St Luke 8:4-15/Isaiah 55:10-13/2 Corinthians 11:19-12:9
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
When our Lord told a parable it was not like pre-school story time on the carpet. He didn’t gather everyone in tight for good yarn. There was always some circumstance to its telling. Context is key. A self-righteous, young lawyer, asking, Who is my neighbor? And He preaches the parable of the Good Samaritan. Some haughty Pharisees despising the Gentile believers; and you get a sermon on the prodigal son and the extravagantly, merciful father.
Jesus is an expert at properly dividing Law and Gospel and then delivering both to the hearer. The full sternness of the Law to impenitent hearts, and the full sweetness of the Gospel to terrified consciences. And as with any good sermon, context is key.
So too with today’s Gospel text. A great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to Him. Everyone had heard about Him and wanted to see Him. Things seemed to being going great.
And so Jesus tells the parable of the Sower and the Seed in order to make something clear – the kingdom of God does not come in glory and victory; it’s not marked by numbers and worldly success. This parable is a dose of reality. Three out of four hearers of the Word of God will not believe. For 75% of hearers there is no effect! The apostles are going to experience more failure than success; more rejection than acceptance. Saint Paul knew this only too well as is made plain from his “boasting” in the Epistle this morning – in weakness! The Church of God in Christ Jesus lives this reality; including this little garden.
What Jesus is saying is this: “Don’t be fooled by large crowds; big numbers don’t mean anything!”
It’s a bit like the feeding of the 5,000 in John’s Gospel. The masses had their bellies filled and wanted to make Jesus their Bread King. But when He delivered to them the difficult saying, Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you, many who heard it walked away. But when asked if the Twelve will also leave, Peter replies, Lord to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life.
And that is precisely what we must cling to – not outward signs of success – but the sure and certain promise that the Word of God brings true and everlasting life, despite how many mock or ridicule or ignore it. What has our Lord spoken through His prophet? For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose.
The going forth of God’s Word is like the scattering of seed on all different kinds of soil. Notice that the Sower, who is Christ, scatters the Seed of His Word recklessly, freely, extravagantly; some may even say, foolishly – even on places where there seems little hope of harvest. In His love our Lord desires all to be saved, all of us descendants of Adam created from the dirt. And the Lord’s Word is living and powerful, able to give life even to the worst of soils.
In the first case, the seed that is sown falls on the hardened path and was trampled underfoot and the birds of the air devoured it. These are those, our Lord says, that have heard the Word, but the devil comes and snatches it away from their hearts before it creates faith. There are many ways this happens. The simplest is this: one hears, but doesn’t understand. They do not allow the Word to penetrate their stony hearts that they believe and trust in it. They “heard it all before crowd.” The preached Word of Christ goes in one ear and out the other.
Two collects that the Church prays may help us here:
First “Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scripture to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”
And, “Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The chief scheme of the devil is to get us to doubt the trustworthiness of God’s Word; see it as outdated, unreliable, the product of a primitive, patriarchal society with a morally repressive world view. Anything to distract us from the central message of Christ. Even here, the temptation in reading this parable is to ask: “Which soil am I?” Or worse, to assume we are the good soil. Faith fixes its gaze on He who is the Seed that creates and gives Life.
But lest we become guilty of only pointing the finger at others, we also harden our hearts to the Word whenever we hear a Scripture reading or a sermon and think to ourselves, “That really applies to so and so a few pews behind me,” or “I sure wish a couple people I know where here to listen to this. They really need to hear it.”
That may be true. It is a good thing that we want someone else to hear God’s Word – bring them; bring them to the place where the living voice of Jesus continues to speak – bring them here. But to think this way is also dangerous; letting the seed of the Word bounce off our calloused ears and hardened hearts and say, “This doesn’t apply to me; that is meant for someone else.”
Then there is the stony, rocky ground on which the seed was sown. These are the ones who have an impulsive faith; who haven’t fully counted the cost of what it means to follow Christ. Initially they seem to have a great enthusiasm for the faith. But then something happens in their personal life or in the church that rocks them.
And when things start to get to difficult; when life becomes a mess, and doubt creeps in, a seemingly once strong faith is now shown to be only a surface trust, easily scorched by the heat of testing and temptation. A faith based on feelings and emotions; one that is not deeply rooted in the words and promises of Christ. When it becomes clear that following Christ means getting out of the recliner and taking up the cross, they become offended; they stumble and fall away; they wither spiritually.
