Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 * July 6, 2008 * Pentecost 8 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

Did you ever hear the story about…?

All of us have heard that line followed by, well, a story. Generally speaking we like stories. Usually they are based on life events and we can relate to them. Sometimes things we might not understand otherwise become clear to us through telling a story.

Jesus told a lot of stories. We have one of them before us today. In fact for the next three weeks we will be considering a number of these stories, referred to in the Bible as “parables.” That word in itself is an interesting story worth telling…

“Parable” comes from a Greek word that sounds almost the same in English. Literally it means the placing (or throwing) of two things side by side for the sake of comparison. In other words, one thing is illustrated by another.

In the case of the stories Jesus told, some spiritual truth was made known by comparing it with an earthly counterpart that everyone understood. That’s why the working definition of a parable that many of us grew up with is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.”

Many of the parables Jesus told – including the one today – were spoken to a mixed group of people. Some who heard them were at best neutral toward Jesus, others were his enemies, and still others were those who, by God’s grace, had embraced Him in faith and counted themselves as His disciples and followers.

Jesus’ parables spoke to each of these categories. They piqued the interest of those who weren’t sure about Him. They confirmed the hatred of those who rejected Him. And they strengthened and challenged the faith of those who believed Him to be the Son of God and Savior He claimed to be.

As a body of believers that has gathered here today to hear God’s Word, we, by God’s grace, fit into that third category. So in the parables of Jesus we find great spiritual truths which, when applied to each of us personally, move us into a deeper faith and a deeper relationship with Christ. In that sense, each parable of Jesus, this one included, is

A CALL FOR SELF-EXAMINATION

This particular parable asks us to look inwardly to our own hearts and compare them to the four types that Jesus discusses in our text.

Let’s turn our attention to the parable itself. Since the basic meaning is explained fully by our Lord, for our purposes let us use Jesus’ explanation as a means for examining our own hearts and our own lives of Christian devotion.

Jesus speaks first of the UNRESPONSIVE HEART. In the parable this was the hard, worn, path upon which the seed fell, thus making it an easy meal for the hungry birds. In His explanation Jesus says this represents those whose hearts are as hard as the dirt of a packed-down and well-traveled trail; hearts which the Gospel cannot penetrate; hearts in which Satan holds sway and has his way.

Perhaps the first thing to remember here is that this is a description of each of our hearts by nature. We are what we are – believers – not by our own doing, but by the grace of God. In the Old Testament book of Ezekiel God talks about turning hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. In other words, He is the one who makes cold and dead hearts become warm and living. And that is what He has done for all who call themselves His.

So our first reaction to the impenetrable heart is not to feel smug, but to be grateful that God has opened up our hearts to receive the seed of His Word. And if we want to stay with the imagery, we could say He did this by using the plow of His grace harnessed to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

But I believe there is also a warning here for us as Christians. While we cannot come to Christ on our own, once he has brought us to faith we do have the privilege and the responsibility – and the choice – to live our faith. So the warning with this first soil to us as believers is to not let the Word and will of God bounce off us; to not be as unresponsive to it as that soil was to the seed.

But we are the redeemed. Is this even possible? Is such a warning necessary?

Yes, because until our dying day we still carry around our sinful nature. Martin Luther made the well-known observation that Christians are both saints and sinners at the same time. And the Apostle Paul in Romans 7 talks very openly about the struggles we undergo because of this dual nature. This warning is necessary because we are capable of some pretty contradictory and conflicting things.

For example, when a believer hurts someone else’s feelings on purpose... or knowingly uses offensive language in order to fit in, language which brings not glory, but shame to God… or knowingly holds a grudge and harbors an unforgiving spirit despite the fact that Jesus tells us to forgive as we have been forgiven… or knowingly treats others without giving them the respect, honor or dignity they deserve…

In short, whenever we calculatingly and purposefully act contrary to the way our Lord would have us act; whenever we in essence say to the Lord, “I know what you want and what I should do, but I’m not going to do it,” because its too inconvenient or too hard or too counter-intuitive to what’s really going on inside of me or I simply don’t feel like doing it – are we not being unresponsive and indifferent to Christ and His Word?

