HOW DO YOU RESPOND? Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Theme of the Month Spiritual Reflection & Renewal
Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Sharp
Lead Pastor, English Congregation Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church, Vancouver, British Columbia
Sunday Sermon for 14 March 2010
Scripture Passage Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” 1
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When people hear the message about the kingdom and do not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their hearts. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to people who hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to people who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to people who hear the word and understand it. They produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” 18
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There is a growing trend in our society to classify people according to personality type. I think that sometimes this can be very helpful in helping us to understand ourselves as well as others. It can help us to work better or to understand why we don’t work well together. But it has its pitfalls too. Some want to pigeonhole people or write people off or see personality types or tendencies as deterministic in that we are locked into a certain personality type and that is that. No way to change. Others want to exploit these personality type identifiers. For example, in the world of advertising, there is a theory that divides people into different groups based on their supposed lifestyles and personality types. For example, two of these groups are called “the belongers” and “the achievers.” Belongers are middle-class people who want more than anything else to do the accepted thing, to fit in, to keep up with the neighbours. So, to sell a product to people in this group an advertiser will stress that the product is the most popular product of its kind. That same pitch generally wouldn’t work with the group of achievers. Achievers, according to this Madison Avenue theory, are financially successful people who wouldn’t want to buy the most popular product. They only want to own things that most people can’t afford. An example of how this particular theory might be put into practice can be seen in the advertising campaigns for the financial investment firm of Merrill Lynch. At one time, Merrill Lynch had a TV ad that showed a heard of bulls running. Arnold Mitchell, the researcher who developed the theory that makes a distinction between belongers and achievers (among others), argued that this herd image was all wrong for an ad designed to attract wealthy investors. “A herd is a belonger symbol,” he said. “Rich people with money don’t think of themselves as one of a herd. They think of themselves as achievers.” So, if you have seen some of Merrill Lynch’s ads, you’ll see that the company has listened to Mitchell’s advice. One ad showed a lone bull (an achiever) pushing its way through a herd of sheep (an achiever’s view of belongers). An ad based on personality type and the perceived difference between people. Yes, people are different. Maybe there are achievers and belongers, introverts and extroverts, those who risk and those who avoid risks, those who are curious and those not so curious. In this passage of Scripture Jesus is trying to respond to his disciples’ questions about his ministry. Why is it that some people respond and others don’t? Why is it that some people respond and then fall away? Why is it that some people respond and continue? As we read the Gospels, we see that Jesus knew that people are different. We see it in the way that Jesus approaches people; we see it in the ay that Jesus speaks to people; how he treats people. Jesus knew that people are different. Today’s passage is a parable, a story intended to convey a truth, teach a lesson. This passage which is often called “The Parable of the Sower” is one of several parables in this thirteen chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. All of these parables in some way relate to an understanding of Jesus’ message and ministry. All of them in some way relate to the Kingdom of God, that alternative reality, that countercultural life that Jesus brings. Some parables explain how the kingdom comes; some elaborate on what it means to live life in the Kingdom of God; some, like this parable, try to explain the various responses to Jesus’ message about the Kingdom of God.
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The verses we read break into two parts—the parable/story itself (verses 1-9) and the interpretation—Jesus’ explanation of the meaning of the story (verses 18-23).This parable and its interpretation appears in each of the first three Gospels. As I have said, it is often called “The Parable of the Sower” because of the actions of the farmer in the story—“a farmer went out to sow his seed.” And even though the way he sows, distributes his seed is different from what we might expect, it is certainly in keeping with the practices in Jesus’ day. And one thing we can see in the actions of the Sower in Jesus’ story is his faith and persistence. He knows the odds, but he also knows the possibility of success and he goes ahead. Now, behind this story are some questions about Jesus and his ministry. Some have raised the question, “Is it worth it?” Jesus’ ministry, his preaching of the word of God, has met with some failure—people have spurned him, they have rejected his message and him, some have given it a passing listen, others seemed to accept it and then fell away. But Jesus refused to be discouraged and give up. Like the Sower in the story, Jesus sows the seed, spreads the good news of God’s gift of forgiveness and new life. Jesus has faith in the outcome and perseveres in his mission. So there is good reason to call this story—“The Parable of the Sower”because it is a testimony to the faith and persistence of the Sower. But it can also be known as “The Parable of the Soils.” And that is what I want to focus on this morning. It says to us that people hear and respond to the gospel in different ways. First, some don’t understand the gospel—the pathway in their heart is too hard for the seed to bury itself and develop roots—so the seed is snatched