“Some
seed fell along the path and was trampled underfoot; the birds of the sky at it
up. Other seed fell on the rock; when it grew it withered because it lacked
moisture. Still other seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew with it and
choked it. Other seed fell on good earth and started producing fruit…(and
Jesus said) Anyone here with two ears had
better listen!” (Scholars’ Version, Luke 8)
A sermon preached July 16, 2017 at St. Richard's Episcopal Church, Winter Park, FL
The parable of the sower is one of the most widely repeated
passages of scripture in the New Testament. It appears in all three of the
synoptic Gospels, MK, LK and today’s lesson from MT, and it appears in the
earliest gospel, the collection of sayings called the Gospel of Thomas. Given
the multiple times it appears in the various gospels, the chances are very good
that this passage actually came from Jesus as opposed to the many passages that
reflect the needs and self-understandings of the early church.
Questions
not answers
How do we know this is Jesus? To begin with, it comes in
the form of a parable. Jesus is fond of this kind of teaching. The parables were
a means for Jesus to communicate powerful lessons to his followers in ways they
would comprehend while at the same time appearing innocuous and non-threatening
to the ears of the Roman overlords who kept Jesus and the crowds he drew under
regular surveillance.
Parables differed from the teachings about the Jewish law
that one might encounter from the Pharisees and their rabbis with whom Jesus
often interacted. For one thing, parables raise questions rather than providing
answers. Jesus often sought to prompt people to engage in reflection even as he
rarely told them what to think. Parables also invoke multiple possible responses
as the parable of the sower readily illustrates: some of the seed falls on
rocky ground, some of the seed is eaten by birds, some takes only shallow root
and withers. Yet some grows and produces in abundance. Jesus constantly asks
his listeners: Which one are you and why
is that?
Another detail that points toward Jesus is his use of the
natural world as the audio-visual aid for delivering his message. Jesus clearly
loves the flowers of the field and the birds of the air. While it is not clear
whether this particular parable is original to Jesus or whether he simply
adapted it from a common form of story passed around in the Greco-Roman world,
Jesus often focuses on the capacity of the earth to bring forth abundance, a
pattern which reflects the goodness and generosity of his Father in heaven who
created everything that is – including us.
One last aspect that is common to Jesus’ teaching is his
valuing of the common people whom he trusted to respond appropriately to his
parables. The Westar Scholar’s Edition translates the last line of this passage
this way: “Anyone here with two ears had
better listen!” Bear in mind that this is the same teacher who praises the
poor – who compose the vast majority of his homeland – as blessed. He calls
them salt of the earth, light of the world. Clearly Jesus believes they are
capable of understanding his parables. And in today’s Gospel, he calls them to become
what they are capable of being as the children of G-d: living beings which grow,
flourish and produce good fruit.
Paul’s Greek
audience
To fully understand what Jesus is saying, it’s helpful to compare
it very briefly
with what St. Paul offers us in today’s Epistle. Paul
begins with the assertion that “There is no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus.” Note the key element common to Paul’s thought: punishment and
avoidance of punishment through believing. Paul then launches into a long
dissertation on sins of the flesh versus life in the Spirit.
This division of the human being into a flesh which is
largely sinful and a spirit which is holy is striking in its Greek
philosophical overtones. The Greeks saw the human being as the corrupt realm of
the flesh driven by our desires and appetites as well as the pure and perfect realm
of the Spirit where an uncluttered reason reigns supreme. It’s pretty clear who
Paul’s audience was and it is not the Galilean peasants Jesus is addressing.
Indeed, in this comparison it’s easy to recognize that
while St. Paul was adept at constructing a religion about the Christ, a
religion which focused on sin and salvation, punishment and its avoidance, death
and resurrection, the truth is, Paul had never met Jesus. And while the ideas
of St. Paul can be reconciled with those of Jesus if one really works at it,
they are strikingly different in both their focuses and their goals.
If Paul were telling the parable of the sower, it would
probably go something like this: The sower is Jesus. He has come to bring the
Word to those wish to attain resurrection after death. It’s important to note
that Paul does not presume that his listeners are already children of G-d. In
the next verse after the excerpt we have read for today, he goes on to say that
receiving the Spirit as a result of hearing the Word makes it possible for one
to become an adopted child of G_d. By implication, that means we do not start
as such, an understanding completely at odds with the Creation accounts of
Genesis.
Every seed
holds its own potential
But Jesus tells a different story. For Jesus the sower is
G-d, the Creator, and the sowing of that seed takes place at the moment of our
very creation. It is particularly important to note the symbolism of the seed
here. Seeds are by definition life in its potential form. If a seed is properly
planted and nourished, it sprouts and becomes a plant. With devoted care, the
plant produces something of value – here the grain needed for one’s daily
bread. Bear in mind, this is the same
Jesus who earlier in this gospel reminds us that it is by the fruits of our
lives that people know who we truly are.
