St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Cleveland, Tennessee

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
July 13, 2008
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

You may recognize this Gospel passage as typically being referred to as the parable of the sower. It is a perfectly good way to refer to it as the parable of the sower. Clearly a focus of the parable is the sower and his sowing the seeds. Donald Hagner teaches at Fuller Seminary out in California. Hagner has written a very fine commentary on Matthew. We actually have a parishioner who had Dr. Hagner in class when they were both at Wheaton College before he ended up on the West Coast at Fuller. Dr. Hagner suggests that this might better be called the parable of the soils. There is nothing wrong with calling it the parable of the sower but, when we think about it, it is really about the different kinds of soil that are the focus of the parable. Ultimately, we are asked to consider what kind of soil are we for the word of God. Hagner suggests that we might think of this as the parable of the sower, but also as the parable of the soils, because that might help us remember our part in responding to what is being taught here.

There is an interesting historical reality in the very first portion of this parable. The Sea of Galilee has a lot of inlets that radiate off of it, and to this day, some tour guides will have their tour group make a circle on the beach of one of these inlets. Then the tour guide will go out a little bit into the water in a boat. When they are out in the water, they read this parable to the group. They are making a point. Because of the geography of the mountains up against the inlet, it forms a natural amphitheater. It would have made perfectly good sense for Jesus to do this because the crowds were increasing in size as his reputation increased. So, initially, he just wanted to sit down and teach but there were so many people that he had the option of getting out into a boat, and then the natural setting would pick up his voice. People who go to this part of the Middle East say it really does work. The mountains serve as a natural sound enhancement system. So this is a very realistic setting. Just picture Jesus getting ready to teach, and so many people are so excited to hear him that he can’t be heard just in a normal small group setting. He gets into a boat, goes out in the water, and takes advantage of that natural setting so that the sound can bounce back and be a natural amplification system. It is an interesting historical moment in the parable. What Jesus is doing in this, one of his early parables in Matthew’s Gospel, is that he is challenging his hearers to

think about the word of God as it is expressed, or planted in the words of the parable. He is challenging his hearers to consider, “How do I respond? What kind of soil am I for the word of God that is being planted?” Jesus, in this case, is the sower. That is not always the case in parables. Jesus isn’t always a character in the parable, but in this case he is. It is a reflection on his ministry and how people will respond in different ways to the word of God that he is proclaiming.

Let’s look at the explanation of the parable for just a few minutes. Look down about half way into the lesson. We don’t see it here, but the disciples have said, “Teacher, explain to us this parable.” Jesus explains it in the second part of our lesson. He says, “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.” So for these persons the word never really has an impact. “As for what was sown on the 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.” There is a timeless reality here. People can receive the word of God with joy and with enthusiasm, but at some point we have to be rooted in the word of God. That initial reception, that initial enthusiasm, as important as they are, at some point that initial reaction has to take root so that it will last, so that it is not a temporary situation. Jesus is cautioning people here, yes, hear it with joy, of course, but then let the roots sink down deep so that that joy can sustain itself through good times and through difficult times. “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.” Here we have this challenge of not letting worldly values take precedence over Godly values. It is a constant temptation for us to look to the world for feelings of success and belonging, and Jesus is cautioning his hearers here, that true belonging, true security comes from God. It doesn’t come from the status we enjoy in the world.

Then, finally, “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.” So, of course, this is the invitation that Jesus is offering his hearers to be good soil, soil in which the word is planted, takes root, and then produces fruit. If you plant a fruit bearing tree or bush, over time, you expect it to bear fruit. It may be pretty to look at. It may fit your architectural scheme as far as your landscape, but a fruit bearing tree is meant to bear fruit in due time. That is the invitation here, to hear the word of God, to say our prayers, to let the word of God take root in our lives so that it will sustain us through good times and through very hard times. And then, ultimately, the time that we have heard the word that is to show forth in our lives, and we are to lead others to hear and receive that same word.