I've said this before, but it bears repeating. These sermons are not as delivered. This is my manuscript, but in my opinion, it's much better heard than read.
Still, though, enjoy.
p.s. - This may be the cheesiest title yet.
Sow, Sow, Sow the Seed
Today I’m going to do something a little different than usual. I’m going to go straight into the scripture; no introduction.
How familiar are you with Starbucks? You know the coffee place? I’ll give you some background. Starbucks was founded in 1971 in Seattle, WA. They opened their first locations outside of Seattle in 1987. In 1994, Starbucks had 300 stores in the US. In 2006 there were more than 11,000 locations in the US and 17,000 worldwide. They open about 900 new stores every year. They are currently the largest coffeehouse chain in the world.
To say Starbucks is popular would be an understatement. There has been a rumor in Florence for a few years now that Starbucks wants to open a store there. When you talk to certain people about it you can almost see them drool as they ponder the possibility. As a matter of fact, there was quite a stir in Florence when the gift shop at ECM Hospital began serving Starbuck’s Coffee. I’ve heard a few people talk about going to the hospital just to get coffee. In many cities realtors have begun putting ‘close to Starbucks’ in their ads alongside ‘hard-wood floors’ and ‘good schools’. People will actually pay extra for a home within walking distance of a Starbucks store.
There are several factors behind the company’s success. One is the ‘cool’ factor, because everybody knows that Starbucks is the ‘cool’ place to buy coffee. That, of course goes straight to their marketing successes. Another secret to their success is, to put it in real estate terms, ‘Location, location, location.’ Starbucks spends lots of money and resources on picking the best locations for their stores.
One method they use is to send consultants to stand at a location with a clicker during peak times to count traffic. According to Arthur Rubenfeld, a former Executive Vice President for Real Estate at Starbucks, the company looks at other factors besides just counting cars and pedestrians. Oil stains in the parking lot tells him that an area gets lots of traffic. More suits and jackets at a local dry cleaner tells him that it is a higher income area than if there were a majority of shirts. There are other things they look for as well, but all of these things go into picking the best locations, the locations that show the best potential.
They study and research relentlessly to find the best locations, and because of this rigorous process, they choose locations that are much more likely to be successful. They put tons of time and resources into finding good soil.
Contrast that with the sower in today’s scripture. This story is often called the Parable of the four soils or the Parable of the Miraculous Yield. Jesus himself, though, calls it ‘The Parable of the Sower’. That tells us that this parable is first and foremost about the sower.
This parable is likely familiar to you. You’ve probably heard it preached before. Maybe you’ve heard it taught, as I have heard and taught that the focus of the parable is on the soils. The four types of soil represent types of people and we, of course, want to be good soil. But here’s the thing about soil, soil can’t amend itself. I don’t know much about farming or gardening, but I do know that bad soil is bad soil. No matter how long you wait, red clay is still going to be red clay. You, as the planter, can help change the soil and make it better for growing, but without outside help the soil will not change. So if we look at ourselves as the soil, we want to be the good soil, right? But are we? Are any of us really good soil?
What if we look at this as truly the Parable of the Sower? If that is the title, then the subject of the story is the sower. If the sower is the subject, then we need to look at what the story tells us about the sower.
A few years ago I participated in a disciple Bible Study class. Have any of you taken a Disciple class? One of the things I took away from that class was a new perspective on reading scripture. Almost every session encouraged us to ask three questions after reading a scripture passage. Do you remember the questions? What does this passage say about God? What does it say about humans (I took that to mean me specifically)? What does it say about God’s relationship with people? I want to examine this passage in those terms.
So, what does this passage tell us about God? First of all, I guess it depends on your interpretation of the parable. Let’s look at it on these terms: The sower is God. The seed is Jesus or the Word made flesh. The different soils are different life conditions.
In that context, there is an important idea I want to examine. God casts the seed, Jesus, on the world. But this is not a strategic planting. It seems almost wasteful. A frugal farmer would want to ensure as successful a planting as possible. He would plant only in good soil. The planting described here is known as broadcasting. The farmer would walk along and throw handfuls of seed out into his field. Now some of those seed would probably land out of the field; on the path, on rocky soil, among weeds. It would likely be very few seeds, though. In Jesus’ story, it almost seems as if the seed are divided in fourths. As if equal amounts fall on the different soils. But the sower continues to spread the seed. God continues to spread the word. God continues to sow generously, even in the unpromising places.