In this parable the first thing Jesus says to us is: beware of imitating the hard ground on which the seed of God’s Word could not take root.

Moving on, Jesus speaks next of what we might call the SHALLOW HEART. In the parable this was the seed that fell of rocky soil, shot up but not down because there was no place for roots, and for that reason survived only a short time.

Jesus said this represents those who receive the Word with joy and believe for a while, but then fall away in time of trial. In other words, these are they who believe with great fervor at first but never put down roots in the Word of God. When their initial enthusiasm dies, their faith dies as well. Because of a lack of dedication and spiritual follow-through, they abandon the ship they once embarked upon with great expectations.

What’s the warning for the faithful? Certainly Jesus is letting us know that our faith as Christians can and will be challenged, so be prepared. He’s telling us to prepare in advance for the trials that will inevitably come into our lives, some of which will come as a result of our faith in Him.

But at its core and in a more general way, is this not a warning against spiritual shallowness?

In that sense, this is a warning to any of us who have ever failed to act on our good intentions. Any of us who, with great conviction, at one time decided to make a necessary or God-pleasing change in our lives, but then didn’t do. Any of us who have been stirred to a life of deeper discipleship after hearing a Sunday sermon but then find ourselves kind of withering in carrying it out on Monday. And then any of us who have found ourselves not as spiritually strong as we’d like to be in the hour of trial or hardship.

Jesus warns us to know ourselves and to watch ourselves in this regard.

Thirdly, Jesus speaks of what we might call the PREOCCUPIED HEART. In the parable this is the seed that takes root and grows but is gradually choked out by the weeds. Jesus said this represents those who believe but who eventually allow other things (specifically “the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth”) to overtake and destroy belief.

For us this is a warning against being preoccupied with non-spiritual things. For even the strongest Christian this is a warning that needs to be constantly sounded. The worries and desires of life form a balance with our faith. The heavier or more important the one side gets, the lighter or less important the other becomes.

Jesus reminds us here to keep the balance of our hearts light on the side of the material and personal preoccupations, and heavy on the side of the spiritual.

Finally, Jesus speaks of the RESPONSIVE HEART. In the parable this is the seed that fell on good ground and grew and produced crops of varying degrees and size. It is representative of those hear the Word of God, through the Holy Spirit embrace it, and then live their lives in response to it.

It is this fourth kind of heart that Jesus would see in each of us. A heart that recognizes we are sinful human beings deserving of eternal death, yet saved for life eternal by the work of Jesus Christ…

A heart which recognizes that being a grateful follower of Jesus Christ leads to personal joy and spiritual productivity…

A heart which sees Christian discipleship not in terms of following rules and regulations or staying away from anything that the world remotely considers to be “fun,” but in terms of the rich contentment and deep satisfaction that accompanies a life lived in harmony with God.

Such a heart, Jesus says, will naturally bear fruit.

And the best news yet, such a heart can be ours. Because this is the heart each of us will increasingly develop as we sink the roots of our faith deeply in the Word and promises of God. Consistent contact with the Word and Sacrament nourish us and help us grow spiritually, and then without our even knowing it, we produce fruits of faith before a watching world – all to the glory of God.

So, in the words of Jesus, “He who has ears, let him hear” this call to honest self-examination the Lord gives to each of us in this parable.

Consequently, for those times we have been indifferent to His Word and let it bounce off of us; where we have been shallow in our resolve to live for Him and not followed through on our intentions; for all those times we have allowed the preoccupations of life to rob of us the joy that is ours in Him, let us repent.

Then, fully forgiven by the cross of Christ, let us rejoice in the depth that is and can increasingly become ours as we sink our roots into the rich soil of His Word and promises. Amen.