By: Rev. Gerry Weesner, Maples United Methodist Church
“Then he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop–a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.’” Matthew 13:3-9 (NIV)
In Jesus’ parable; the sower is Jesus Christ, the seed is the Word of God, and the soil is the hearts of mankind. The sower goes out to sow in the real world, a world in which terrorists’ bombs kill and maim people, a world that echoes with the cries of the injured and mourning for the dead. It’s a world in which the rich often exploit the poor, and in which some have more than enough while others go hungry. In the real world, some people are discriminated against because of their race or religion or sexual orientation or where they’re from. What does it mean for the seed to be sown in a world in which such things happen?
The evil one opposes God’s work and tries to destroy it. God is love and evil is hate. God creates, freely giving life to all that exists, and evil can only destroy.
But there is good done in the world, on small scales and large. People donate to food pantries, work at soup kitchens and give money to charitable organizations to help those in need. Teachers work longer hours than many people realize to educate their students and often use their own money to buy classroom needs. Police officers and firefighters risk their lives to protect the people of their communities. That’s quite a contrast with terrorists planting their bombs or drug dealers making profits from the addiction and death of others.
The seed that is sown is the Word by which God spoke the universe into being in the beginning. It is Jesus Christ, the Word who was with God in the beginning and through whom all things were made. And the Holy Spirit works with the Word to bring forth faith in those who hear, so that works truly pleasing to God are done.
The work for which the Word motivates and empowers us is Christ-like work. Those who listen and come to faith will be guided into the kinds of actions that are in accord with God’s creative purpose for the world, each person with the talents and abilities which God has given.
