Text: Mark 4:1-20
Introduction
This
is Thanksgiving Sunday. We won’t spend much time on Thanksgiving, but simply
link the fact of the harvest that lies behind the celebration of Thanksgiving,
and the way that Jesus draws on an agricultural image to communicate what he
wants to say. The Parable of the Sower belongs at this time of year. The parable also
speaks to us of our whole lives, just as the Thanksgiving season stands at the
centre of the whole of life.
Some Background
Jesus
taught in parables. This was a common form of teaching for rabbis of his time
and place. Parables mean more than they say—like poetry. (Ray Zercher described
it as “saying less, meaning more”). As Jesus explains his use of parables in
Mark 4, they reveal God’s truth to those who are ready to hear it.
A
basic characteristic of parables is that they make one primary point. In that
respect the parable of the sower/parable of the soils is unusual. Jesus gives
an explanation to the disciples and those gathered around him (verses 10 and
11). His explanation reveals several themes for us to consider this morning.
First Theme: The
Sower or the Soils?
Some
call this the parable of the sower, which places the emphasis on the action of
the sower. Jesus tells us, “the farmer sows the word” (verse 14). Who is this
farmer? God himself certainly, but also Jesus in his earthly ministry, and by a
reasonable extension, his disciples as they follow in Jesus’ footsteps,
preaching the kingdom of God. My own view is that Jesus refers primarily to
himself, to explain why many of the Jews did not receive his word (verse 12).
Some
call this the parable of the soils, which places the emphasis on the response
of those who hear the word. Everyone hears; some reject it, and some accept it.
Since Jesus uses the parable to explain why many did not receive his word, this
emphasis makes sense; but also since the growth of the word depends on the
action of the farmer, planting the gospel generously everywhere, we see also
God’s grace making growth possible.
The
picture is of God coming to you and to me, not asking whether we are the right
ones to receive him, but assuming that we are. Generously he gives us his word,
whether we have the right last name or a good reputation in the community. All
that he asks is that we receive it and let it grow in our lives. “Wonderful the
matchless grace of Jesus, deeper than the mighty rolling sea;/ Higher than a
mountain, sparkling like a fountain, All-sufficient grace for even me!”
But
the picture includes our response. The soil gets to choose, unlike any dirt that
I know! The picture of different kinds of soils does not suggest such
choice—dirt just is. If anything, the farmer prepares the dirt for a good
harvest. It chooses nothing by itself. But Jesus says, “Whoever has ears to
hear, let them hear” (verse 9). Because we are real people and not just one
kind of dirt or another, we get to choose whether we will receive the word or
not. As Jesus puts it in verse 20: “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear
the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred
times what was sown.” We have the choice—to hear and accept and bear fruit.
Remember the sermon on thankfulness Randy preached last week? There were ten lepers who were healed, and only one came back to say thank you. You remember something
else that Randy brought out—a note that struck me strongly. Jesus never said to
the lepers, “Be healed.” He said only, “Go and present yourselves to the
priests.” They were healed when they responded. Our part is to respond, and
without our response, God has bound himself so that Christ cannot plant himself
in our hearts.
Perhaps
we should use both names: the Parable of the Sower—God’s work in our lives is a
free gift that we can never earn, but that penetrates us and changes us; the Parable
of the Soils—God gives us the dignity of choice, to accept or reject. In the
terrible words of verse 12, those who reject have their choice sealed by God, so
that “they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never
understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”
Second Theme:
The Responsibility of a Heritage
One
of the questions that the early church wrestled with was why the Jewish people as
a whole did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and follow him. Many people did;
they are the good soil of this parable. But the greater part of the people did
not; they are the soils in which the seed did not grow. Jesus told this parable
partly to explain why so many did not follow him and partly as a warning to
those who thought that their standing as Abraham’s children was enough to get
them into Heaven (cf Matthew 3:8-10, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I
tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax
is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good
fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”)
Part
of the warning in the words, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear”, is
found in the Jews’ reliance on their heritage. God comes to each one of us
anew. It has been said truly that the church is always one generation away from
extinction. As Ezekiel stresses in Ezekiel 18, each God wants all to turn from self
to God, each generation turning anew to God.
I stand in a long line of Christians. My father was a pastor and missionary in
the Brethren in Christ Church. My grandfather was a bible teacher and
missionary. My great-grandfather was the treasurer of the
Foreign Mission Board. His father was a strong member of the church, and his
grandfather—my great-great-great grandfather—was known for his strong faith as
a BIC lay minister in Ontario. When I stand before God at the end of my life,
of what value is this great heritage? I treasure it. I thank God for it. It has
prepared the soil well for the seed to be sown. But the real question concerns
me. What kind of dirt am I? Have I also received the word? Such a heritage is a
treasure, but it does not transform my life. Only God can plant the word in me.
Only God’s Spirit can deal with the human rebellion setting myself up in God’s
place, which I share with all people. If Jesus does not plant the word in my
life, nothing good can grow there.