And in the third instance the seed lands among the thorns that choke out the young growth. These are those who receive the Word of Christ and believe it, but fail to mature in faith because there are so many other things to worry about. Jesus said, as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life.
And there are so many things vying for your attention, seeking top priority, wanting to supplant the Word of Christ; “I was so busy at work this week I just need some time to relax on Sunday.” “Well the kids are in town this weekend, and we see them so little.” There are 168 hours in a week, and we have trouble sacrificing one on Sunday, let alone two to attend Bible study; we can hardly find 10 minutes a day for prayer and meditation on the Holy Scriptures!
There are so many cares and concerns and worries. And I’m not saying that they’re not legitimate things. But maybe some of those worries and cares would dissipate a bit if spoken to our Father in prayer and put in their proper context. The thorns grow everywhere – even here in church – to crowd out your heart and mind so you can’t dwell richly on His Word as you’d like.
This parable is a dose of reality for the disciples. It shakes us up and knocks us in the head, too. The Christian life is not easy; it’s not all coming up roses. And we need to stop presuming ourselves to be the good soil. Who among us cannot find themselves in the first three soils? This parable cuts through us all like the sharp blade of a plow, calling us to acknowledge our condition and repent.
The good news, dear Christian, is that the Father has sent forth His Word, His eternally begotten Son, the Logos, has gone forth, and He has not returned to Him empty. He has accomplished the purpose for which He was sent. Christ has cleared away the debris in your soil; He has watered the earth with His own shed blood; poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Christ Jesus Himself is the Seed that is cast, the promised Seed of the Woman, the Seed of Abraham. He is sown mercifully and freely; graciously. And in the parable whatever the Seed experienced – on the path, on the rocks, in the thistles – Christ underwent for you.
Thorns were placed on His head as His very life was choked out. For your deliverance and redemption He was crucified on the hardened, rocky soil of Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. There He bore the withering heat of the day and the fire of our judgment. There people trampled on His Name with their insults, and the devil and his demons, like scavenging birds, hellishly pecked at Him and wounded and devoured Him.
Do you see? This parable is less about soils as it is seed. The Seed. And all that happened to the seed happened to Christ. And because He suffered in your place, you have now been given the victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil. Christ has firmly planted Himself in you and you in Him; rooted you to Himself as your Vine, nourished you in the spring of Holy Baptism. For on the third day our Lord broke through the soil – He sanctified our earthen grave by His death and burial – and He has brought life and immortality to light for you.
The truth is that Christ is the fourth soil, the good soil. Christ alone. For He is the only One without the stain of sin. Only He is not overcome by the devil or the cares of the world. For as Adam was formed from the virgin soil of the creation, so the Second Adam was formed in the Virgin’s womb; He is that Seed, whom the Father cast from heaven, taking on the good soil of His perfect humanity. He bears fruit in patience, with an honest and good heart. And you, dear ones, are that fruit.
Jesus once said of Himself, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Our Lord Jesus is the promised Seed of Eve and Abraham and David. He was planted in the tomb in order that abundant life might spring up and that a great harvest might be brought in through His bodily resurrection.
You are part of that crop. You are the one in whom the Word of life has been planted. In Christ alone, by grace alone, by His Word alone, you become that fourth soil. You do not see it now, but it is yours. Now you experience all that Christ felt – trampled, devoured, choked and pressed. You know that of which Saint Paul boasts: danger lurking on every hand; thorns in the flesh.
You indeed may boast, beloved. But not in yourselves. Rather boast in your weakness, in the Cross of Christ by which the world has been crucified to you and you to the world. And what is already yours now by faith shall be known fully by sight on that last day when you enter into the good land, the Promised Land.
Until then, dear child, you have the fruit of the Tree of Life – the very Body and Blood of the Seed, the Word made flesh, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This is the very mystery of the kingdom and it is given to you. You have been given ears to hear and eyes to see. So listen and look. It is Christ who says, Take, eat; This is My Body given for you. It is Christ who stands before you forgiving your sin; who hides Himself in your weakness.
