Then he told them many things in parables, saying:  “A farmer went out to sow his seed.”

           Of all the various kinds of Scripture passages, I believe my favorites are the parables of Jesus. I like the parables because they are stories. It’s almost as if Jesus was saying, “Let me tell you a story….” Then he would talk about a man who was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, or about two men who went to pray. A parable is a story, but a story with a spiritual point—a story with a holy application. Jesus used these stories to teach people about himself, to teach people about prayer, to teach people about a whole lot of stuff.

           In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus told a few parables in order to teach people about the kingdom. Today, and for the next week or two, I would like for us to consider these stories.

           It was 1981, and my final year of seminary at Asbury in Kentucky. Charlie Dundas, a District Superintendent in our Conference back then, came to Asbury to visit Minnesota students. I scheduled an appointment to meet with him. During the meeting, we talked about several things. But we mostly discussed the fact that I would be graduating and returning to Minnesota. And I would be receiving my first appointment.

           Let me just throw in that I loved Kentucky. Enjoyed my years at school. Had a blast serving a small church in the mountains of eastern Kentucky the three years I was there. The lay leader of that church took me on a couple of snake hunts. You’ll hear about them one day, I’m sure. But I was looking forward to getting back to Minnesota, where we hunted deer.

           So during the conversation with Charlie Dundas, I was asked what part of Minnesota I favored. Well, I am a lakes and trees kind of guy. That fact was mentioned to Charlie. But

the bottom line was I was anxious to return.  So I told him anywhere was fine—as long as it was north of Iowa. Now, let me quickly add, that was not a knock on Iowa. Not at all. It was merely an affirmation of my desire to be somewhere in Minnesota.

           It was Charlie who called me a couple of months later with the news of my first appointment. The first words out of his mouth were, “We have a place for you that is north of Iowa.” I would be going to Ceylon and East Chain. Two small churches in southern Minnesota. The house was in Ceylon. Anyone know where Ceylon is? It is about a half a mile north of the Minnesota and Iowa border. In fact, on some maps the “y” in Ceylon hangs down into Iowa. For my morning run, I would head east out of town, turn south, and run into Iowa. Friends and I would talk. Occasionally, the topic of running might come up. Sometimes one of them might say, “I am up to five miles a day.” I would respond with, “That’s nothing; I am up to two states.”

           Anyway, I had a great time there.  People came to know the Lord. And I had the privilege of getting to know a lot of farmers.  Salt of the earth people.

           It was definitely farming territory. Well over half the congregations made their living in farming. I learned a little about farming. There was a time when I just mentioned in passing in a story about a farmer who may be out combining, harvesting seven rows of corn at a time with that combine. And there was no shortage of farmers that day who made sure I knew that combines did not combine an odd number of rows. It was either six or eight or whatever—and if I was going to use farming references, I needed to get my details correct.

           And three or four days a week I would go to the local coffee shop and have post-morning-chores coffee with the farmers. What great times those were—I mean that—sitting with guys in their John Deere or Dekalb Corn hats. Just listening to them talk. And sometimes complain, as they gave their opinions on everything. A hard working bunch.  You know what? Rarely did they talk about seed. Oh, from time to time one might mention a bad batch of seed he got. But it was replaceable. Another might mention that he was thinking of switching to a new brand of seed. No, they were more concerned about yield. How much fruit would the harvest yield?  And they talked a lot about the ground. The soil. They harvested crops. And they were always working the soil. Keeping it rich and free from anything that might diminish the yield—the fruit. But the condition of the soil rarely kept them from planting the corn or soybeans.

           Today’s parable involves a farmer, some seed, and four kinds of soil. Now, a good story will provide the reader or hearer with a way to identify. Let’s see if we can identify with any part of this story.

           There was a large crowd around Jesus that day. He was by a lake, so he got into a boat and sat down. Probably sat because the wave action tossed the boat, making standing a bit unsteady. He told them many stories. A farmer went out so sow some seed. The farmer literally scattered the seed. He did not put the seed into neat little rows. He just…well, scattered it.

           So some fell on the hard path. The path the farmer was, no doubt, walking on. It took no root. Birds came and ate the seed. Some seed fell in what Jesus called rocky places.  Jesus was actually referring to shallow soil—those places where there was a thin layer of top soil, but rock underneath. That seed sprang up quickly. But the plants soon died because there was no depth, no root. Some seed fell among weeds. The seed took root and grew, but the weeds soon choked out the good plants. And then some seed fell in good, rich soil. That seed took deep root. It grew. It produced fruit many times what was sown.

           The disciples did not quite get it. So they asked Jesus the meaning. This was one of the few times where Scripture records Jesus explaining the meaning of one of his stories.  The seed represented the Word of God, or the message of the kingdom. The soil represented the different kinds of hearts of the hearers of the Word. There are those who hear the Word, but the Word takes no root. Many of us could probably talk of a time when we heard the Word, but it just did not sink in. There are those who hear the Word. They receive it with joy, but over time the joy wears off, because there is no deep root. That has surely happened to me. I go to some great spiritual meeting. I get excited about what I hear. But over time…you know what I mean. There are those who hear the Word, but the cares of the world choke out the Word. There have been times when the stresses and worries of life caused me to forget the great promises of God. Then there are those who hear the Word, and fruit is produced in their lives.

           Most fall into one of these four categories at various times in their lives—even followers of Jesus. And we have tended to view this parable as a story about these four kinds of soil—four kinds of hearts—four types of hearers of the Word. But I don’t think Jesus was telling this story simply to inform us of the different kinds of responses to the Word of God. Not at all. Jesus did not begin by saying, “Let me tell you a story about some seed and soil.” He did not say, “Let me tell you a little tale about the Word of God and the people who hear it.” No. Jesus said, “A farmer went out to sow his seed.”

           This is a story about the farmer. And that farmer did what farmers do. He sowed some seed. The farmer did not wake up that morning and say, “I am not going to sow any seed today because I am afraid some of it will fall on rocky or weedy or shallow soil—so I am not going to take a chance on wasting any.”  The farmer just went out and scattered the seed.

           So I think Jesus spoke this parable as a word of encouragement. Jesus came proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. His preaching took hold in some people.  But there were others—the Pharisees and religious leaders for example—in whom the Word took no root at all. That did not stop Jesus from broadcasting the Word. And that, I think, is the message and meaning for us.

           As followers of Jesus Christ, we here at First United Methodist Church are called to many things. Foremost among those many things is we share the good news of Jesus Christ. We share the good news of God’s love and grace in the words we speak and the deeds we do. And we do so without giving a thought to how that good news might be received. Oh, I don’t feel like talking about the good news today. People just aren’t going to listen. And even if they do, it won’t last long; they’ll just go back to their old ways. I mean, why bother? We bother because there are some in whom that Word will take root and grow and produce fruit.

           Yes, this is a story for us. A word of encouragement to just keep proclaiming the Word. It will be heard. It will produce fruit. The more we sow the seed of God’s Word, the more fertile soil it will find.

           Then he told them many things in parables, saying:  “A Farmer went out to sow his seed.”