January 5, 2009 (Matthew 13:1-9)

From the perspective of a person who has spent the last twelve years of life deeply-engaged in ministry of one form or another, the Parable of the Sower has especial meaning and poignancy for me.

I have never yet been what would be popularly-considered “successful” as a minister. I’ve never landed the big name job. I’ve never had a group that quadrupled in size in a year. I’ve never had money start flowing into any ministry that I was responsible for heading. Not only have I never measured up to the typical standards of ministerial success, I have all too often been reminded of that fact (both by my critics and myself.) All of these facts have conspired to make me succumb to recurring bouts of mild depression. In my quiet moments, my mind is tortured by voices that whisper: “You’re a failure.” “You’ve wasted your life.” “I told you. You should have gone to med school.”

When these voices begin to croak now, I try to return my mind to Jesus’ parable. He told of a farmer whose desire to make things grow. He was so passionate in this desire that he left no ground untouched by his seed. He scattered seeds in the thorns, along the path, among the rocks, anywhere that his pitching arm could send them. After he had spread all the seed he had, the farmer sat down to watch what would happen. I wonder how the farmer must have felt when he first began to realize that at least 75% of his labor was completely in vain. His precious seeds were trampled, eaten, choked out, and starved to death. I suspect that he was disappointed…perhaps even grieving. Perhaps he regretted all the time he had “wasted” sowing seed upon such inhospitable ground. Perhaps he heard voices of his own: “If only I’d listened to my parents and become a carpenter…” Yet, in time, the farmer would have come to see that although most of the seeds he planted fell to the ground never to rise again…a minority was different. There were a few seeds that sprouted. I have to assume that these seeds didn’t look particularly “special” when they were still in the sack. They looked like all the other seeds. There was no way to predict that these would sprout while the others would fail. Yet here they were, a season later—young, and green, and reaching for the sunlight.

Jesus tells us that those few surviving plants went on to produce “thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” What the parable does not tell us, however, is whether the farmer lived long enough to see just how much his hardy survivors produced. Perhaps he did…perhaps not. Jesus leaves that part of the story unanswered. In a similar way, the spiritual fruit we bear may sometimes be evident to us…but other times it does not emerge until years after our death. The calling…the challenge for us…is to simply take joy in the act of sowing itself. In the act of trying to help things grow. As you go through this day, remember the words with which Jesus ended this parable: Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. (13:9)

-- Justin

For the Kids: On-Line "Parable of the Sower" Coloring Page
For Everyone: Picture 1 Picture 2 Mary Picked the Roses video