I want to start this morning by telling you about the prodigal sower. Now, you may not have come across this title in the Bible. This person, like the prodigal son, whom you will have heard of, had the job of sowing seed. Unfortunately, he was like the prodigal son in being careless with his possessions. The prodigal son had his father’s wealth and squandered it. He spent it on enjoying himself, only to discover that none of it made him truly happy.
The prodigal sower was wasteful in the way he sowed the seed. He scattered it everywhere: on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns, and only occasionally on good soil. Some seed never stood a chance. Some sprang up quickly and died just as fast. Some got tangled and choked. Some did fall into good soil and grew.
Of course, there isn’t really a story of a prodigal sower. The parable that Jesus is described as telling in our Gospel reading (Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23) is rather more well known. When we think of this parable, we often focus on the soil and what happened to the seed and how that applies to us. That’s good and helpful. It helps us reflect on our faith and how we’re growing to be like Jesus.
But before we get to the seed, I want us to think about this irresponsible sower for a moment. After all, if your livelihood depended on growing crops, you would make sure every seed was used wisely. You’d plant carefully. You’d prepare the soil. You’d protect your investment. You wouldn’t just throw it everywhere. Actually, we can think of the sower as being like God, sowing His love for us, being relentless in His reaching out to us, and being generous.
At a wedding, when the confetti is thrown, it’s not counted out into individual pieces, but a great big and generous handful is thrown. We can think of God’s love as being just like this, not given out sparingly but with great generosity.
Like the sower, God is not strategic in spreading His love. He isn’t economical. He is extravagant, generous, even reckless. He throws seed everywhere, on soil that has no hope of producing anything. Even when He didn’t know if we would turn to Him, He died for us.
What about us, though? Sometimes we can be tempted to only want to help those whom we think will accept our help. We want to tell those whom we think would fit into our church about the services that happen.
It’s so good that God isn’t like that. His grace is overflowing, His love is never cautious, and He doesn’t judge who is good enough to receive His grace. He offers His love to all. The parable is also about how we accept God, and how we tell others about Him.
I came across some words the other day about this parable.
One flew off in the belly of a bird.
One sprang up, but withered fast.
One choked by thistles, or so I've heard.
One gained a hundred when it was cast.
Come hear the wise old story
Of a sower and his seed.
He flung it far to fall,
Then battled bird and weed.
Some seed sprouted quickly,
Then withered in the sun -
But some seed fell upon good soil,
And repaid the work he'd done.
But nothing can start growing,
Until we begin sowing.
Gospel Seed, that's what we need,
Gospel Seed, Lord, we plead.
Draw deep truth from God's own Word,
Cast it far until it's heard.
Gospel Seed, new life within,
Gospel Seed, some soul we'll win.
Nothing's growing till we're sowing
Gospel Seed.
Sun and rain and time pass by,
And what was sown awakes.
First the blade, then the bud,
Then the full ear it makes.
Come now, golden harvest,
We'll reap what we have sown.
Seed once watered by our tears
Will be glad sheaves brought home.
But nothing can start growing,
Until we begin sowing.
Gospel Seed, that's what we need,
Gospel Seed, Lord, we plead.
Draw deep truth from God's own Word,
Cast it far until it's heard.
Gospel Seed, new life within,
Gospel Seed, some soul we'll win.
Nothing's growing till we're sowing
Gospel Seed.
Bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves.
We will come rejoicing,
Bringing in the sheaves.
But nothing can start growing,
Until we begin sowing.
We are called to sow the seeds of faith, by both the words that we say and the way we live.
In the parable, some seed fell on the path. This is faith that has no depth, no growth. It is a bit like what we might call nominal believers, who are fine until challenged.
Some seed fell on rocky ground. This can be faith that starts with quick excitement, but has no endurance. This is like a new, excited believer who doesn’t take time to learn how to be like Jesus.
Some seed fell among thorns. This can be a well-meaning faith that can get tangled up with distractions, temptations, and the noise of life.
And some seed fell on good soil. This is a slow, steady faith that becomes strong and fruitful. It’s not glamorous; it is faith for every day, where we are open to letting God change us and where we want to learn more about Him.
In the reading from the letter to the Romans (8:1-11), we were reminded that the Holy Spirit will help us. He will shape us more and more into the likeness of Jesus. He will give us the strength that we need.
I remember once hearing that being filled with the Holy Spirit is a little like when you put a sponge in water and, as soon as you do this, there is water everywhere. However, all sponges will dry out eventually. Being a follower of God means asking the Holy Spirit to fill us with His power so that we can be more and more like Him every day.
We need to make space for God, to put Him first, to ask for His help, and to be refreshed by the Holy Spirit by asking Him to fill our lives day by day.
The love of God is a love that will never let us go. With all this in mind, may the parable of the sower cause us to think and give thanks for His love. May we want to be more like Him, and then may we want to spread the good news of His love every day.
AMEN.
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