Parable of the Sower

It’s all about Generosity and Expectations

The generosity of God and the expectations he has for us. He is an unbelievably generous Father believing his children are capable of great things…acts of faith and love that can change the world.

And that is what we hear today. The sower in our parable, of course is God and the seed is his word and he sends forth his word to all parts and to all people because he wants no one to be left outside. To those who refuse to listen, to those who refuse to believe and even to those who aren’t paying attention at all.

To the farmer who heard these words, maybe it seemed foolish. Where seeds were scattered to the winds and landed everywhere and anywhere. But to one who is open and seeking and to those who may be on the outside of society, outside of the incrowd….it is good news indeed. God is generous with his love and Word.

The expectations are that His Word will be received, understood and multiplied by those who take the word into their hearts. DzTo anyone who has, more will be given.

And so when we hear this familiar parable today and hear the explanation Jesus gives the disciples we cannot ask who is the one who does not understand or

… who is the one who hears and rejoices but falls away later when times get tough,

…. we cannot ask who is the one who starts out well but is soon living a life choked with anxiety, and focused on wealth or pleasures of the world….for if we have been paying attention at all we know that this parable is not about someone out there at all…..it is about you and me.

And the casting of the seeds or the Word represents the times in our life when we weren’t always ready.

That time when maybe we were younger or busier and our hearts did not embrace the word and we turned away not really hearing the invitation at all. Maybe we lived in a tough world or hard times and refused to accept his hand reaching out to us but chose to hold onto cheap imitations of trust and hope that money or possessions promise.

Or that time we did hear the word, maybe a friend reached out to us or we caught the spirit in the good news one Sunday whisper for the first time in OUR ear….. We felt real joy in the news of God’s love and generosity but were overcome when we faced difficulties come Monday….instead of embracing our new joy and trusting God we turned away so we could be in control with our rugged individualism….and the joy faded like a distant memory or dream, mere whispers….and we are no longer sure we really experienced it at all.
Or maybe we did hear the word, we understood it clearly..God loves us, he offers us family, welcoming home, unity and peace….but the world offered us the chance at more wealth and more opportunities that caused us to turn away again, likewise maybe it was stress and anxiety  that kept our focus on something other than God…with our eyes fixed on things and desires and worry, we had to let go of the Word.

If none of this sounds familiar to us and we cannot see ourselves ever in any of these examples then we need to ask what has been our yield for the kingdom of God? If we are the rich soil in the parable where is our  proof?

How much investment of time and love and focus and energy have we given ….if we see ourselves as the rich soil, the ones who hear, understand and embrace and act on it.

Its called the Parable of the Sower because we are reminded of the generosity of God. He is always out in the field sowing, casting his Word…trying to reach everyone and have a bountiful harvest….
It might be called the Parable of the Rich Soil because while we might see ourselves at different points in our lives falling into all the categories in the parable….hard hearted, falling away, being led astray by anxiety or riches….if we come here today and believe we are the rich soil ….has it resulted in more people hearing the good news?

Are we known for our lifestyle that embraces the Gospel and our charity and generosity mirrors that of our creator?

We are made in his image for a reason folks…we are here to spread the Good News with Jesus. To be generous with our blessings and love so that others will grow in rich soil too.

And if we are here today we are more blessed than most of the world with freedom, good food, more security and better living conditions, better medical care….we have been given much…we sit here in air conditioning and nice clothes and have nothing that would stop us from being the rich soil …..nothing but ourselves.

We have heard his good news and we have even heard the explanation. Unlike the disciples, we don’t need to wonder what it was about. It is right here.  If everyone who called themselves Catholics in the US actually brought about the harvest we heard today…hundredfold or sixty or thirtyfold….in fact forget that…. If even 10%…10% of our effort was focused solely on spreading the word and bringing the love of God to others, the Gospel would influence the government, the culture, the media…abortion would be illegal, marriage would be sacred and we would be a people that when others saw us would say….did you know…no one who comes to them for help is ever turned away….no one is in need of anything in their community…no one is left out and all are loved….we would see the Kingdom of God actually shining the light of Christ in our world today.

It doesn’t take much for the difference to be made.

What is stopping us from being part of the Parable of the Sower movement where in our world no one is left unloved, no one is left without hearing of God’s generosity, no one …no matter how hard their hearts or how caught up they are in the world could say they did not hear his Word. After all the seed in the parable was cast to all people no matter how he found them…even to you and me. The assumption of all who hear the parable of the Sower is that we think we are the rich soil…
We tell ourselves we get it, we get Jesus. But so did every example of soil or person referred to in the parable. And 3 out of 4 of them in the parable were wrong. Our question for ourselves this week is who are we…really…where do we find our true selves in the parable. We know most who hear this parable today are not rich soil or our world would be much closer to the kingdom than it is.

The good news is the rich soil, those who do spread the word and are fruitful, they have a bounty that they may never see. In Luke’s version of this parable he says that the rich soil bears fruit through perseverance.
Perseverance I think because we don’t always see what we have planted. It doesnt matter if we are 15 or 95 we can all be rich soil and spread his
word.

When I read this parable I am reminded of when I was a teenager in high school. I was adrift you could say if you wanted to be kind and charitable with your words.

One day I asked a young lady if she would like to go out with me. I will never forget it…Sherry was her name. Sherry replied by asking if I believed in Jesus Christ. I was stunned and speechless. She said her father did not allow her to date anyone who did not believe. I think she
left me standing in the hallway with my mouth open….but she made a point…she planted a seed. That is what rich soil people do…everything is based and founded and accomplished through the light of Jesus Christ.

Later I met another rich soil person while stationed onboard a US Naval ship. No one would say it was a place where life was easy to be Christ like. It was a severe place with strict policy and swift punishment.

But one man, Zane,lived his faith and others were drawn to it….over 64 of us were baptized….he didnt preach, he was a quiet man who simply lived in the light of Christ and others saw that light. he planted seeds everyday and all day…scattering them wherever he went.

That is what it means to be follower and disciple and living up to the expectations of our creator who made us in his image.

What do we use to measure the life we lead?

Do we use the light of Christ and the Good News?

Or something else. Today we need to remember we have been given
much.

To those who were given much, much will be expected.