Soil Problems and Seed Power
Luke 8:4-15
February 16, 2020 anno Domini – Redeemer
A sower went out to sow his seed. That’s how farmers planted back in the days of Jesus. A bag of seed, some plowed ground, looking like you do when you have small patch of dirt you want to reseed into lawn. But there is something different about this sower. He is rather reckless with the seed. He sows on the paths. He sows in the rocks. He sows where he didn’t use herbicide and the Russian thistle grows tall. Seed is expensive and precious. If you saw a farmer going down a gravel road trying to plant corn into the gravel you would think he had lost it. It would be a waste of seed. The sower in the parable sows wherever He wants because He is God and the seed is His powerful Word and His Word has the power to bring life out of death.
God will baptize babies whose parents will never again go to church. He sows His Word into the ears of catechumens on Wednesday nights for a couple of years, even when they plan on closing their ears the moment they are confirmed. His Son Jesus and His forgiveness are here for you 52 Sundays a year even if you only come on 10 Sundays.
The seed of His Word, the news of Jesus, is the power to forgive sins, to make the devil cower, to bust open graves, and make dead bones come to life, to give worth to the worthless and holiness to the unrighteous, and to make rebels into children. God scatters that seed so that you might come to life in Jesus and be gathered in the final harvest.
That’s the sower. Now on to the soil. The soil is you. God wants to plant His good Word in your ears and that good word is this – Jesus Christ died for your sins, rose again for your righteousness, covered you with His blood. You are forgiven, cleansed of your guilt and shame, lovely and beautiful in your Father’s eyes. You, because of Christ, are worthy of life everlasting and salvation from your heavenly Father.
How are you at hearing that? Well, the parable says you’ve got some problems. Some seed fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. … the ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
Bo Giertz, a Swedish Lutheran Bishop who died in 1998, said that we get hard hearts because we don’t put a fence around our heart. You don’t guard what enters your heart. Your heart is trampled with a stampede of images, words, and sensations. How many images do you see on your screens? How much anger, division, gossip, and slander do you hear or read in the news? How many salacious stories and pictures do you hear and see? There is a new and exciting word for you every minute. Just change the channel, tap the icon, watch your Facebook feed. God would talk to you for hours, but the world’s noisy traffic has trampled your heart and made it hard to hear.
Then the devil and his demons snatch it away. They fly around and distract you by daydreams within and obstacles without. You listen to the sermon but the only thing you remember is that pastor confused Cain with Abel. You read the bulletin and only remember that the secretary got your third cousin’s birthday wrong again. You heard the organist play an Alleluia during Lent. Would that your eyes and ears be as sensitive to the Word of God.
But don’t despair. Hear the Word. God would plant His seed on a gravel road in the hopes of harvesting there. All over Saint Cloud there is evidence that a little seed can crack open a granite ledge. God’s Word is more powerful. It is the power for salvation. God’s Word raised Lazarus from the dead, penetrated the hard heart of Saul and forgave the sins of the woman caught in adultery and made her God’s daughter. God’s Word will do that for you. He who has ears to hear let him hear.
Some (other seed) fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away because it had no moisture … and the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
Imagine a woman whose marriage is trouble and she realizes she has been far from God. She seeks a church and finds joy in hearing the Gospel. She is missing love and so delights in hearing of Christ her bridegroom, loving her to death, covering the blemishes of her life with the garment of His righteousness. Three or four weeks go by and her marriage begins to improve. Her husband wants her to start going to the cabin again on the weekends. He mocks her a little for her church attendance. A time of testing has come and she gives up the Word for the attention of her husband.
God’s Word can and does change us for the better, but let’s face it –we do not want to suffer for the faith. We do not want to be inconvenienced for Christ. We don’t want the Word to go so deep into our lives that it hurts. But that’s the old “we” – the old sinful Adam in us. We need to remember that old Adam hurting is a good thing. When old Adam is in pain, Christ is growing in us. When old Adam is hurting, Christ is beating him. When old Adam is dying the fruit of forgiveness and life is being multiplied in us. You cannot beat your sinful desires on your own, but Christ did and as He grows in you by His Word you will grow strong against Adam and his desires and you will bear the fruit of hearing and keeping God’s Word.
Finally some seed “fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.” … as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.”
The more you have the more work it takes. Everything you have breaks and requires fixing. You need to fix things in your body, at work, in your house, in your marriage, with your children, in the country. Every helpful book you read and every owner’s manual you receive gives you more to do. Every hobby you start requires more time, more purchases, more learning. The more you have the more you want and the less you have the more you want. It makes no difference if you are poor, middle class, or rich – you have too much to do. You have trouble sleeping because your mind is racing when it hits the pillow and as soon as you wake up again.
Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. Rest from your labors and hear the Word of God, because it alone leads to the harvest, the Word alone brings gifts that last. We mourn our losses in this dying world – from the loss of being able to read or hear to the loss of loved ones. The Word of God brings life, brings gain. Those who die in the faith do not lose life, but gain more life and gain a reunion with all other believers. They gain seeing Jesus face to face. Not one of us wants our bodies to fail and we’re miserable when they do, but the Word of God brings the resurrection and restoration of our bodies. Your arthritis is going to end. Your eyes are going to see. Your lungs will breathe easy and your heart will beat strong. Who among us is not plagued by the evil in the world, but also by the guilt and shame of our own sins? We confess every week that we have contributed to the mess we see all around us – it’s our mess. The Word of God brings forgiveness for your sins. This is the love of God, that He desires to forgive you. He wants you back in the place where He made you to be – His own dear child receiving His gifts. The Word preaches that Christ died for your sin and washed you clean in His blood – you’re forgiven, you’re good, you’re lovely to the Father through His Son. Don’t you need to hear that in this thorny world?
He who has ears to hear, let him hear the name of Jesus. Amen.