Jesus is not focused here on sin or salvation. He is not
focused on divine punishment and how we avoid it. He is not talking about death
and resurrection. And he does not presume that we must be adopted by G-d to become
G-d’s children.
So what is Jesus talking about? Unfortunately, our excerpt
from Matthew today leaves out about 8 verses in the middle of this passage that
provide the key to understanding it. In verse 11 of this chapter, when his
disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable, he begins with these words: “You have been given the privilege of
knowing the secrets of the Kingdom of G-d...” While Paul is talking about
sin and salvation, death and resurrection, Jesus’ parable is about the here and
now, the way that each of us lives our lives as children of G-d, and the coming
of the Kingdom of G-d.
So how does this kingdom come about? According to Jesus, it
is the result of the willingness of each of us who bear the seed of our own
individual humanity implanted in us at the moment of our creation to live into
the best and highest version of ourselves that G_d has called us to become. Jesus
regularly models that higher version of ourselves: healing the sick, giving to
those who beg, turning the other cheek, forgiving your enemies. And he does so
in a manner that is often self-sacrificing.
Let us remember that Jesus is Jewish, that Judaism has long
taught that every human being is created a child of G-d born bearing the divine
image. That’s the seed. Judaism also
teaches that each of us is born with the potential to grow increasingly into
the divine likeness. That’s the tending
of the plant. And what happens if we are each faithful to the process of
growth and development into the likeness of G_d? The parable of the sower tells
us it is the great yield of which we are
capable of producing. In short, the result is life in abundance, one of the
marks of the Kingdom of G_d which Jesus asks us to pray each day will “come on
Earth as in heaven.”
The Sower
comes to the beach
Over the years as both a student and a teacher of world
religions, I have come to believe that no spiritual path is worthy of serious
consideration unless it has the capacity to do two things. One, it must have
the capacity to enable people to transcend the vagaries of their daily lives,
and two, it must have the capacity for those same people to collectively help transform
the world in which they live. Absent either of those two capacities, a religion
may be a lot of things but it is not ultimately a path worth following.
Now think about the mission statement of this church. Each
Sunday we hear this proclamation of that mission: “We are here to discover
G-d’s grace, to change our lives and to change the whole world.” Like the
parable of the sower, it evidences a great deal of confidence in its hearers to
respond to that calling from Jesus. It
is a spiritual path that aims at personal transcendence and social
transformation. It is, in my view, a spiritual path worth following.
But is also a path that runs against the grain in a culture
that accentuates individualism and measures human worth in terms of power and
dollars and cents. And yet there are examples of transcendence and
transformation around us every day if we are willing to see them. Indeed, if
Jesus were telling this story today, it might go like this:
A
woman and her family were at the beach enjoying a day of summer vacation.
Suddenly the woman noticed that her three young sons were out in water over their
heads and were frantically waving their hands and screaming. They had been
caught in an undertow. Though the woman was not a good swimmer, she and other
family members charged into the surf to try to rescue the boys. But the
undertow was strong and soon nine people thrashed in water over their heads
increasingly far from the shore
Other people on the
shore had noticed what was happening. They began to form a line out into the
surf holding hands, forming a human chain. Volunteers poured out across the
beach and soon the human chain, with some members barely keeping their heads
above water, reached the family and one by one pulled all nine of them to
safety.
No doubt there were
some who saw what was happening and simply said “It’s not my problem.” That’s the seed that
fell on barren rock. There were others
who started to join the chain but became afraid: “I don’t know how to swim, I might drown.” That’s the seed that
sprouted but then died for lack of care. And
yet others said, “Look, I’ve got things
I need to do this afternoon. I don’t have time for this altruistic bit.” That’s
the seed that gets choked out by noxious weeds.
And yet, there were
enough people who were able bodied, empathetic and willing to engage in what
could well have proven a dangerous activity that resulted in the saving of a
family on Panama City Beach, Florida last Saturday. They each transcended our cultural
values of self-focus and in the end together transformed what could have been a
serious tragedy into a story of human triumph.
By their fruits, we know them.
So now it is your turn to find yourself in the parable. Which
one are you and why is that? What will you do with the seed that G-d has given
you to nurture, tend and bring to production?
By what fruits will your life labors be known? Let me close with some
advice from Jesus here:
Anyone here with
two ears had better listen!” AMEN.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If the unexamined life is not worth
living, surely an unexamined belief system, be it religious or political, is
not worth holding.
Most things worth considering do
not come in sound bites.
For what does G-d require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your G-d? (Micah
6:8, Hebrew Scriptures)
© Harry Coverston 2017
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