Sermon: Holy Ground

 Sermon: Holy Ground – July 16, 2023 – Horne Memorial UMC

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Introduction

[For me, the sermon preached is rarely the sermon written. But here is the manuscript that serves as the starting point for me on Sunday morning.]

Working Through the Text

Today we are looking at one of the parables that has the disadvantage of being too familiar to most of us. This is a disadvantage because we often internalize what this text means to us when we first hear it and hold onto that meaning. The familiarity of the parable is its weakness. It becomes difficult to hear that parable with the same freshness of hearing the story (Levine, pp. 20-21).

For example, consider the Parable of the Prodigal Son. For those of us who grew up in church and attended Sunday School as children, this story is probably the one we are most familiar with along with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Chances are, you hear this story and immediately identify with the younger son. We are like the younger son who in a defeated state must return to the father and beg for forgiveness.

But let’s be honest. Most of us are really more like the older son. We are religious people of faith who have been there doing those things expected of us. We give to the church and to charities. We volunteer in the community or at our children’s schools and serve on a church committee or two. We are most likely the older son, not the younger son.

So, let’s try to really listen to today’s story – listen for the absurdity that first time hearers might hear.

¹ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ² Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ 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. ⁶ But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ If you have ears, hear!”

Yes, if you have ears, hear! This is what I am hearing. Say, someone here has taken it upon themselves to reseed the grass around the church to give it a lusher look. This person fills a seed spreader and begins to walk all over the property of the church. This person wants to cover every square inch of the ground to ensure the best result.

So, we go outside and watch this person who starts to spread the seed along the sidewalk and covers every bit of the parking lot pavement, the mulched areas with shrubbery and other plants, as well as the sidewalk.

Now, on the one hand, we might be impressed with the thoroughness of this person. You know that every square inch of good soil has been seeded. On the other hand, there has been an awful lot of seed wasted. So, what can we possibly learn from all of this?

We learn that you can describe this person as either generous or wasteful. Better yet, this person is generously wasteful or wastefully generous. It is a matter of perspective. When will God give up on you?

Again, remember the story we refer to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son? It really should be called the Parable of the Man with Two Sons. This man demonstrates his own prodigal nature by giving his children their inheritance before he is dead. As the parable unfolds, we see that this is a father who doesn’t give up on either of his sons. He is faithful to us.

In the same way, Jesus is faithful to us. We may fail because we have given up on ourselves, but never because he has given up on us.

A Parable Explained

“¹⁸ Hear, then, the parable of the sower.”

Jesus then explains the parable to his disciples and only his disciples. You must be committed to following Jesus as his disciple to truly understand the wonderful things he teaches.

The Hardened Path

“¹⁹ 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.”

This first seed scattered onto the hardened path doesn’t even germinate (Witherington, p. 261). The activity of Satan is compared to the birds that come and snatch up the seed. Some hearts are turned so far from God that they have hardened surfaces that prevent the seed from finding a place. The hearts may be so hardened that they are especially vulnerable to the work of Satan (Hauerwas, p. 129). The presence of the seed isn’t even noticed by the soil.

The Rocky Ground

“²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹ 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.”

Some people receive the “word of the kingdom” with joy. These people are often satisfied with the appearance of faith and belonging. They may even be able to express strong opinions about what they believe. But when challenges and hardship strike, they are unable to withstand. They have a faith that may completely cover the surface of their lives, but only be an inch deep. The seed may germinate, but the roots are shallow. The plant withers instead of producing fruit.

Some people may say, “how can you believe in a God in a world where such evil exists, and such awful things happen to good people?” But then there are those who say that because there is such evil in the world that they must believe and trust in God.

Thorns

“²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.”

Now these seeds seemed to have been planted on good soil. At the time of the sowing there was no evidence of weeds or thorns. But there turns out to be competition for the place in the soil. Weeds and thorns begin to take root along with the good seed. The soil begins to nurture the weeds more than the good plants. The lure of the worldly robs attention from the voice of God. Eventually the desire for success and place in the world overpowers any desire for the Kingdom of God.

Good Soil

²³ 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.”