Here the Sower sows recklessly, placing into your dusty body the very Seed of Life. Hear the Word. Hold it fast. Go out in joy and be led forth in peace. His Word is an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. His grace is indeed more than sufficient for you.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son X and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
When our Lord told a parable it was not like pre-school story time on the carpet. He didn’t gather everyone in tight for good yarn. There was always some circumstance to its telling. Context is key. A self-righteous, young lawyer, asking, Who is my neighbor? And He preaches the parable of the Good Samaritan. Some haughty Pharisees despising the Gentile believers; and you get a sermon on the prodigal son and the extravagantly, merciful father.
Jesus is an expert at properly dividing Law and Gospel and then delivering both to the hearer. The full sternness of the Law to impenitent hearts, and the full sweetness of the Gospel to terrified consciences. And as with any good sermon, context is key.
So too with today’s Gospel text. A great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to Him. Everyone had heard about Him and wanted to see Him. Things seemed to being going great.
And so Jesus tells the parable of the Sower and the Seed in order to make something clear – the kingdom of God does not come in glory and victory; it’s not marked by numbers and worldly success. This parable is a dose of reality. Three out of four hearers of the Word of God will not believe. For 75% of hearers there is no effect! The apostles are going to experience more failure than success; more rejection than acceptance. Saint Paul knew this only too well as is made plain from his “boasting” in the Epistle this morning – in weakness! The Church of God in Christ Jesus lives this reality; including this little garden.
What Jesus is saying is this: “Don’t be fooled by large crowds; big numbers don’t mean anything!”
It’s a bit like the feeding of the 5,000 in John’s Gospel. The masses had their bellies filled and wanted to make Jesus their Bread King. But when He delivered to them the difficult saying, Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you, many who heard it walked away. But when asked if the Twelve will also leave, Peter replies, Lord to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life.
And that is precisely what we must cling to – not outward signs of success – but the sure and certain promise that the Word of God brings true and everlasting life, despite how many mock or ridicule or ignore it. What has our Lord spoken through His prophet? For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose.
The going forth of God’s Word is like the scattering of seed on all different kinds of soil. Notice that the Sower, who is Christ, scatters the Seed of His Word recklessly, freely, extravagantly; some may even say, foolishly – even on places where there seems little hope of harvest. In His love our Lord desires all to be saved, all of us descendants of Adam created from the dirt. And the Lord’s Word is living and powerful, able to give life even to the worst of soils.
In the first case, the seed that is sown falls on the hardened path and was trampled underfoot and the birds of the air devoured it. These are those, our Lord says, that have heard the Word, but the devil comes and snatches it away from their hearts before it creates faith. There are many ways this happens. The simplest is this: one hears, but doesn’t understand. They do not allow the Word to penetrate their stony hearts that they believe and trust in it. They “heard it all before crowd.” The preached Word of Christ goes in one ear and out the other.
Two collects that the Church prays may help us here:
First “Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scripture to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”
And, “Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The chief scheme of the devil is to get us to doubt the trustworthiness of God’s Word; see it as outdated, unreliable, the product of a primitive, patriarchal society with a morally repressive world view. Anything to distract us from the central message of Christ. Even here, the temptation in reading this parable is to ask: “Which soil am I?” Or worse, to assume we are the good soil. Faith fixes its gaze on He who is the Seed that creates and gives Life.
But lest we become guilty of only pointing the finger at others, we also harden our hearts to the Word whenever we hear a Scripture reading or a sermon and think to ourselves, “That really applies to so and so a few pews behind me,” or “I sure wish a couple people I know where here to listen to this. They really need to hear it.”
That may be true. It is a good thing that we want someone else to hear God’s Word – bring them; bring them to the place where the living voice of Jesus continues to speak – bring them here. But to think this way is also dangerous; letting the seed of the Word bounce off our calloused ears and hardened hearts and say, “This doesn’t apply to me; that is meant for someone else.”
Then there is the stony, rocky ground on which the seed was sown. These are the ones who have an impulsive faith; who haven’t fully counted the cost of what it means to follow Christ. Initially they seem to have a great enthusiasm for the faith. But then something happens in their personal life or in the church that rocks them.
And when things start to get to difficult; when life becomes a mess, and doubt creeps in, a seemingly once strong faith is now shown to be only a surface trust, easily scorched by the heat of testing and temptation. A faith based on feelings and emotions; one that is not deeply rooted in the words and promises of Christ. When it becomes clear that following Christ means getting out of the recliner and taking up the cross, they become offended; they stumble and fall away; they wither spiritually.
