Parable of the sower.
Sermon Notes Pentecost 12th July Matthew 13 by Chris Lockley
Do you remember writing letters, and receiving them in the post? Letter writing seems to be a lost art. I’d like to read to you part of a letter that I received back in January – 46 years ago, in the days leading up to my ordination. I don’t keep all my old letters, but I did this one. It was from a fellow student – Dorothy – a few years behind me in college. She wrote the letter while on holidays and wanted to tell me what she would have liked to say if she could have been at my ordination.
Rereading the letter after all that time I have been stunned by the almost prophetic insight Dorothy had back then.
She wrote: “The thought I wanted to give to you is from a South American priest. He asked himself, if he had only 3 minutes with a person, what would he say that was significant and relevant enough to make them think further. He decided the crucial words were “Love is never wasted”.
She went on: “That may not be your message for others, Chris, but it is my message to you … There will be many, many times in your ministry when you will be misunderstood and when you will be tempted to think that love IS wasted … You will need to believe over and over again that your love is never wasted.”
Neither of us could know at the time just how true those words would become – for both of us – over the years. The love Dorothy put into that letter was not wasted. Time and time again through four decades of ministry, through challenging times both personally and professionally, those simple words came back to encourage me.
Love is never wasted.
They came back to me once again as I reread the parable of the sower and its message of the indiscriminate generosity of God. There are a few things I need to mention before suggesting what it might be saying to us.
Firstly, the reading is in two parts: the parable itself, followed by an explanation of the parable 9 verses later. When we separate those two parts, we realise they are very different in style, and have a different purpose. And whereas the parable most probably represents the words of Jesus, I doubt very much that he gave the explanation.
Secondly, it’s important to understand the nature of parables, at least as Jesus told them, and how they are different from another story form – the allegory.
PARABLES are very rarely explained. I can only think of two others. A parable is meant to be open ended, to provoke its listeners and leave us wondering and thinking. Parables often present upheavals in the way things are understood and valued. They reverse commonly held wisdom. Frequently, there is no single meaning to a parable. They can be multi-layered and have multiple meanings. Parables are invitations to question our thinking and beliefs about the Kingdom of God.
The story of a farmer who sows seeds willy-nilly on a variety of soils, seemingly without any common-sense plan, is such a parable. What kind of farmer would do such a silly thing? He doesn’t prepare the soil. He wastes seed by throwing it at random. What did he hope to achieve? What could this possibly say about the Kingdom of God? About us?
An ALLEGORY, on the other hand, is carefully structured so that each element in the story represents something, or someone, else. They are also prescriptive. There is often an element of moralising and judgement in an allegory, whereas a parable leaves things fuzzy and unclear.
In the second century one of the common forms of preaching was to treat the gospels and Hebrew scriptures allegorically. The stories about Jesus, for instance, would be interpreted symbolically, pointing to some deeper, spiritual meaning.
In the second part of today’s reading, the earlier parable of the sower is explained through that common preaching style – allegory. The seed represents the Word. The soil represents those who hear it – some are receptive, but most seem to be shallow, hard-hearted or too involved in other things to truly listen. The sower is most probably the church as it spreads the word. And it is this interpretation that seems to dominate how we think about the parable.
I don’t think Jesus gave that explanation. The allegory doesn’t reflect his style of teaching but that of later preachers. It addresses some of the challenges of Jesus’ followers in the several generations after his death, as they slowly developed into a movement distinct from Judaism.
It was answering questions such as: why do some people not accept our message? Why do some ‘backslide’ after having believed, and return to their previous life? There is the added judgement that those people who fall away have failed in some way. There’s something wrong or sinful about them. Alongside that was the encouragement to remain faithful and be part of God’s work.
I’m not saying that was wrong. It was how those early followers made sense of what was happening in uncertain times. It was Matthew’s message to his church. But I don’t think that’s what Jesus had in mind in telling the parable.
So, let’s return to the story as a parable – a provocative story that challenges and opens up our curiosity and thinking.
The observation that stands out for me is what I mentioned earlier: it describes the indiscriminate generosity and love of God that is extended, broadcast out to everyone, and it invites us to live in that same spirit of love, compassion and generosity.
Sure, not everyone will be receptive to that generosity and love – just as they weren’t receptive to Jesus. But there is no moral judgement in the parable. Perhaps those who resist love most are those who hurt most. Who need love. Jesus is talking about planting seeds of love. And even the smallest shoots of life and healing can make a difference in someone’s life.
Nothing can stop God’s extravagant, indiscriminate, unconditional generosity and love. All receive. No one is judged unworthy. No one is considered not good enough. No one is a failure. No matter how hard one’s heart. No matter the shallowness of one’s life.
The seeds of love and generosity still matter. Even the smallest, most vulnerable or transitory of responses counts. It’s as if to say: look what love can do in even the most difficult of situations. Don’t love only when its easy. Love, too, when its difficult.
Love is never wasted. It’s not always easy, popular or welcome. But love is never wasted. God’s love is never wasted, and neither is ours.
Dorothy, the fellow student who told me that love is never wasted 46 years ago, was appointed as minister at a church in Sydney’s CBD. One thing that caught the congregation’s attention in the 1990’s was the increase in racist graffiti around the city: in particular in one of the pedestrian railway tunnels at Central Station. So, on a couple of occasions Dorothy and several of the congregation went out with paint and roller brushes and painted over the racist graffiti.
On one of those occasions, they were arrested and charged with vandalising railway property. When they were brought to court, the judge was outraged – at the arrest. He threw the charges out and reprimanded the railways for not removing the graffiti themselves.
That could have been the end of it, except that the neo-Nazi organisation responsible for the graffiti increased their campaign by harassing the church. Containers of Chinese food were tipped on the steps outside the church. The church’s garbage bins were raided and members names and contact details were identified. Those members were harassed in their homes.
On one occasion the Neo-Nazis stormed into a church service, shouting their racist slogans, and threw their propaganda on the communion table during the Eucharist.
Was the church intimidated? Yes. Did they back down? No. They stuck together in solidarity, they continued to stand against racism in the city. They knew that, despite the cost, love is never wasted.
My friend is now in her early 90’s. Sadly, her sharp theological and analytical brain is being eroded as dementia does its insidious work.
After re-reading her letter I would have liked to write back to tell her how much her words have meant to me over the years. But her confusion might make that difficult, even distressing for her. My words might be like seeds falling on a hard surface and rolling off. But I am reminded … love is never wasted.
Dorothy is losing her remembrance of the lives she has touched and the causes she has championed. But the people she has moved with her courage, and passion for justice, do not, will not forget. Her love is not forgotten. It has not been wasted.
Its not always easy, popular or welcome. But love is never wasted. God’s love is never wasted, and neither is ours.