away. There are people like that, people who are hard, cynical, set in their ways, calloused, self-centered, crusted-over, closed minded. These people won’t listen. They don’t want to hear. They hold God at arm’s length. They keep God at a safe distance. They will not let God or his word penetrate their lives. Their hearts are hard, and their minds are shut. And because they are, they don’t receive the seed—the life-giving word of God. Then there are people like the rocky soil. They receive the word with short-lived enthusiasm. They are people who are shallow, they have no staying power. They hear, they get excited, they get fired up—but it doesn’t last. They fade quickly because there is no depth, strength, no roots. In the context of Jesus’ day, he is talking about the rocky soil as a thin layer of fertile soil on a thick layer of rock. Because the soil was shallow and fertile, it had promise, the plant would sprout up quickly. But since it had no way to get its roots down deep, because of that thick layer of rock, the plant would soon shrivel and die. It had no endurance, no lasting life, because there was no depth, no strong root system. Many people respond to God like that. They get fleetingly, temporarily religious. They hear the Gospel. They get emotionally stirred up. They get excited for awhile, but they never put down roots. They never get deep into it, and eventually their shallow faith fades away or they go looking for the next emotional high, maybe at another church or another camp or another event. They never develop the roots that their faith needs, they never develop the roots their life needs to
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survive hard times—the times when it seems that faith might cost us something a bit more than simply saying, “I believe”—that it might actually cost us our wholehearted trust. Others receive a word that gets choked out by the cares of the world. The thorny soil represents those people who have mixed-up priorities. They give all their energy to the thorns, instead of the seed. They allow the living word to be choked out by the cares of this world, by the lure of wealth or power or prestige - or by their constant neglect of those things that are necessary for growth. They get so involved in the ‘busyness” of life—the details, the trappings, and the checklists—that they forget the most important things. They spend their energy and time on other things instead of the pruning back of activities that crowd in on the most important activities we can be involved in - the hearing of God’s word, responding to that word, allowing that word to take root in us, nurtured by prayer, and the fellowship of other believers, and service in the name of the Gospel. The thorny people have their priorities so mixed up that they are unable to put God first. They have ears, but they hear all the wrong things; they support the thorns, rather than the seed. And then of course there is the good soil—the people who hear the word and understand it, who receive God’s word into their lives and work with it to bring forth new and abundant life. What kind of soil are you? How do you respond to the seed that is cast into your life? How do we respond to Word of God - and to the various acts of God in our lives? Do we allow trials and difficulties of this world to overwhelm the tender seed growing within us? Do we pull back when people challenge us because we are believers? Do we decide that because things are not working out the way we think they ought—that God doesn't care for us - that God is powerless and weak and go looking for something else to fulfill our wants and desires? Do we allow the cares of this world—our ambitions and our desires for success and happiness to choke out the messages that God sends us through the various events of our daily lives and through the various people we encounter? Or do we allow the word of God, the probing and movement of God in our lives, to sink down deep into the soil of our hearts and take firm root and bring forth its intended fruit—the character of the heart and mind of Christ? How we respond to the Word of God and the movement of God in our lives is key to how productive the gospel is going to be in our lives, but also how meaningful and satisfying our life will be. But unlike the situation in nature in which seed and various kinds of soil encounter each other, we do have control over how we receive and respond to the gospel message; we can change the kind of soil that we are. We are not passive receivers of the Gospel, at least we don't have to be. We have power over how we respond to the Gospel. That is why Jesus says “Listen!” at the beginning of the parable and “Let anyone with ears, Listen!” at the end of the parable. God has given us this tremendous freedom to either say “Yes” to Him or “No” to Him. HOWDOYOURESPOND? 4
And in saying either “Yes” or “No”, God also has given us the freedom and the power to have hearts that are fruitful for him - or hearts in which the word is quickly snatched away or choked by the cares and worries and quickly shrivels up and dies. And so God becomes distant and unimportant in our lives. When you think about it, there is a lot to be said for calling today’s parable, “The Parable of the Soil.” And yet, as I said at the beginning, for centuries it has been known as “The Parable of the Sower,” and I think I know why: not just because of the central figure in the parable, but also because this title focuses our attention on just what it is that God does and how gracious God is. You see there are many seeds that God casts into our lives—and all of them are meant to land in good soil and to produce abundant fruit. But, as any farmer knows, some seed is going to fall in places where it simply will not thrive. But even knowing that, doesn’t prevent the farmer from sowing seed—nor does it prevent him from praying for, working for, and expecting a good crop. When God deals with us, God deals with us even more generously and graciously than does the best farmer. In many ways this parable reminds us of the extravagance of God. God allows the seed to land on the hard paths and the rocky ground and in the undergrowth of our lives in the hope that in those places it will find a place to mature and bear fruit—in the hope that those things which impede growth will be