The Sower and the Seed
St. Luke 8:4-15
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
St. Luke 8:10 And [Jesus] said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it has been given in parables…”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… The parable of the sower and the seed is not about other people who never bother to hear the Word of God, even though that is what many believe or want to believe. No, dear friends, this parable is about you and me. This parable is about people who gather to hear the Word of God all the time.
And this parable is not about reading the Word of God; it is about HEARING the Word. Now, don’t get me wrong; it would be great if every one of you opened your Bible every day and spent time reading it and taking it to heart; that would be a whole sermon in itself. But, again, this morning’s Gospel is not about reading the Bible; it’s about HEARING the Word.
Jesus says it four times: Verse 12: “those who have heard.” Verse 13: “when they hear.” Verse 14: “those who hear.” Verse 15: “those who, hearing the Word.” So what Jesus is after today is not your eyes; He is after your ears. He speaks about hearing, not reading. It’s really about what happens in this assembly where Sunday after Sunday the Lord Jesus comes to sow the seed of His Word. It’s about what happens to what He tells us here.
Jesus shows us four things that can happen to the Word that He tries to sow here. The first thing is in the words of verse 5: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell on the wayside; it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.” So, the first thing that happens here in this place when the Word goes forth is that it can go in one ear and out then other.
It is very possible to sit here on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday evening, or during a wedding or funeral and hear but not to listen; and the devil does a real clever trick here. He takes the Word that is sown and snatches it away from your heart by planting in you this idea: “Buy, pastor sure was kinda boring today, wasn’t he? I think I like what he said, but I’m not sure I like how he said it.” Do you see the devil is at work here? When those thoughts enter your mind the devil gets you to focus on whether or not your ears got tickled today; he gets you to focus on HOW something is said, rather than on what is said. And so before you know it, Satan has swooped in and stolen that Word out of your heart before it can even begin to grow and do its work within you.
Martin Luther describes this problem in his Small Catechism in unforgettable words regarding the Third Commandment. First, the Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” And in Luther’s Large Catechism, he writes these words about that: “This commandment,” says Luther, “is also violated by that other crowd who listen to God’s Word as they would to any other entertainment, who only from force of habit go to hear the sermon and leave again with as little knowledge at the end of the year as at the beginning.” (LC I:96) Therefore, each of us needs to examine his heart today and ask: “Is it I, Lord?”
The next thing that can happen to the Word is in verse 6: “Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.” So, the next thing that can happen to the Word as you sit here is that when you hear it, it can bring you joy. And God wants it to bring you joy, but there’s more to it than that. These hearers hold the Word in their hearts after they leave the Divine Service, BUT when God throws them a time of testing – as in, when that nasty grumpy person at the office is nasty and grumpy to you again, or when the same old temptation comes along and snares you again, when things at home are still no better – well, then the emotion, the feeling of joy, just evaporates.
Wheat is a good order cheap viagra browse around description now source of mineral nutrients. Here are some ways women can teach their husbands to know how to deal with it too. cost of cialis First you need to levitra cialis select a dose of your human services master. Keep this achat viagra pfizer prescription out of the range just noted. And when that happens, you are tempted to let go of the Word and assume that what you heard isn’t really true after all, thereby keeping it from sinking deep roots into us. This is a huge problem for us, because we live in a culture that assumes that emotions validate the authenticity of everything. Well, make no mistake: emotions cannot see you through the time of testing. You are either going to believe what God’s Word says or you are going to believe what your emotions say. God designs these times of testing precisely to strengthen your trust in what He SAYS to you and not what you FEEL. If you’re looking for the Word of God to be a constant “upper” for you, a constant “feel-good” experience, you will always be the kind of hearer that, in the end, never benefits from what you hear. Therefore, each of us needs to examine his heart to ask: “Is it I, Lord?”
The third thing that can happen to the Word is that it gets squeezed out. Verse 7: “And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.” Again, like the second kind of hearer, this person carries the Word with him out the door of the gathering; but when he gets back to his every day life, what happens? Jesus says that what they heard is literally drowned in them; it is choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life; all the distractions that Satan and the world throw our way to keep the Word that we heard from bearing any fruit at all in our life. These folks are not like the inattentive ones, or the emotion-seeking ones. These are the busy people whose minds are going a mile a minute, thinking of all that needs to get done or that they want to do. No time left for heeding the command of God which says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Yes, each of us needs to examine his heart today and ask: “Is it I, Lord?”
And that brings us to the fourth thing that can happen to the Word we hear. Verse 8: “But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundred fold.” So, not only can we hear the Word, we can HOLD IT FAST; we can hold tight to what we hear. This is done by not letting Satan, our emotions or our busyness get in the way of keeping in our hearts what God would say to us. And when that happens, a wonderful miracle takes place.
Martin Luther describes it like this, again from the Large Catechism under the Third Commandment: “When we seriously ponder the Word, hear it, and put it to use, such is its power that it never departs without fruit. It always awakens new understanding, pleasure, and devotion, and it constantly creates clean hearts and minds. For the Word of God is not idle or dead, but living and effective” (LC I:101). And that is what we also heard in our first two readings this morning. Each of us needs to pray today: “Let this be me, Lord!”
So much for what happens to the Word. The question that is before us is this: WHAT is that Word which when heard and held onto tightly brings about this wondrous cleansing of the heart and mind? Our God has two words that He speaks: a Word of Law and a Word of Gospel. Which one was Jesus referring to in this parable? Well, He tells you: the Word that reveals the Secrets of the Kingdom (Luke 8:10). That’s the Gospel Word! It alone can change you from the inside out when you hear it and hold it.
This Gospel Word is the “I love you and gave my life for you” that Christ spoke to you from the cross, where He bore your sin and its punishment to death – including your sin of not hearing and treasuring His Word – and rose from the dead for your justification! This Word is the “I love you and you will always be mine, and I have called you by My name” that He spoke over you at your Baptism. It is the “I love you and here I give myself to you in my body and blood; your sins are forgiven and you are free!” that He speaks to you in the Holy Communion.
Dear fellow redeemed, hold tight to that Word this week. Do not let Satan hijack this Word from you. Do not let your emotions deny the truth of God’s Word to you. Do not let the craziness of your schedule this week drive this Word from your mind and heart. Hold it tight, believe it, and live from it, and you will see what fruit it will bear in your life.
For it is the same Word of God that the living Word of God, Jesus Christ, gave to you on His cross. It is the same Word of God that tells you that, even though you, because of all your sins, deserve God’s eternal wrath and condemnation, God the Father has accepted Christ’s suffering and death on the cross – in your place – as full payment for all your sins. Jesus died for you. Jesus rose for you. Jesus now gives Himself to you in His Holy Word and Sacraments.
He gives you Himself every time you hear the Absolution from your pastor: “I forgive you all your sins.” He gives you Himself in the water and words of your Baptism wherein He has made you His own dear child, and given you forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and eternal salvation. He gives you Himself through the bread and wine of the Supper which, by His Word is also His very body and blood – the same body and blood broken and shed for you on His cross.
Because Jesus was held fast to the cross and bore your sins, you hold fast to Him and His Word. Don’t believe your circumstances. Don’t believe your emotions. Don’t believe in your distractions. Trust the Word of God, for it is the only certainty you. By the power of His Holy Spirit who lives and dwells in you, you hold fast to that Word, because Jesus holds fast to you.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