Often
when we give our testimony at baptism, we find no particular moment of
conversion, but say something like, “I’ve followed Jesus all of my life.” I
rejoice when a candidate can say that. Often the decision to be baptized is
also the time when you make that commitment clear and certain. But I repeat,
you must commit your life to Christ to plant his word deep in your heart. Your
family cannot plant God’s Word in your heart. Only Jesus can.
Third Theme: The
Crop
Jesus
does not specify what this wonderful crop is that grows in the fruitful soil
(verse 20). The three parables that follow in Mark 4 emphasize several ideas.
One is the importance of living our lives openly for Christ (the lamp on a
stand)—the idea is that the community of Christ shows the meaning of Christ
clearly to the world. A second is that the seed grows quietly, then bursts
forth in full growth (the growing seed)—the idea is that growth is great, and
brings a harvest, which suggests also the presence of God’s kingdom in this
world. The third is that a small seed grows into a great plant (the mustard
seed)—the idea is that the growth of God’s kingdom surprises us by growing from
a small beginning to a great size.
Common
to all of these is the idea of the growth of the kingdom. I think that is what
Jesus has in mind also in our parable this morning. Some people want to see the
growth of numbers here—the church will fill up with people! That is not a bad
desire, but the idea in this parable is that God’s kingdom, God’s reign, takes
possession of our lives and God does what he chooses to do in us and in our
world.
I
have been good soil and bad soil at different times in my life. I learned
recently that my influence in an old friend’s life was formative for good. In
my 20s, when I was not even aware, God was growing good fruit. I remember
another relationship in which I carried on an email argument with another friend’s
son that pushed only resulted in bitterness and anger. Not such good soil that
time!
I
suggest that our concern with numbers is often misplaced. We ask how we can
fill this building. Jesus says, “Receive my word. Be good soil!” He doesn’t
promise us a full house; rather he promises that God’s kingdom will grow. That
might mean more numbers, but having more people in the sanctuary is not the
point. As long as you are trying to fill this building, instead of seeking to
be filled with God’s Spirit, God will not do his work here.
Synthesis: The
Word of God
Let
me try to bring these themes together. I could preach this passage as a call to
conversion and focus especially on younger people in and around the church, but
that would miss the point. God sows the word in our lives throughout our lives.
This is a call to be radically open to God’s work in us throughout our lives.
We
haven’t defined God’s word. In verse 14 Jesus says, “The farmer sows God’s
word.” What is God’s word? Jesus is the word (John 1). Jesus comes speaking the
word. As Mark 1: 14 and 15 tells us, “After John was put in prison, Jesus went
into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,” he said.
“The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” This
good news is the word of God—that Jesus has come and brings us God’s reign,
God’s rule in your life and mine.
The
word of God is the call to repent (turn away from ourselves) and embrace God’s
reign, which comes in the person of Jesus. This includes conversion at the
beginning of our walk with God, as well as every moment throughout the rest of
our lives in which God comes to us and restores this word within us. Whether
you are 15 or 50, 25 or 75, whether you are a child or a middle-aged person or
what we sometimes call “a senior”, the parable calls to you to get ready for
God’s Spirit, God’s Word to enter your life in a new way.
In
a book called Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Richard Foster tells the story of a graduate student he calls
“Jim Smith”. In his second year of graduate studies Jim realized that his
spiritual life was growing weak, so he went to a retreat house where a
spiritual director led him through a private retreat. The brother gave him only
one assignment, to spend the day meditating on Mary’s encounter with the angel
in Luke 1. Jim spent two days reading and re-reading. He used all his ability
to interpret the passage. On the first evening his director asked, “What was
your aim in reading the passage?” Jim said that he was trying to understand the
passage. His director told him to let go and stop trying to understand. On the
second day of reading and thinking about the passage, he felt like “he would go
deaf from the silence.”
After
two days of struggling, Jim felt drained and frustrated. His director said,
“You’re trying too hard, Jim. You’re trying to control God. Go back to this
passage and this time be open to receive whatever God has for you.” By noon on
the third day Jim was defeated. Finally he shouted, “I give up! You win” “He slumped
over the desk and began weeping.”
Foster
continues,
“A short time later he picked up his
Bible and glanced over the text once again. The words were familiar but somehow
different. … The opening words of Mary’s response became his words: ‘Let it be
to me … let it be to me.’ … Then God
spoke. It was as if a window had been thrown open and God wanted to talk friend
to friend. …
“The Spirit took
Jim down deep into Mary’s feelings, Mary’s doubts, Mary’s fears, Mary’s
incredible faith-filled response. It was … also a journey into Jim’s feelings
and fears and doubts, as the Spirit in healing love and gentle compassion
touched the broken memories of his past.
“Though Jim
could barely believe it, the angel’s word to Mary seemed to be a word for him
as well: ‘You have found favour with God.’ Mary’s perplexed query was also
Jim’s question: ‘How can this be?’ And it was so, and Jim wept in the arms of a
God of grace and mercy.”
When
the soil of Jim’s life was ready, God planted the Word in his heart. Is your
heart ready for God the Great Farmer to plant the living Word in your life?
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