8th Sunday after Pentecost 07/10/05 Text:Matthew 13:1-23 Title: Sow What!
8th Sunday after Pentecost
07/10/05
Text: Matthew 13:1-23
Title: Sow What!
My fellow missionaries please join me in prayer. Lord, we have gathered here this morning as a people of God. We come together from all walks of life, but joined together by your death and resurrection. Some gathered here are strong in their faith, while others are struggling with their faith. Some are burdened by sin, while others are feeling overcome by life itself. Some are enjoying good health, while others have bodies that are struggling with illness or disease. I beseech you precious Jesus to enter into all who are here. Give each person through your Word what it is that they need, so that each will know of your love, and thus bear abundant fruit for you. Amen
Today’s Gospel reading is a familiar text. It is the parable of the farmer who in spreading his seed, cast it on all types of ground, good ground, thorny ground, rocky ground, and even on a hard path where it did not have a chance to grow, before the birds got it.
The problem a pastor has in teaching the meaning of this particular parable is that quite often those sitting in the pews have heard it so many times before, that they will just flip that mental switch off, and mentally go somewhere else for the next 15 or 20 minutes. Hey, you got to remember, I sat in those pews for 50 some years, I remember what it is like.
The problem then is; how do I as your pastor stay true to the text, and yet present the Gospel message to you in a meaningful way? You are not going to hear the usual message today, for I found something else we can learn from this parable.But to better understand it, we need to take a quick look at the chapter 12, the chapter right before the one we are looking at today. It is in chapter 12 that you see the opposition to Jesus is intensifying. The Pharisees, who were earlier sneaking around taking pot shots at Jesus, are now directly debating him. They are not winning, but they are still boldly going after him. It has gotten so bad that some of the religious leaders are plotting his death.
The Pharisees believe that Jesus is in league with the devil himself. Jesus responds to them by calling them a “brood of vipers”, an “evil and adulterous generation”. He is fed up with them. There is nothing that he can do to cause them to believe that he is the promised Messiah. Their hearts are hard.
Their unbelief brings up a question; why is it that some people believe, and others do not. They hear the same words, study the same scriptures, see the same actions of love, and yet for some there is no coming to faith?
The answer to that question is, we just do not know, and never will know, as long as we live on this earth, for you see that is God’s business, not ours. And that brings me to the parable we are looking at today.
If you have ever studied Jesus’ parables you will remember that they turned the listener’s world upside down. They always had a twist that would bring down the false beliefs of those he was talking to.
Since God’s words are timeless, then there must be some belief of ours that he wants to turn upside down. What could it be? I had to give that some thought. It came to me on Wednesday afternoon as I was sitting at my desk, “A sower went to sow.” Right out of the text. It is just a simple little sentence, but one that could turn what you belief about your part in the kingdom of God upside down.
To help me explain it, I am going to use an experience that I had while I was president of the congregation in Texas. The congregation had been asked by the district president to look into the possibility of starting a mission congregation. They sent down from the district office the vice-president in charge of mission planting to meet with me.
I will never forget what happened that day. We had just gotten through spending the afternoon driving through all the different neighborhoods in town, from the wealthiest to the poorest. We stopped the car to get something to drink; when he asked me where I thought would be the best place for a mission congregation. Well, like good old blessed Peter, I just jumped right in without giving it much thought. I told him that the best place to plant a mission congregation would be in at least the middle class area, preferably the upper middle class area, for those were the kind of people that attended our congregation now.
Well, I thought he would bust a blood vessel. He got all red-faced, and after taking a deep breath, he told me, and I will never forget it, “Dennis are you in the business of raising money, and building buildings, or are you in the business of saving souls?” Well, as soon as I pulled my size ten shoe out of my mouth, I told him with great humility, “The business of saving souls.”
You see, when he asked me that question, it became quickly apparent to me that God was using him to get my attention. I finally got it, planting a mission church it is not about me, or where I would want to worship. It is not about creating a congregation that has the type of music and liturgy that I like, or filling it with the people like me. It is about saving people who are lost and don’t even know it, that is what planting a mission church is about.
You think that would have been enough of a lesson, but no, God was not through with me yet, for it was not too much later, I think it was a week, that as I was taking part in an outreach meeting, that the discussion got around to how important it was for the committee to get the biggest bang for the buck, a logical thing to do, otherwise the money might be wasted on those who would probably not join the church.
