Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

Matthew 13:1-23 July 22, 2007

“Farmers Needed”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer

At the baccalaureate service at the high school this year on June 3rd, I had the privilege of preaching the Gospel to the graduating seniors. The biblical text I was led to use was the same text we are looking at today in our series of sermons on the parables of Jesus: the parable of the sower and the seed. When I first realized that the parable for today (I’m going by the schedule of parables in our Sunday school class) was the same one from baccalaureate, my first thought was, “Oh no.” I thought with our commissioning today, perhaps some of the students here with us might have already heard that sermon about the sower and the seed. But, my “Oh no,” soon turned to a “that’s cool,” when I caught up to what God was doing.
First, let’s read the parable together. Grab a pew Bible and turn to Matthew 13.
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen.” . . . “Hear then the parable of the sower. When 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. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet 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. As 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. But 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.”
Let us pray: Good & gracious & patient Lord & Teacher, thank you for the blessing of your words of truth. Teach us today, by your Holy Spirit, to know the truth so that we would be without excuse to live it for your glory. This we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Okay, first we read the parable. Now I’m going to share with you the interpretation I taught at the baccalaureate service, in the same way I taught it, because lots of you weren’t there, and I think it really helps to have a visual way to think about one of the very important messages of this parable.
We begin with 4 boards that represent the different kinds of soil the seed fell on in our parable. Let’s remember now that the seed is the true word of God; the different kinds of soil represent different levels of receptivity for the word of God – in other words, the different kinds of soil represent different conditions of the hearts of people.
This first black board represents that hard footpath. The seed just stayed on the hard soil and the devil quickly came to sweep it away. (Some would say, “Oh, the devil is my problem. ‘The devil made me do it.’”) The devil isn’t the problem. The problem is the hardened heart that won’t let anything Jesus says get through. The hardened heart rejects Jesus without a second glance. How many of us know someone with a hardened heart towards the words and ways of God?
The gray board here represents the rocky, shallow soil. Jesus said the seeds can fall on rocky soil that allows some plant growth, but because the soil is so rocky, the roots can’t get down deep and the plant will quickly shrivel and die. Hearts can be like this, too. Maybe there came a moment when this person said, “Yes, I believe there is a God. I believe the Bible is true. I want to be a Christian.” But then they found out that it’s hard to live the kind of life we are called to live in the Bible. It’s like someone wants to be on the soccer team, and because there aren’t any tryouts, the person is put on the team. But then they find out there are practices – and in those practices there’s a lot of running, and it’s hot, and they’d rather be at the swimming pool, and so they quit. For this person, maybe they said they wanted to be a Christian, but that verbal statement was really all the commitment they were willing to make, and because the softest part of this person’s heart was a shallow part, that commitment finds quick resistance – putting that heart eventually in the same condition as the first. How many of us know people whose hearts seemed to be open, but have nothing to show for it?
The tan board represents a good soil – a fertile soil – a soil without rocks and hard places. However, according to Jesus’ story, there was a problem with this soil. This soil was as full of good seed as it was full of bad seed. The really great truths taught by Jesus found deep root and grew well, but unfortunately the good truths were surrounded by lies and deceit, and it wasn’t long before those wonderful truths that could have grown to such astounding heights were choked out by the lies this world is so quick to fertilize – for example:
Believing that acquiring money and things will bring lasting happiness,
Believing that excessive food, alcohol, and drugs can relieve your stress and make you happy,
Believing that you can sin and get away without any negative consequences,
Believing that you can associate with bad company and not become corrupted,
Believing that you’ll never overcome your past.
Believing that you can read, see, or listen to anything and not be corrupted,
Believing that you can live your life without the help of anyone else,
Believing that God loves and pays attention to the world, but He doesn’t have time for you,
Maybe even believing that God is the source of your problems.

