It is not until Matthew 13 that Matthew goes from miracles of Jesus to some of his famous parables. The Parable of the Sower tells of a farmer tossing out seeds to plant and the type of soil they land on. Some fall on hard ground, some on rocky, some on thorny and some fall into good soil and flourish. The seed we understand to be the word of God and the type of soil can be seen as different types of listeners or our different responses when we hear the word of God. I’m sure the pastor would be happy if the congregation went home every Sunday taking the sermon to heart but we know that just doesn’t happen. Sometimes we are sleepy, sometimes distracted, and sometimes we even disagree with the sower.
“13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 13:1-9)”
My thought, as I write this, is that we are encouraged to be Christ-like in our lives. If so, then what kind of seeds to we sow as we go through our day. Do we sow seeds of doubt, of greed, of lust, or of doubt as we encounter others. Few of us go around quoting Scripture to our friends but we are capable of planting seeds of encouragement, of hope, and of love. Wednesday will be Ash Wednesday when we face our mortality. Part of being human is our proneness to wander. Tuesday is known as Fat Tuesday when refrigerators are emptied of food that might tempt whatever our Lenten discipline is. Perhaps Monday we might check out what type of seeds we are sewing to those we encounter daily! Blessings.
On the Way to Wonder 