Seeds, Soil and Sowers by Peter L. DeGroote
Notes for Bible Talk: July 6, 2005 Please read: Matthew 13: 1- 9
Bible Talk is an informal discussion of biblical passages, ideas, and related material. The discussions are on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm, following the Service of Word and Table. Occasionally, they will not be held due to special events. These Notes are intended to assist participants in thinking about the passages and some of their implications prior to the gathering. Usually, the Notes are prepared and the discussion is led by Rev. Peter L. DeGroote The sources for biblical quotations are labeled as follows: NRSV: The New Revised Standard Version, Copyright ©1989, The National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States. SV: The Scholar’s Version; i.e., The Five Gospels, The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus, Robert W. Funk and Roy W. Hoover, and The Jesus Seminar, Copyright © 1993 by Polebridge Press. TM: The Message, The New Testament in Contemporary Language, Copyright © Eugene H. Peterson 1993. navpress, Colorado Springs. M: My paraphrase.	Wednesday, July 6, 2005 Seeds, Soil and Sowers 1. A farmer plants seeds by throwing them over a large area, a method called broadcasting. (The word's origin is in putting together the words "broad" and "cast." You cast the seeds over a broad area.) The result is that all of the seeds do not land in the best place for growing. If they land on the hard-packed path to the field, birds are likely to eat them; if on rocky soil, they start to grow but wither for lack of depth. Those found in the thorny thicket surrounding the field might begin to grow but are later choked out by their surroundings. But those landing on good soil will grow. In this case, the harvest will yield 30, 60, and even 100 times the amount of seed sown. At the time, a harvest of 4 times the amount of seed sown was considered a good, 10 times was unusually good, but this seed that Jesus spoke of yielded an even more abundant harvest. 2.    There are two ways to think about the symbolism of the parable. A. Jesus is the sower, the Gospel is the seed. That leads us to ask, what kind of soil am I? Is the Gospel growing in me? Has it been stolen away like a bird steals a seed from hard-packed earth? Did it begin to take root only to wither away because I did not allow its roots to grow deep enough? Did the Gospel begin to grow, only to be strangled in the thicket of the world’s values? B. Having received the seed of the Gospel, Jesus expected us to be sowers or broadcasters to others. That leads to other questions that apply to us personally and as a congregation: Do I trust God enough to be a sower of the seeds of the Gospel that Jesus has given me? Is our way of life a message of the Gospel to the world? Are we demonstrating what it means to be living in a community of God? 3. The parable suggests other considerations: A. Once sown or planted, seeds need time to germinate and grow. The planter does not cause the growth, it happens only when the seed is healthy and the soil is ready to nourish it. Even that requires time and patience to let God's work proceed, both in others and in us. B. We will know failure. Some of the precious seeds will wither, be snatched away, or not grow to maturity. That was Jesus’ experience and we have no reason to expect otherwise. C. Despite the failures, we can expect an abundant harvest. To understand the parable in this way is to see it as a little pep talk from Jesus. Don’t worry, keep up the work, trust God—you are doing what you are supposed to do and it will yield results. 4. At the parable's center is a lesson relevant to our day. We are reluctant to take up work that does not seem to promise success, a good income, prestige, or at least a good retirement plan. Nevertheless, many of us have to, particularly in the economy of the past few years—we have no choice.    That makes it possible for us to identify with the image of the farmer who works with the seeds and soil, both gifts of God. He plants, year in and year out, even if the previous year was a disastrous drought or destructive flood. There may be all sorts of problems but the farmer has no choice; he must plant if he is to survive. The same for the followers of Jesus, if we do not plant the Gospel around us we will not survive. That kind of commitment requires a vision of where our work as followers of Jesus is going: a vision that turns what sometimes seems like drudgery into purposeful activity. What are we trying to accomplish? What is our purpose? Will the job ever be completed? We are sometimes inclined to think of that vision as something after this life, as a heavenly reward. That may be, but it is important to keep in mind that the vision that Jesus described was of a kingdom or society of God in this life, a place of peace for us today. Entering that place begins by becoming sowers of the seed. Peter L. DeGroote	What kind of Soil am I? (Some questions to help think about an answer.) 1. Do I expect people to behave or think in certain ways before I'll reach out in friendship and help? If so, I'm probably hard packed soil where seeds cannot find a place to rest and birds come along to eat them. 2. Am I more interested in people listening to my opinions than in carefully listening to how others think and feel? If so, I'm probably like the rocky soil where the seed takes root but there is not enough depth for it to take hold. It withers and dies. 3. Am I more concerned with doing what is considered normal and proper than in doing the things that Jesus taught us to do? If so, I'm probably the soil covered with thorns and brambles that choke out the seed. 4. If I don't do any of the above, I'm probably the kind of soil in which the seed can grow—but there are other problems before a harvest.