wait, there will be a good harvest. That's what Jesus tells us today. "You trust me, and follow me, and hang in there with the growing pains, and I promise you that I won't let you down, and there will be a good harvest. A grand harvest. An astonishing harvest! This will be God's good work in you!"