Sunday, July 16, 2023
/The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
The Rev. Clint Brown
Tradition calls it the Parable of the Sower and tradition has provided us with a traditional interpretation, but why settle for one way of reading the story when you can have three? – which is what I’m going to do for you today. As I see it, there are at least three different ways of interpreting this parable and I’d like to acquaint you with each of these alternatives. It’s my hope that you will not leave here today without the benefit of some food for thought – some new way “in” to a familiar favorite.
1. The Parable of the Sower
The first of these puts the entire focus on the person planting the seeds, the Sower, rather than on us, as in the traditional interpretation, and so this reading is the one most properly called The Parable of the Sower. To understand it, one must be acquainted with the idea of “broadcast farming.” In the old days they did not furrow the ground into neat rows the way that we do today but, instead, slung or broadcast the seed out in all directions. Sometimes this happened before the plowing, sometimes after, but, in whatever order, the seed was distributed indiscriminately and it was all but certain that some would fall in places where it could not grow. Incidentally, this is why the term “broadcast” was adopted in the early days of radio. The signal, emanating from a source, was simply sent out indiscriminately and could be picked up by anybody in any direction with a receiver. Yet this kind of uncertainty did not deter the farmer. No farmer in his right mind would sacrifice the certainty of some harvest, so the inevitable loss of some seed had to be accepted. In this interpretation, Jesus would have us see, first and foremost, not the waste of seed but the extravagance of this act by the Sower, who is God, broadcasting indiscriminately, not knowing for sure on what kind of soil the seed will land, and yet scattering it abundantly nonetheless. In this reading, the birds, the thorns, the rocky ground, these are not allegory, only types of obstacles familiar to every farmer in every time and place, and the lesson is that it is like that for us, as well. We are not to be paralyzed into inaction just because of the inevitable setback. We also are to sow extravagantly into the lives of everyone we meet, for who knows where our efforts may find a place to take root? Ask any teacher, as I was for 11 years, if they do not wonder what impression they are making or in whose life they are making a difference? Time and time again we find that the most surprising and wonderful human beings often grow out of the most awkward, incorrigible, and undisciplined little sprouts. Maybe you were once one of those students whom your teacher didn’t quite know what to do with? But you turned out all right in the end. Since none of us can know the ultimate results of our labor, all we can do is plant, water, and tend the little bit of ground we have been given to the best of our abilities. Knowing as we do that good often enough comes from the most unexpected places, should we not also sow as extravagantly as our Lord? That is the Parable of the Sower.
2. The Parable of the Four Soils
But a second possible interpretation is probably the one with which we are most familiar, which we will rename The Parable of the Four Soils to more accurately reflect its focus. The focus here is no longer on the Sower, but, as I said before, on us. It asks of us, What kind of disciple will you be? The seed that is sown is God’s Word, and we are represented as varying classes of “germinated disciples” who have begun to grow. We are told that the life of any would-be disciple of Christ is fraught. There are obstacles that come from outside of us that try to steal the good Word that has taken root, and also troubles within us that can suppress and smother it. There are anxious cares, the lure of wealth, various addictions, pride. The lesson we are meant to draw is that the work of discipleship is not passive. It is not only a matter of accepting the Gospel, but also of holding onto it in spite of hardship and persecution and temptation. Against all these assaults and dangers, the disciple of Christ must be prepared to make a defense. So then, says the Parable of the Four Soils, judge for yourself the state of your discipleship and with what kind of ground you receiving the word of Christ.
3. The Parable of the Miraculous Yields
Finally, there is what we might call The Parable of the Miraculous Yields, for despite how much we may worry ourselves about what we are doing, in my opinion the emphasis of the story should not finally be on us at all… but on God. The point is this: in God’s Kingdom, the efforts of the Sower – who, you will remember, is God broadcasting away – produces a harvest that is massive – so much greater than any ordinary Middle Eastern farmer had a right to expect. We read of superabundant yields of a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold. In fact, for an average farmer in the time of Jesus, sevenfold could be counted a very good year while tenfold was true abundance. Here the minimum yield is thirtyfold, three times the best that anyone could hope for. And, well, sixty- and a hundredfold? Those kinds of numbers were nothing short of miraculous. The Word of God, you see, will not return empty but will accomplish that for which God has purposed (Isaiah 55:10-11). So while the theologians can go on debating the relative contributions of human agency and “works righteousness” in the process of our being saved, on this matter this particular interpretation forces us to concede that these matters must take a back seat to grace. Faith is and ever will be a gift of God and fruitful discipleship is the work of God in us. It is a nice exercise in displacement, removing ourselves from the center of the picture where we so much like to be, and putting God there. Here is a clarion call to recognize that the focus of our discipleship should not finally be inward, wasting precious energy on ourselves, but directed outward to address the needs of a suffering humanity. God is already at work sowing extravagantly into the world; our task is simply to join in that grace-filled work.
So, there you have it, three parables for the price of one: (1) the Parable of the Sower who sows extravagantly into everyone; (2) the Parable of the Four Soils which asks with what kind of heart you are receiving God’s Word; and, finally, (3) the Parable of the Miraculous Yields which displaces us from the center of the picture and returns God there, asking of us only to serve faithfully the Lord of the Harvest. Which of these, I wonder, did you most need to hear today?