This heart, fertile though it was, will eventually end up in the exact same condition we’ve seen twice before.
This tan board represents the fourth kind of place seeds fell. The soil was good just like in the 3rd field. But the difference between the two was that this soil was attended to and protected. This heart is the heart that is soft, ready to receive God’s truth, God’s encouragement, and God’s discipline & correction. This heart is guarded carefully, and the crop that grows from it is lifegiving. This heart is now represented by the green board. A place of life, peace, joy, and hope.
I believe it is important that we get to the place where we understand that we must tend the condition of our hearts with the same attention we would give to taking care of a little child. If you want to raise a healthy child, you must tend them, making sure the child has a healthy balance of food, drink, rest, and activity. Proverbs 4:20-23, tells us, “My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Vigilance means ‘to be watchful and alert.’ We must pay attention to the condition of our hearts. We must make sure we have regular intake of spiritual food & the living water of Jesus, we must give time to ourselves for rest, and time for spiritual stimulation and the exercising of our spiritual muscles. We must tend our hearts so that they remain tender to God.
But there’s a second lesson from this parable we musn’t miss. We are to guard our hearts, for sure, but we must not be so inward focused, that we would turn our backs on those around us. I must never presume that wherever I think a person is with their faith, is where they are, or where they will stay. I don’t know the true condition of a person’s heart; only God knows the heart of a man or woman. We are called to hope well of all people, standing on the promises of God that Jesus came to not to condemn the world, but to save it – and that nothing is impossible with God. For a follower of Jesus, there are no hopeless cases or lost causes. And so, not only must we tend our own hearts, we must also understand God’s call upon our lives to be farmers ourselves – to be sowers of the seed.
How many people here have ever worked on a farm? How many here have ever written ‘farmer’ on your income tax return in that box where it asks for your occupation? The work of a true farmer is hard work – whether a crop farmer, diary farmer, chicken, pig, beef cattle – the work is hard and never-ending. It also can be incredibly exciting, rewarding, and satisfying to know you are part of something so much bigger – helping to provide lifegiving nourishment for people near and far away.
Followers of Jesus are called to be farmers. We are called to throw out God’s lifegiving truth to people like candy is thrown off floats at the Path Valley parade. We are called to tend our hearts, allowing God’s seeds to grow in our hearts, producing fruit many times beyond what was planted, and then we are called to cast the seed from that fruit everywhere we go – here, at work, at school, at home, in your neighborhood, in New Orleans, Honduras, Philippi, West VA, Camden, NJ, and of course, in Montana.
The mission team heading out early next Sunday morning is flying to the northwestern corner of Montana. The Blackfeet Indian Reservation is 2.5 million acres, bordered by Glacier National Park on the west, and by Canada on the north. The Blackfeet people were named as such because as they moved in search of food, their moccasins were darkened as they walked through ashes remaining from prairie fires. Christian missionaries, though they had good intentions in the early years of our country, were a cause for great anguish in the tribe. They came into their area, and tried to change their culture, to change their view of their history, and ultimately tried to change their heritage. Even today, Christians are viewed with suspicion.
The Blackfeet have a different culture, a different history, and a different sociological heritage. Those who go to minister in their midst, must remember your place as visitors and guests. But most importantly, you must remember your occupation: You are farmers. You are not there to change the people, or change the land, or change anything but yourself, with the help of the Lord. If something in Heart Butte, Montana needs to be changed, God will change it. He will use you in the process, but He will bring the transformation. All you’ll have to do to remember who’s really in charge out there, is look around at the mountains that will surround you. Our God is awesome, and He is able. You are farmers – as we all are. Our job is to sow the seed.
Our calling as a church body is to show the light of Jesus by the way we interact with one another, with new friends coming into our congregation, and with those we serve. The same is true for the mission team. Your job is to show the light of Jesus by the way you interact with one another, with new friends, and with those you serve. Remember, you will be watched. Part of the way you will sow the seed will be by treating all people with dignity and respect, not shying away from talking about the new life growing in you because of Jesus.
One of the requests I read about online about the work teams coming to the site is this: We ask that you come to serve with a willing and flexible spirit. In other words, come with a soft, life-giving heart.
In Matthew 9:35-36, Jesus gives the ultimate call to service. It’s a call for all of us, wherever God has placed us to serve:
“Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!” Amen.

Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

07-22-07