by Barry Pollard
(Based on Matt 13:1-9,18-23; Ro 8:1-11; Ps 119:105-112)
When I saw that the Gospel reading today came complete with its own built-in explanation I was pleased. I often struggle to give learned and coherent reflections so I thought I could just read the Gospel twice and everyone could go home full of knowledge!
The message Jesus was giving was easily grasped, wasn’t it? He told a parable and then explained it. Easy. He often told a parable and walked away! But everything Jesus did was according to God’s plan. Despite how we sometimes see things, Jesus was not remiss or random. He followed the plan, whatever was called for.
He worked this way, Jeremiah tells us (Jeremiah 29:11), because he had plans for us, plans to prosper us, not harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future.
Now, I am a person who likes plans. As my life has progressed I have come to realise that I function best with a plan, having learned a thing or two about my foibles in the last couple of decades. But our plans sometimes (often) don’t lead us to the desired outcomes.
In our house, many plans are made. Keri calls them “new regimes” and they usually involve getting more exercise, eating and drinking less, saving money, and the like, and often coincide with the start of a new month. Many plans are abandoned, however. It isn’t as if I don’t want to be fitter, slimmer, healthier and ready for retirement, but things get in the way, don’t they? The weather is too wet to get outside, the work-day has left us worn out, the bargain was too good to miss … It may be similar in your house.
Don’t get me wrong, though. Having a plan is still a good thing.
My preferred approach to making a plan is something I learned in my school life. It is based on first principles. What is it that we are trying to achieve? was the question we asked as we entered any planning session. Once that had been established, the steps needed to get to our target were easier to identify, implement and monitor.
Applying this to the parable today, what Jesus wants us to achieve is to hear and understand God’s word, and use it to grow the Kingdom: The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted (v 23).
If we hear and understand, we can produce a harvest, and not just a measly one!
So, how do we carry this out?
To me, ‘hear and understand’ are things that require our attention and action. Jesus and others in the Bible exhort us regularly to listen (hear) and understand. They even explain that we suffer from hard or dull hearts when we fail to get their message.
The beauty of Scripture is that it is often (some might say, always) multilayered. I can usually discern the surface meaning but others seem to be able to peel off many other layers and relate them to their wider faith understanding. Today I have gone straight to the surface point – Jesus wants us to be the seed that falls in the good soil and goes on to produce a great harvest.
But in saying that he also gave us helpful advice that we should be aware of as we endeavour to follow his plan. He gave examples of seeds being scattered into various places: on a footpath, in rocky soil, among the thorns, and in fertile soil. His explanations of the effects of landing in each of these places actually show us the things we need to be aware of as we follow the plan.
The seed that lands on the footpath represents the people who hear but don’t understand. For them nothing develops. The seed that lands in the rocky soil represents those who hear but don’t develop roots to keep things stable, and they fall away. The seed that lands among the thorns represents those who hear but can’t separate from the influence of the world, and they too fall away. But the seed that lands in the good soil represents those who hear and understand, and it is they who grow to produce the plentiful harvest!
I see all this in terms of disposition. How keen are we to be fruitful in our faith life? Disposition is described as a person’s inherent qualities of mind and character. Some people are described as having a sunny disposition, for example, reflecting the way they think and feel about things. They are upbeat, see the glass half full, and cheer those around them. Dispositions change as we grow and experience life. Some things may drag us down, others cheer us up. But generally over time we show a consistency of mind and character.
One’s disposition is not a static state. We can actively work at changing how we think, react, relate and so on. Consider how we act as parents and compare that to how we act as grandparents, as an example. On the one hand we are concerned about providing for our children, making sure they behave, do well at school and later in work, teaching them to be responsible and productive, and so on. Most of which causes us anxiety. On the other hand, when we are dealing with the grandchildren, we don’t have these responsibilities hanging over us and we are often seen as generous and interesting and fun! We can fill them up with treats and send them home with no real come-back. Our disposition to raising our own is different to being a grandparent to theirs.
Another example: my disposition at work is different to my disposition when I am around friends. I alter my thoughts, words and behaviour to suit the circumstances or environment that I find myself in.
So, the disposition we have to growing in good soil and producing a great harvest can be worked at. We can go from being lukewarm to red hot about our faith.
If the essential lesson from this parable is that we should aspire to be like the seeds that fall in the good soil, how then does that work? And is aspiration enough?
To fall in the good soil we have to know where the good soil is and how we can access it. If you were raised in a Christian home you were likely close to the good soil and your ‘farmers’ (your parents) provided teaching and reinforcement, providing understanding where and when it was needed. If this is you, you are very lucky indeed! I am pretty sure that if my Mum hadn’t brought us up in the church as children I would not be here today.
But what if you didn’t have a childhood faith experience? Where do you start? Where do you find good soil? Where do you find good farmers? And what can inspire you to seek after being planted and productive?
I’m not sure exactly what brings unbelieving individuals to Christ, but it happens. Some new believers have said that the lives of Christians they knew had an attraction that their own did not, leading them to explore. Some reached a crisis point in their lives and blindly reached out to God for help, which of course was answered. Others still have been won over by the sense Scripture makes in their lives. Others have found the friendship and fellowship among the children of God irresistible. So, it happens!
So, now I’ll ask: are you growing in the good soil, with your foundations deep and stable, producing the bountiful harvest that is the benefit of hearing and understanding? Yes? Then you can nod off now and I’ll address those of us who still have work to do.
For us, the desire to really hear and understand is vital. We need to be seriously disposed to the task. If we take ourselves away from the people and places where we are exposed to the word of God then we are sure to miss out altogether. How easily and quickly we can lose our direction, purpose and faith. We need to stay engaged.
Because God has a plan to prosper us and give us hope and a future, he includes in the plan a reference book and a personal tutor. We have been given lots of help and direction through Scripture. We just have to remember it and follow it. He gave us the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us “into all truth”, to help us hear and understand. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are saved, filled, sealed, and sanctified. And God has also placed us in a faith community, among strong encouraging believers. We just have to seek them out and engage with them.
Our Romans reading points to the power of the Holy Spirit as he works in our lives. Paul explains that the power of the Spirit overcomes the power of sin. The outline he gives is: because of our sinful nature we failed to live up to the law, so Jesus came as the sacrifice needed to overcome sin’s control. By accepting Jesus we have the Holy Spirit living in us and we can choose to follow the Spirit instead of sin. This leads to life and peace! This plants us and grows us in the good soil. And this comes with benefits!
Verse 105 of Psalm 119 resonates with these thoughts: Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. God’s word guides us and leads us in our faith journey, enriching the soil, nourishing the seed, and producing the rich yield. The Psalm amplifies the disposition we need to follow through. It is also a testament to the benefits of growing in that good soil: being deep rooted, steady and unshakeable.
Similarly, our Collect today praises the Lord for working through his plans for us. It praises his energy in creation. It praises his Spirit in our thinking. It calls us to seek new discoveries, to acknowledge the sacred in all things and to live with the hope of success.
We have a part to play in his plans. We have to turn ourselves towards the direction in which the plan is moving. We have to be active participants. The least we can do is make every effort to hear and understand.
Prayer:
Lord, your Word is a lamp to guide our feet and a light for our paths.
We seek to follow your Word, to hear clearly what you are saying and to understand what it means for us.
Help us to be disposed towards you and your truth always.
Help us, Lord, when the influence of worldly things tries to divert or deter us.
Let us produce the richest of harvests for the glory of your Kingdom!
Amen, let it be.
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