Let’s look, for example, at Jesus’ ministry, specifically his time with the Disciples as it relates to the parable. This will give us an idea of, not only what the parable says about God, but also what it says about us.
The first seed mentioned falls along the path. Jesus says this represents those who do not understand the Word. That’s the best description of the disciples I’ve heard. They spent much of their time with Jesus asking him to clarify his teachings or just plain misunderstanding him.
The second group of seed falls on rocky ground. The hearer receives it with joy, but only endures for a while. When persecution and trouble come along, they fall away. Again, it’s a pretty accurate description of the Disciples. Upon Jesus’ arrest, they scattered. They spent the next few days hiding in fear. Some of them went back to their jobs as fishermen.
The third group of seed fell among the weeds. In these people the word is received, but is choked out by the cares of the world. Maybe our metaphor breaks down a little here. Or maybe we see Judas in this group.
You know what? If we are honest, I think we can see each of these soil types or each of these life conditions in our own lives. Probably not all at once, maybe not now, but I know I can identify times in my own life when any one of these was true.
But here is what this passage tells us about God. God does not give up on us. Despite the disciples’ failings, Jesus still sent them out to preach the gospel. Despite our failings, God asks the same of us. Go, make disciples, baptize, teach, and remember. God continues, through the Holy Spirit working in our lives and through us, to spread the word on all 4 of these soil types.
Jesus invested his ministry in the Disciples, which if you didn’t know the end of the story could be a little discouraging. He spent much of his time with sinners and tax-collectors; lepers and other outcasts. But in this parable, Jesus still looks forward to an abundant harvest. And hind-sight being 20/20, I’d say he was right. What started with about 120 followers just after the resurrection has grown to more than 2 billion Christians today. That is a miraculous yield.
There is something else this passage tells us about us.
Our approach to ministry typically looks like Starbucks’ approach to new stores. We want to make sure it will be successful before we start. We look at planting new churches in suburban areas that are home to a growing, successful population. There’s not anything wrong with that, unless we are neglecting other areas that are just as underserved. If we start a new ministry, we want to be reasonably sure that it will succeed.
We, like Starbucks, want to find the good soil and throw seed on it. But that’s not what this parable teaches. Our sower, God, sows the Word on everyone. The 4 types of soil represent all walks of life. God spreads the word to them all. That’s risky. Sowing where you know growth is unlikely is a risk. But we are called to do likewise. Elizabeth Johnson, a pastor and professor in St. Paul, MN says it this way: “Jesus' approach to mission is quite at odds with our play-it-safe instincts. He gives us freedom to take risks for the sake of the gospel. He endorses extravagant generosity in sowing the word, even in perilous places. Though we may wonder about the wisdom or efficiency of his methods, Jesus promises that the end result will be a bumper crop.”
What does the parable say about our relationship with God? Firstly, it tells us that God will pursue us even in the rocky places or among the thorns or along the well-worn path. And because of our relationship with God, we are called to take the word to just those places, wherever they may be.
I don’t know if any of you listen to This American Life. Last week they told a story of someone sowing in risky places. Nineteen years ago, Agnes Wilcox began taking acting troupes and performing Shakespeare for prisoners around St. Louis, MO. Eventually that led to having the prisoners themselves perform the plays. It’s not a ministry, per se, in that it is not affiliated with any religious organization. But it has reaped fruit. The inmates interviewed on This American Life talked about how this program has brought them face to face with their own crimes; it has helped them to realize the pain and suffering they have caused others. The program has helped to rehabilitate hardened criminals. That is some risk: teaching Shakespeare to murderers and rapists. But the Prison Performing Arts program “helps inmates learn the life skills that prepare them to become productive, creative, and law-abiding citizens.”
Our conference mission statement is “Every church challenged and equipped to grow more disciples of Jesus Christ by taking risks and changing lives.” This parable shows us that’s exactly what God does for us. To truly be like Christ, we need to be ready to take risks to make disciples.
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