Sunday, July 13, 2008   Pentecost 9A   Matthew 13:1-9;18-23

 

THERE WILL BE A HARVEST

 

When we moved to Franklin Grove in Northern Illinois in the summer of 1988, farmers were suffering through the worst drought in 50 years.  The farmers and the whole community were concerned about the impact this drought on the corn and soybean harvest.

 

My dad grew up on a farm in Northern Wisconsin.  In a good year they hoped the corn would be at least “knee high by the 4^th”— that is, of July.  In Northern Illinois in a normal year the corn would be at least head high by the 4^th.  In the summer of 1988, despite the drought, the corn was still well above the knees by the 4^th.

 

The Church Council President of St. Paul Lutheran, where I served as Pastor, told me that in a typical year they harvested over 150 bushels an acre of corn.  Even in the midst of the worst drought in memory they harvested over 100 bushels an acre— the soil was that good.  On the farm my dad grew up on, 100 bushels per acre would have been an astounding harvest under any conditions.

 

In the time of Jesus such bountiful harvests were unheard of.  A ten fold harvest would have been considered a good crop.  A 7 ½ fold harvest would have been average.

 

The Parable of the Sower reflects a common method of sowing seed in the Palestine of that time.  This sower was not a wasteful or inept farmer.  He was using the broadcast method of sowing.  Seed was scattered indiscriminately on the fields prior to plowing.  The harvest was largely determined by the soil on which it landed and into which it was plowed.

 

Inevitably some of the seed fell on the paths between the long narrow strips of field.  The ground between these strips of field was considered a right of way for travelers.  Over the years these paths became beaten down hard as pavement.  The seed on these hard paths would not get plowed under, and thus the birds would come and eat the seed.

 

Other seed fell on rocky ground.  That does not mean rocks were scattered all over the fields.  Rocky ground was a thin skin of earth over a shelf of limestone.  The soil had no depth.  Shoots would spring up quickly, but without deep roots they would get scorched and wither away.

 

Still other seed fell on thorny ground.  This soil may have looked very good.  But weeds lurked in it.  As soon as the grain would begin to grow, the weeds would spring up and choke it.

 

But some seed would fall on good soil.  It was plowed into soil that was soft, deep, and clean.  This soil was full of nutrients and earth worms.  Deep roots gave the grain access to a steady supply of moisture.  Properly nourished with adequate moisture, the grain grew unchecked and yielded an abundant harvest.

 

The Parable of the Sower is one of the few parables for which Jesus gives an interpretation.  The seed on the path represents those who hear the Word of God and do not understand it.  The Word does not even begin to take root in their hearts.

 

The seed sown on rocky ground represents those who hear the Word of God and receive it eagerly with joy.  But it does not take root deeply in them.  So at the first sign of trouble or persecution on account of the Word of God, they immediately fall away.

 

The seed on thorny ground represents those who hear the Word, but let other priorities and the desire for riches choke the Word.  So it yields nothing.

 

But some seed does fall on good soil.  This seed represents those who hear the Word of God and take it deep into their hearts and minds.  It bears fruit and yields a bountiful harvest— in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.

 

A common response to this interpretation would be to wonder what kind of soil we are.  Are we like those who hear the Word but do not understand it?  Are we like those who receive the Word eagerly but at the first sign of trouble fall away?  Are we like those who hear the Word but let other priorities and the desire for wealth take precedent in our lives?  Or are we like those whose hearts and minds are good soil for the Word of God?

 

We need to be careful about identifying ourselves or anyone else as a particular kind of soil.  The truth is that at one time or another all four soils are found in each individual.  At various times we may be more or less understanding of the Word, more or less eager to receive the Word, more or less preoccupied with other priorities or our wealth, more or less ready to take the Word into our hearts and minds.

 

Identifying what kinds of soil we are or what kinds of soil can be found in us has some value.  It behooves us to gain understanding of the various ways we can receive the Word and of the various pitfalls that can hinder our reception of the Word.  However, focusing on this way of interpreting the Parable of the Sower misses the main point of the parable itself and of Jesus’ interpretation of it.

 

The key for Jesus is that there will be a harvest.  At times the early church struggled with the lack of receptivity to the message of Jesus.  They wondered if their preaching and teaching of the Word was falling on deaf ears.  They wondered if their ministry and mission efforts were in vain.  In the Parable of the Sower Jesus is encouraging his followers not to lose heart.  Not all will understand the message.

Not all will take it deeply into their hearts and minds.  Not all will live in accordance with that Word.  But Jesus assures us that the Word will bear fruit.  There will be a harvest.

 

As mentioned earlier, a typical harvest in Palestine in the time of Jesus was 7 ½ - 10 fold.  Jesus promises a harvest 3, 6, even 10 times greater.  In other words, it will be a bountiful harvest.

 

Surely the followers of Jesus today can relate to the discouragement of the early followers of Jesus.  At times it seems that our ministry and mission may not being have much of an impact.  We too need the assurance that God’s Word will bear fruit, that our ministry and mission are not in vain.  The impact of ministry and mission may not be immediately apparent.  It may be that we are simply sowing seeds, and the harvest is yet to come.

 

H. L. Gee tells the story of an old man named Thomas who attended the same church as Gee.  Old Thomas outlived all his friends; thus hardly anyone knew him anymore.  When Thomas died, Gee was concerned no one would attend his funeral; so Gee decided to go to the graveside service.  Indeed, the weather was miserable; and no one else was there except the preacher and a soldier.  Gee could tell he was an officer, but there were no rank badges on his raincoat.  At the end of the service the soldier stepped forward and saluted before the open grave of Old Thomas.  The wind happened to blow the soldier’s raincoat open, revealing the badges of a brigadier general.

 

He said to Gee: “You may be wondering what I am doing here. Years ago Thomas was my Sunday School teacher; I was a wild lad and a sore trial to him. He never knew what he did for me, but I owe everything I am or will be to old Thomas, and today I have come to salute him at the end.”[1]

 

Often—probably most often—we do not know the precise impact we are having on people.  It has been that way for the followers of Jesus since the beginning.  We are called to sow the seeds of God’s Word and to minister and carry out mission in accordance with that Word.  We are called to cultivate or nurture that Word in those the seeds have been sown.  In the end, however, the growth comes from God; and God promises there will be a harvest.

 

Today Brayden Cornie is being baptized.  God is sowing the seeds of faith in Brayden.  We are privileged to participate in the process of sowing those seeds.  His parents Scott and Kim, his sponsors Steve and Jennifer, and our community of faith have a responsibility to cultivate those seeds of faith in him.  We do not know precisely what the fruits of those seeds will be.  But surely God will produce a harvest of faith in Brayden.

 

The General Sherman Tree is in Sequoia National Park in California.  This giant sequoia tree is 272 feet tall.  At its base it is over 100 feet in diameter.  It has been estimated to weigh over 2,000 tons.  It is over 3,000 years old.  The General Sherman Tree began as a seed weighing 1/6,000 of an ounce.[2]  It is amazing what God produced from such a small seed.

 

As we move forward with our ministry and mission here at St. Andrew, our Lord does not want us to lose heart, even if the results of our efforts may seem meager at times.  Some of the seeds we sow will not fall in fertile soil.  But some of the seeds of God’s Word that we plant will fall on good soil.  The smallest, seemingly most insignificant seed of ministry and mission may bear fruit beyond our wildest imagination.  Just as Old Thomas never knew the impact he had on the soldier who saluted him, we ourselves may never see the full impact of our ministry and mission.  But be assured our sowing will never be in vain.  God will make sure that there will be a bountiful harvest.

In Jesus’ name, AMEN.