After all if you did not spend the money wisely it could cause problems with some of those in the congregation. I know it is hard to believe, but I have seen people who considered themselves to be faithful Christians stop giving to their congregation, because the congregation did not support the particular project that they wanted it to support.
I have seen others stop giving, or at least cut back, because they did not think their money was being used effectively or efficiently. Their money! Boy do they have it wrong. They might think it is their money, but it isn’t, for it is God’s money, which he has allowed them to earn, and manage on his behalf.
I mentioned this, because I am sure that you noticed that in this parable there is a lot of wasted seeds. Some were thrown on the hard path, where the birds ate them, so they must have been wasted. But, did you know that there are some seeds that have to go through the digestive track of birds for them to germinate. Wasted seeds, we will never know, but I don’t think so.
Other seeds were thrown in rocky or thorny areas where they began to grow but could not reach maturity and produce fruit. All of those wasted seeds! How many farmers today would sow seed as the sower did in the parable? No farmer would, at least here in the United States, for it just wastes seed that is much too valuable to waste.
While this parable’s main meaning is about faith, could it also be challenging us to take risks for the purpose of saving souls? Could recklessly throwing out the seeds of God’s Word be similar to Luther’s “sin boldly” or to put it another way, “Do something even if it is wrong”?
You see, this understanding of the parable ties in with our Old Testament reading in Isaiah where he declares, “My word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
So does that mean we just throw out the Word of God and forget about it? Of course not, for while it is essential that we tell others of Jesus’ salvation story, it is also by our actions, our own fruit bearing, that we help them to understand it.
Last, but not least this parable talks about the promise of a harvest. That is what is to motivate us, for God has promised us a harvest. We do not know how big the harvest will be; only God knows that.
I ask you, does the harvest have to have a hundred fold return, or a sixty fold, or a thirty fold return, or would just one plant bearing fruit be worthwhile? What do you think? Is it worth while throwing out thousands of seeds to maybe grow just one plant that bears fruit? God must think so, for you are here this morning growing in your faith, so that you will bear abundant fruit. Amen
07/10/05
Text: Matthew 13:1-23
Title: Sow What!
My fellow missionaries please join me in prayer. Lord, we have gathered here this morning as a people of God. We come together from all walks of life, but joined together by your death and resurrection. Some gathered here are strong in their faith, while others are struggling with their faith. Some are burdened by sin, while others are feeling overcome by life itself. Some are enjoying good health, while others have bodies that are struggling with illness or disease. I beseech you precious Jesus to enter into all who are here. Give each person through your Word what it is that they need, so that each will know of your love, and thus bear abundant fruit for you. Amen
Today’s Gospel reading is a familiar text. It is the parable of the farmer who in spreading his seed, cast it on all types of ground, good ground, thorny ground, rocky ground, and even on a hard path where it did not have a chance to grow, before the birds got it.
The problem a pastor has in teaching the meaning of this particular parable is that quite often those sitting in the pews have heard it so many times before, that they will just flip that mental switch off, and mentally go somewhere else for the next 15 or 20 minutes. Hey, you got to remember, I sat in those pews for 50 some years, I remember what it is like.
The problem then is; how do I as your pastor stay true to the text, and yet present the Gospel message to you in a meaningful way? You are not going to hear the usual message today, for I found something else we can learn from this parable.But to better understand it, we need to take a quick look at the chapter 12, the chapter right before the one we are looking at today. It is in chapter 12 that you see the opposition to Jesus is intensifying. The Pharisees, who were earlier sneaking around taking pot shots at Jesus, are now directly debating him. They are not winning, but they are still boldly going after him. It has gotten so bad that some of the religious leaders are plotting his death.
The Pharisees believe that Jesus is in league with the devil himself. Jesus responds to them by calling them a “brood of vipers”, an “evil and adulterous generation”. He is fed up with them. There is nothing that he can do to cause them to believe that he is the promised Messiah. Their hearts are hard.
Their unbelief brings up a question; why is it that some people believe, and others do not. They hear the same words, study the same scriptures, see the same actions of love, and yet for some there is no coming to faith?