removed—in the hope that the soil might be just a little deeper than it at first appears to be in those rocky places. It would be easy to conclude from this parable that we have no power over how we respond to the Gospel. Rocky ground can’t help being rocky. Thorn and weed infested ground can’t resist the infestation. And so, we might conclude that people can’t help being what they are. And there is some truth in that. And while there is a difference in our backgrounds, our experiences, and our conditioning and our readiness and preparation for hearing the Gospel, we do have power over how we respond to the Gospel. All of us. We may be the products of our environment, but we are not prisoners of it or helpless victims enslaved to it. The Gospel that comes to us from God’s word is now a part of our environment and we have the power to choose whether we will allow the weeds of worldly concerns and anxieties and interests to choke it out or whether we will root ourselves as deeply as possible in the faith we have heard and been taught and received. This is especially true for those of you who are young people or young adults or have grown up in Christian families and attended church almost all your lives. You have a choice to do something with what you have heard and what you have been taught and what you have received. The message of this passage is that people respond to the Gospel in different ways, but we do have some power over how we will respond. And so the questions that confront each us this day are: What kind of soil am I? How do I respond? There was a young man who was about to enter the seminary to begin his training to be a pastor. He had received a glowing report from his home church, his pastor and denominational HOWDOYOURESPOND? 5
representative. But in the process of his application the seminary noticed they hadn’t received his college transcript. After several written requests and much delay an admissions official called the university to see if he could clear up any possible mix-up. It was then that he discovered the shocking truth. This young man’s name didn’t appear in their records; no attendance record, no grades, no test scores, nothing for the four years he claimed to have attended the school. It seemed incredible. The young man was called before the seminary official to help clear up this matter. In the course of the discussion, he confessed that he had taken the money that his family had given him for school, attended the university, but only audited the classes. He had been simply an observer for his entire college career. He wanted an identity with the academic community without any of the sacrifice. You know it can be like that in the church as well. There are many people who simply audit the faith. They come to church, attend some of its activities, rub shoulders with its members. But they haven’t made the commitment. They want to identify with a Christian community but without any sacrifice, without any cost or commitment. They want to go on pretending to be what they are not. They are simply auditing the faith. This is one of the things that Lent asks of us—what kind of soil are we? Are we just pretending? Auditing the faith? In his book The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard says: “There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses.” Good soil represents the company of the committed—people who are determined to follow Christ, to serve Christ, to live for Christ to the best of their abilities, people who are willing to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to see God’s kingdom come, people who by their work and their witness bear fruit that does not perish. They are not perfect. They falter and fall, they experience set-backs and stagnant places in their lives, but they keep getting back up and recommitting themselves to the journey because they have found in Christ that he really is the way, the truth and the life. They seek to live each and every day in the grace of God. In many Baptist churches an invitation to Christian discipleship is given at each service. Those who want to profess personal faith in Christ, or to transfer their church membership, are invited to indicate their decision by coming forward during the singing of an “invitation hymn.” Those who respond are sometimes asked, “How do you come?” meaning, “Do you come to profess faith in Christ, or to request membership by a transfer of your church letter?’ Sometimes the question gets an unexpected answer. In response to the question, “How do you come?’ one women answered, “By bus.” But the best of all answers to the question “How do you come” is the response: “Without reservations.” That is how God wants us all to come, to respond to his gracious invitation, to his gift of forgiveness and new life in Christ—without reservations. But it is so easy to come with
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reservations, giving God only part of our lives. It is easy to invite God into our prayers, but not our pleasures; into our worship, but not our work. It is easy to offer God all the keys to our life but one. We say, “Please let me keep the key to this one area for myself.” But God says, “No, it won’t work. All the time you’d be thinking about that one area, and so would I. Give me the key to every room in your life, and I will flood every corner with my peace and joy” What about you? How do you respond?
Reflection Questions 1. As you read today’s Scripture passage, what are your reactions, impression, questions? 2. What do you think about the interpretation of the various soils and their response? Where do you find yourself in the parable? Would you agree that there are times when our response to the Word of God and God’s acting in our life is a mixture of the various soils? 3. How would you describe your response to God’s word, the seed God is sowing in your life? What kind of soil are you? 4. Do you agree that we have control over how we respond to the seed that God is sowing in your life? 5. Would you say that you are part of “the company of the committed” or simply “auditing the faith”? How can you tell? What is the difference? 6. Would you say your response to Christ is “without reservations”? If not, what would need to happen in your life to get there?
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