Year B, Pentecost 2, Saturday

Inspired by Luke 8:4-15

“‘A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.  Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture.  Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it.  Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.’  As he said this, he called out, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’”  Luke 8:5-8

What more is there to say?  Jesus told a parable, and then he explained what it meant.  We’re supposed to hear the Word, understand it, not be lured away by wealth or the cares of the world, and not fall away when trouble or persecution comes our way on account of our faith.  But truthfully, how many of us are confident in our ability to be that good soil?  How many of us are confident that we do understand the Word, that we won’t be lured away by other concerns, and that we will stand strong in our faith come what may?

It’s really rather an anxiety-provoking text.  It’s clear from Jesus’ explanation that we’re supposed to be the soil in this metaphor, but can soil control whether it’s packed firmly into a road, surrounded by rocks, invaded by thorns and weeds, or pristine enough for planting?

Fortunately this parable is not about us.  This parable is about God, the sower.  And what does God do in this parable?  He sows the Word everywhere, indiscriminately, on every type of soil, over and over and over again.

What kind of soil are you?  Who knows?  God does.  And God doesn’t care.  Whether at this moment you’re hard-packed road, producing a bumper crop of rocks, infested with thorns, or rich and fertile, Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, has come to you, exactly as you are, and he alone can transform you and help you to bear fruit, fruit that produces seeds of its own in an abundant yield.  Let anyone with ears to hear listen.

Let us pray.  Generous God, you shower us with an overabundance of grace.  Till the soil of our hearts to make it good soil, that we may receive your word and bear good fruit.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.