The answer to that question is, we just do not know, and never will know, as long as we live on this earth, for you see that is God’s business, not ours. And that brings me to the parable we are looking at today.
If you have ever studied Jesus’ parables you will remember that they turned the listener’s world upside down. They always had a twist that would bring down the false beliefs of those he was talking to.
Since God’s words are timeless, then there must be some belief of ours that he wants to turn upside down. What could it be? I had to give that some thought. It came to me on Wednesday afternoon as I was sitting at my desk, “A sower went to sow.” Right out of the text. It is just a simple little sentence, but one that could turn what you belief about your part in the kingdom of God upside down.
To help me explain it, I am going to use an experience that I had while I was president of the congregation in Texas. The congregation had been asked by the district president to look into the possibility of starting a mission congregation. They sent down from the district office the vice-president in charge of mission planting to meet with me.
I will never forget what happened that day. We had just gotten through spending the afternoon driving through all the different neighborhoods in town, from the wealthiest to the poorest. We stopped the car to get something to drink; when he asked me where I thought would be the best place for a mission congregation. Well, like good old blessed Peter, I just jumped right in without giving it much thought. I told him that the best place to plant a mission congregation would be in at least the middle class area, preferably the upper middle class area, for those were the kind of people that attended our congregation now.
Well, I thought he would bust a blood vessel. He got all red-faced, and after taking a deep breath, he told me, and I will never forget it, “Dennis are you in the business of raising money, and building buildings, or are you in the business of saving souls?” Well, as soon as I pulled my size ten shoe out of my mouth, I told him with great humility, “The business of saving souls.”
You see, when he asked me that question, it became quickly apparent to me that God was using him to get my attention. I finally got it, planting a mission church it is not about me, or where I would want to worship. It is not about creating a congregation that has the type of music and liturgy that I like, or filling it with the people like me. It is about saving people who are lost and don’t even know it, that is what planting a mission church is about.
You think that would have been enough of a lesson, but no, God was not through with me yet, for it was not too much later, I think it was a week, that as I was taking part in an outreach meeting, that the discussion got around to how important it was for the committee to get the biggest bang for the buck, a logical thing to do, otherwise the money might be wasted on those who would probably not join the church.
After all if you did not spend the money wisely it could cause problems with some of those in the congregation. I know it is hard to believe, but I have seen people who considered themselves to be faithful Christians stop giving to their congregation, because the congregation did not support the particular project that they wanted it to support.
I have seen others stop giving, or at least cut back, because they did not think their money was being used effectively or efficiently. Their money! Boy do they have it wrong. They might think it is their money, but it isn’t, for it is God’s money, which he has allowed them to earn, and manage on his behalf.
I mentioned this, because I am sure that you noticed that in this parable there is a lot of wasted seeds. Some were thrown on the hard path, where the birds ate them, so they must have been wasted. But, did you know that there are some seeds that have to go through the digestive track of birds for them to germinate. Wasted seeds, we will never know, but I don’t think so.
Other seeds were thrown in rocky or thorny areas where they began to grow but could not reach maturity and produce fruit. All of those wasted seeds! How many farmers today would sow seed as the sower did in the parable? No farmer would, at least here in the United States, for it just wastes seed that is much too valuable to waste.
While this parable’s main meaning is about faith, could it also be challenging us to take risks for the purpose of saving souls? Could recklessly throwing out the seeds of God’s Word be similar to Luther’s “sin boldly” or to put it another way, “Do something even if it is wrong”?
You see, this understanding of the parable ties in with our Old Testament reading in Isaiah where he declares, “My word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
So does that mean we just throw out the Word of God and forget about it? Of course not, for while it is essential that we tell others of Jesus’ salvation story, it is also by our actions, our own fruit bearing, that we help them to understand it.
Last, but not least this parable talks about the promise of a harvest. That is what is to motivate us, for God has promised us a harvest. We do not know how big the harvest will be; only God knows that.
I ask you, does the harvest have to have a hundred fold return, or a sixty fold, or a thirty fold return, or would just one plant bearing fruit be worthwhile? What do you think? Is it worth while throwing out thousands of seeds to maybe grow just one plant that bears fruit? God must think so, for you are here this morning growing in your faith, so that you will bear abundant fruit. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 12:36 PM
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