Miracle Grow: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 - Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

¹That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ²Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. ⁶But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹Let anyone with ears listen!”

  ¹⁸“Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. ²²As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²³But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Morgan St. & George Ave., Lower Burrell. Photo by author

When I was out walking on Monday, I noticed something unusual: marigolds were blooming out of a crack in the pavement of the street. I don’t know if someone dropped a seed in the cracks, or if these flowers randomly sprouted and now someone’s tending them.

We’re in the middle of a drought and a heatwave. Therefore, you’d be hard pressed to see marigolds doing this well in a tended garden. So, why is life flourishing where you’d least expect it? Does this mean that if your garden isn’t doing so well, you should pave it?

And why is it that people hear Jesus speak God’s Word, then witness his miraculous signs and wonders, only to accuse him of being a glutton, a drunk, and Beelzebub himself?

Jesus likens the word of God’s kingdom to a sower who sows seeds on many kinds of soil. Many seeds are wasted—either ending up as bird feed or sprouting up quickly only to die quickly. But the seed sown on fertile soil bears more fruit than one would ever expect—up to a hundredfold.

So what kind of soil are you?

We all want to think of ourselves as the most fertile soil for God’s Word. Unfortunately, there are powerful forces that don’t give up “soil” in your life without a fight.

If you’re finding it a challenge to focus on worship this morning, what are you thinking about? What worries keep you up at night? How does the amount of time you spend in prayer or reading the word compare with your screen time? Would you keep following Jesus if doing so meant losing everything you’ve ever worked for? Having the people you love and respect ridiculing and rejecting you?

Fact is, there isn’t a single one of us who is “perfect soil.” We’re sinners. We have fears, weaknesses, and ambitions. We live among false gods who promise everything we could possibly want in exchange for our worship. We reject God’s Word when it does not tell us what want to hear. If you’re going to become “good soil,” you are going to need God to act in your life.

Consider what soil is: it’s water, gases, minerals, and organic matter. It takes a tremendous amount of time for everything to reach the right proportions in order to sustain and nurture plant life. Even then, the soil requires plowing, tilling, and fertilizing.

Growth in the Spirit is like that—a radical transformation of you, brought about by God’s initiative. Instead of you going through life on the well-worn path, the Spirit is challenging your longtime assumptions and beliefs. Bad habits are broken; plans are interrupted; your priorities reordered.

Doubts are engaged and wrestled with, instead of denying or ignoring them.  God speaks to you in your questions to increase your understanding, even if you don’t have all the answers.  

As weeds are pulled from a garden, the desires and ambitions that draw you away from God’s purposes are yanked out of your life.

In time, the seeds of God’s Word have their way with you as trees and vegetation take root in the soil and transform the landscape. God’s word breaks up the hardness of your heart and does not let go. Day by day, you bear the fruits of a living faith: loving others selflessly, sharing your faith shamelessly, forgiving others freely, and trusting God in every drought, every flood, every pestilence. A life rooted in God’s promises can never be uprooted.

The sower’s Prodigal sowing shows just how determined God is for God’s will to be done, on earth, as in heaven, and in you. You’re never wasting your time when you pray, come to church, read your Bible, and get nothing out of it. God’s word will not return void—even when obedience to the Word costs you dearly, and people reject you for speaking boldly of the savior who loves you as you are. When God speaks, there is life. That was true at the beginning of time, as it is today. God’s Word changes things. God’s Word changes you. God’s Word makes miracles happen. Word of God, Word of life.