Sermon for Sexagesima

"The Seed is The Word of God” -- Luke 8:11

 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, Jesus said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed” (Luke 8:4).

 Jesus told many parables -- stories about earthly, ordinary things, to teach a spiritual, heavenly truth. So because they were heavenly, spiritual, often the parables were hard to understand and have resulted in differing, even conflicting interpretations of their meaning. But this parable in today’s Gospel reading is easy. It’s easy because Jesus gave the exact interpretation. He tells us what it means.

 He says, Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. A seed is full of potential for new life. So is the Word of God. It’s Ready to grow, and enliven, and produce a crop, with patience, a hundredfold.

 Let this be comforting Good News to anyone who has ever felt like they weren’t very productive, that they could have done better. Let this be the answer to our failings and regrets. Christ our Lord comes to us in His Word and plants in us a living faith. Faith produces the crop that is truly important. Ultimately faith is the thing we have now that will last, on into eternal life. 

The crop that Jesus tells us to expect from the Word of God is the peace of mind hearing his absolution. It’s the hope of getting His invitation into life eternal.  It’s the clean conscious that trusts that God is pleased with you now and forever because Jesus died you and saved you. Take this word of God into your minds and into your hearts, where it will have the power to grow and flourish into a living, active faith. Rejoice to have that crop today and forever.

 So that’s the seed the Sower sows. But then Jesus lists off four places where that seed lands, four different kind of soils.

 The first is when the seed falls along the path, where the soil is hardened by foot traffic and so it doesn’t sink in. It lays there where the birds can come snatch the seed away.  Jesus says this is what it’s like when the devil comes and takes away the word from the hearts of some. And they don’t believe. They are not saved. With this parable, Jesus urges each man, woman, boy and girl to watch out. The devil is at work. You know what it is like, don’t you. Even while you are here in the house of the Lord, where His true word is read and preached, your mind wonders to things trivial, earthly, even sinful. With stealth the devil distracts the mind from truly, carefully listening to the Word of God. Guard yourself against the distractions and stray thoughts the devil would use to take the Word of God away from you. Here’s somethings you can do:

·         Come into the house of the Lord and pray for clear thinking.

·         Come into the house of the Lord with the expectation of blessings and strength for your faith, given in the Word and Sacrament.

·         Make mental notes, or even better, write down a note or two about the Word that you hear, that you have something to take home with you.

 Next, some seed fell among rocks. So the soil is not conducive to good roots. The resulting plant is not strong or healthy. When the hot sun beats down on it, it withers and dies. Jesus says, that’s like a faith with little depth, based on emotions. In times of testing and tribulation, the emotions change and the faith withers.

 Faith comes from hearing the word of God. It does produce emotions like joy and empathy, charity, peace, contentment. But faith is different from the emotions and not to be based on our feelings, but on the Word of God. When trials and tribulations come and they will, Jesus says, Faith needs a sure and strong root in the Lord, not the shallow roots of fickle human emotions.

 The third kind of soil where the seed is scattered, is full of thorns and thistles. Jesus says that’s like faith that is strangled by the cares and riches and pleasures of life in this evil world.

 Here again, this is an easy parable to understand. We all know the cares and pleasures of life that would choke out the Word of God. We live in a world that is rich in cares and pleasures. Each of you know what kind of pleasures abound that distract souls from hearing and believing the word of God. If you play your games with religious fervor. And if you make your religion to be just a pastime, your letting the thorns of life choke out the good crop of faith.

 Now we recognize that Christian’s have the freedom to be away from church on the occasional Sunday. But hear the Lord’s warning to examine what’s growing in your life:  What is your love? the pleasures and cares of sports and leisure or the Lord, His Word, your faith and eternal life?

 Jesus said, “A sower when out to sow his seed.” The soil needed the sower’s work and care. It would have not produced a crop without the sower’s seed. You are the soil. You need the Lord and His Word.

Land needs management. It needs care and hard work. There’s a misinformed idea that just because people pollute and destroy the land, the land would be better off if people would just let it alone and let nature be free to grow.  I recently saw a piece of ground marked off as “Prairie Restoration”. But it obviously 0had not been properly cared for. If you looked closely you could see some prairie grasses and wild flowers, but it was mostly taken over by thorns and thistles, burrs and briars. Nature can be beautiful. But it can also be ugly, dangerous and deadly.

 The Lord God told Adam, the first man, to care for the earth, to work the land by the sweat of his brow. So today, those who are charged to care for the land, must continue to do so.

 Likewise you need the Good Lord to manage your faith and life. You need His work on you, sowing His Word in your mind and in your heart, where it will grow and produce a crop leading to eternal life. Amen.