And in the third instance the seed lands among the thorns that choke out the young growth. These are those who receive the Word of Christ and believe it, but fail to mature in faith because there are so many other things to worry about. Jesus said, as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life.
And there are so many things vying for your attention, seeking top priority, wanting to supplant the Word of Christ; “I was so busy at work this week I just need some time to relax on Sunday.” “Well the kids are in town this weekend, and we see them so little.” There are 168 hours in a week, and we have trouble sacrificing one on Sunday, let alone two to attend Bible study; we can hardly find 10 minutes a day for prayer and meditation on the Holy Scriptures!
There are so many cares and concerns and worries. And I’m not saying that they’re not legitimate things. But maybe some of those worries and cares would dissipate a bit if spoken to our Father in prayer and put in their proper context. The thorns grow everywhere – even here in church – to crowd out your heart and mind so you can’t dwell richly on His Word as you’d like.
This parable is a dose of reality for the disciples. It shakes us up and knocks us in the head, too. The Christian life is not easy; it’s not all coming up roses. And we need to stop presuming ourselves to be the good soil. Who among us cannot find themselves in the first three soils? This parable cuts through us all like the sharp blade of a plow, calling us to acknowledge our condition and repent.
The good news, dear Christian, is that the Father has sent forth His Word, His eternally begotten Son, the Logos, has gone forth, and He has not returned to Him empty. He has accomplished the purpose for which He was sent. Christ has cleared away the debris in your soil; He has watered the earth with His own shed blood; poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Christ Jesus Himself is the Seed that is cast, the promised Seed of the Woman, the Seed of Abraham. He is sown mercifully and freely; graciously. And in the parable whatever the Seed experienced – on the path, on the rocks, in the thistles – Christ underwent for you.
Thorns were placed on His head as His very life was choked out. For your deliverance and redemption He was crucified on the hardened, rocky soil of Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. There He bore the withering heat of the day and the fire of our judgment. There people trampled on His Name with their insults, and the devil and his demons, like scavenging birds, hellishly pecked at Him and wounded and devoured Him.
Do you see? This parable is less about soils as it is seed. The Seed. And all that happened to the seed happened to Christ. And because He suffered in your place, you have now been given the victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil. Christ has firmly planted Himself in you and you in Him; rooted you to Himself as your Vine, nourished you in the spring of Holy Baptism. For on the third day our Lord broke through the soil – He sanctified our earthen grave by His death and burial – and He has brought life and immortality to light for you.
The truth is that Christ is the fourth soil, the good soil. Christ alone. For He is the only One without the stain of sin. Only He is not overcome by the devil or the cares of the world. For as Adam was formed from the virgin soil of the creation, so the Second Adam was formed in the Virgin’s womb; He is that Seed, whom the Father cast from heaven, taking on the good soil of His perfect humanity. He bears fruit in patience, with an honest and good heart. And you, dear ones, are that fruit.
Jesus once said of Himself, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Our Lord Jesus is the promised Seed of Eve and Abraham and David. He was planted in the tomb in order that abundant life might spring up and that a great harvest might be brought in through His bodily resurrection.
You are part of that crop. You are the one in whom the Word of life has been planted. In Christ alone, by grace alone, by His Word alone, you become that fourth soil. You do not see it now, but it is yours. Now you experience all that Christ felt – trampled, devoured, choked and pressed. You know that of which Saint Paul boasts: danger lurking on every hand; thorns in the flesh.
You indeed may boast, beloved. But not in yourselves. Rather boast in your weakness, in the Cross of Christ by which the world has been crucified to you and you to the world. And what is already yours now by faith shall be known fully by sight on that last day when you enter into the good land, the Promised Land.
Until then, dear child, you have the fruit of the Tree of Life – the very Body and Blood of the Seed, the Word made flesh, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This is the very mystery of the kingdom and it is given to you. You have been given ears to hear and eyes to see. So listen and look. It is Christ who says, Take, eat; This is My Body given for you. It is Christ who stands before you forgiving your sin; who hides Himself in your weakness.
Here the Sower sows recklessly, placing into your dusty body the very Seed of Life. Hear the Word. Hold it fast. Go out in joy and be led forth in peace. His Word is an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. His grace is indeed more than sufficient for you.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son X and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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