Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
It is a James Bond movie location.
- A remote Norwegian island…above the Arctic Circle…
- 1300 miles from the North Pole.
- A reinforced tunnel dug 360 feet deep into a sandstone mountain…
- Especially chosen for its geological stability.
- At the end of the tunnel…through a set of air locks…are two chambers…the air within them carefully filtered.
Few people have ever seen that inner sanctum.
- Those chambers…sunk deep within the mountain…do not have much room for visitors.
- It is kind of chilly…also…a sophisticated climate-control system maintains the temperature at a steady 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
The installation cost $9 million to build…in 2006. What’s it all for? Seeds.
- Seeds…The Svalbard Global Seed Vault…is accepting donations of seeds from all over the world.
- It aims to be the location of choice for storing samples of every plant species on earth…
- For the purpose of preserving genetic diversity.
- No matter what catastrophe…natural…or human-instigated…may occur…in the rest of the world…
- The living seeds locked within that Norwegian mountain are likely to survive.
- Think of it as Noah’s Ark for the plant world.
- Seeds are a wonder…a miracle worth preserving.
- The Lord be with you…
Jesus’ story in today’s scripture text parable begins with the words: A sower went forth to sow…well…seeds…of course.
- So…today…let’s focus…then…on the sower…
- That farmer who reaches into his shoulder-pouch and flings the seeds to his right and to his left as he walks along.
- And…we notice something about this method of agriculture.
- It seems inefficient…does it not?
- All those seeds that fall onto inadequate soil go to waste…it’s a crying shame.
What sort of farmer is this…anyway?
- Does he not realize some of his seeds are landing on the footpath…where birds will swoop in and scarf them up?
- Does he not realize other seeds will land in places with just a few inches of soil layered atop ledges of limestone?
- Those plants may do very well at first…
- But as soon as their roots hit solid rock a few inches down…it’s curtains for them.
- Then there are those seeds that end up among thorns.
- Those well-established briars are sure to choke out any new seeds that dare to sprout in their shadow.
- What is this farmer thinking…scattering seeds so wildly?
- This subsistence farmer may lack many things…but seed does not seem to be one of them.
Here’s the thing: This is a good image for Jesus to use when he is teaching about spreading the gospel.
- That good news…that is salvation…comes in an unlimited supply.
- The important thing is not to be shy in spreading it around…
- So…at least some of it will fall onto receptive soil.
- Jesus wants his disciples to keep sowing those seeds…
- To keep sharing the good news.
- They will never know whether the patch of soil in front of them is fertile or infertile.
- The only way to find out is to send a handful of seeds flying that way and see if anything comes of it.
And…Yes…this is all about faith-sharing.
- Showing our neighbors where to find the greatest joy we have discovered in our lives…
- The joy of knowing and trusting Jesus Christ.
- We all do that with the joy of a new movie we have seen.
- We do that with a great little restaurant we have just discovered.
- We pass on the good news about all the Bo-Goes we got at Publix yesterday.
- Well then…why not about our rich little community of faith…right here in this place…
- In which we have found a warm welcome and a spiritual home?
So…in our parable…Jesus says spreading the faith is like the farmers he knew…
- Walking their rows with their seed pouches around their necks.
- Jesus says you cannot be shy about it.
- You have got to take up a great…BIG…handful of those faith-seeds and let them fly!
You see…the way Jesus tells the tale…some seed falls on the hard-packed path…others on the rocky soil and still others in the middle of a future weed patch.
- The problem is not the sower’s technique…or the seeds…
- It is in the patch of ground where the seed happens to land.
- When it comes to faith-sharing…it is impossible to succeed everywhere…
- But it is impossible to fail altogether!
Here is a wondrous thing about scattered seeds:
- Sometimes they sprout right away…
- But other times…it takes a while.
- Sometimes a seed may…for whatever reason…lay dormant in the ground for a time…
- Then unexpectedly begin to grow.
- Most of the time…we never fully know or appreciate what impact our words or actions are having on another person’s life.
- But that is no reason to stop trying…
- To stop throwing out seeds.
Remember those seeds we talked about at the beginning…
- Stored away for decades and centuries in Norway’s Global Seed Vault?
- Even after eons have passed…those seeds still have the potential of growing.
Egyptologists have taught us about that.
- They have discovered three and four-thousand-year-old seeds deep inside the pyramids.
- When they have soaked them in water and planted them in the ground…some of those seeds have sprouted!
It is all about the grace of God Almighty…
- In sustaining the growth…in boosting the harvest.
- All we have to do is meet God halfway…and God does the rest.
- It is as our hymn says:
- We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land…but it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand.
- So…let’s grab ourselves a handful of gospel seeds…and let ’em fly!