Or as it is expressed in Luke’s account, “these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.” (Lk 8:15, NRSV)

Now we must be careful here. We can too easily just say that there are three kinds of bad soils therefore there are three kinds of bad hearts.

Let me suggest that this is not necessarily the case. I mean, don’t we all deal with troubles and problems that crop up in life? Do we not have to deal with the cares of the world if we have families we want to care for and children we want to nurture? Baby needs shoes and food must be put on the table. The question then is do we let these problems and concerns spoil the openness of our hearts to a “word of the kingdom”?

My Bible doesn’t say that God so loved those who would accept Jesus and Savior and Lord, that he sent his Son to them. Does your Bible say that? No. Like mine it says: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that those who believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life (Jn. 3:16).

God loves the world. God loves all people. God desires that the people he forms spend an eternity with him. And God wants us to love people the same way. We are to love the Lord our God and our neighbor as ourselves.

So, what are we to do about those people whose hearts are hardened paths, or stoney ground, or full of thorns?

To these people, we have a duty of care.

Maybe you remember learning about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. That would have been Sociology 101. Maslow pointed out that there are some needs that must be met before others can be addressed. The most basic physical needs must be addressed before psychological needs can be met, which must precede the more spiritual needs we have (Mcleod).

What this means is that people cannot be receptive to the redemptive word of God while basic physical or psychological needs are not being met.

Yes, we have a duty of care. It may not be one recognized by human authorities or courts, but it is one recognized by the final court.

In Matthew 25, we are reminded that we demonstrate our love to Christ when we demonstrate our love of the poor, the hungry, the naked, the imprisoned, and the sick.

Even hardened surfaces may be cracked to allow a sprig of growth to break apart even concrete or asphalt. There is hope. There is the grace of God.

This is the very work that is spoken of next.

The Bearing of Fruit

“⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

When Jesus explains the meaning of the parable, he says that the seed represents the “word of the kingdom” and that it is “sown in the heart.” (vs. 19)

“But the line between sowing the word and reaping the kingdom harvest is not straight… Believers may not blithely assume that they are ‘good soil’.” (Boring, p. 306)

Yes, the parable makes clear that there will be considerable loss. Much of the sown seed will seem to have been wasted, yet the seed that is harvested will produce a return beyond imagination. (Hill, p. 225)

It is amazing to me how much the New Testament speaks of the necessity of bearing good fruit. Jesus says “Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.” (Mt. 7:19-20 NRSVue)

While we know how the Apostle Paul teaches that we are not saved by works of the law, we are created by God for good works. (Eph. 2:10) These good works are expected of us. Paul also says that some of our work, or the work of some, may be as precious stones while the works of others will be made of straw. All the work will be tested by fire. (1 Cor. 3:12-15)

We are the Body of Christ. We are to be the earthly embodiment of Jesus. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. We, as the Body of Christ, are to be the Sowers of the word.

We continue with the same prodigality of the Sower in our parable. We reach out into the world around us.

The Call

Since Jesus takes the time to explain this parable to his disciples, it must be important for us to learn what it means and to act on it.

First, how is your heart? Are you giving God good soil to work with? Are you open to the work of grace in your life that you may be able to produce a rich harvest for the kingdom?

Second, are you actively sowing the word of the kingdom? Are you willing to indiscriminately give yourself to others in a way that demonstrates the wasteful generosity, or the generous wastefulness of God?

Finally, are you among those who are ready to make a new commitment to God? Are you ready to answer the call of Jesus in your life? Do you hear Christ calling out to you to take up your cross daily and to follow him?

“If you have ears, hear!”

This is the call of Jesus. Do you hear it? Will you answer it?

 

References

Boring, M. Eugene. “Matthew.” The New Interpreter’s Bible, edited by Leander E Keck, vol. 8, Abingdon Press, 1994, p. 744.

Hauerwas, Stanley. Matthew. Brazos Press, 2006.

Hill, David. The Gospel of Matthew. Softback Edition, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1982.

Levine, Amy-Jill. Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi. HarperOne, 2015.

Mcleod, Saul. Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs. SimplyPsychology, 12 July 2023, https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html.

Witherington, Ben. Matthew. Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2006.