Bible reading
People kept coming to Jesus from one town after another; and when a great crowd gathered, Jesus told this parable:
Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it up. Some of it fell on rocky ground, and when the plants sprouted, they dried up because the soil had no moisture. Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up with the plants and choked them. And some seeds fell in good soil; the plants grew and bore grain, one hundred grains each.
And Jesus concluded,
‘Listen, then, if you have ears!’His disciples asked Jesus what this parable meant, and he answered,
‘The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to the rest it comes by means of parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.This is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God.The seeds that fell along the path stand for those who hear; but the Devil comes and takes the message away from their hearts in order to keep them from believing and being saved. The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who hear the message and receive it gladly. But it does not sink deep into them; they believe only for a while but when the time of testing comes, they fall away. The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear; but the worries and riches and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them, and their fruit never ripens. The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit.
Luke 8:4-15 (The Message Bible)
Talk
One of the things that most people know Jesus for is his parables.. Parables like the prodigal son, the lost sheep, the Good Samaritan, are well known stories. But no so well known are the sentences which are also parables; “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they both fall into the pit?” or even the 3 words, “Physician, heal yourself”(Luke 4;23)
So what is orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot.
A riddle is a figure of speech that needs to be worked out by lateral thinking, parables are riddles.
Jesus told parables. This parable was included that we might take it to heart – as a mystery or riddle to ponder. We need to get inside it, to enter into it with fresh eyes and a new perspective.
Jesus’ parables and questions, and perhaps everything else he did were intended to make sitting on the fence far more difficult and less comfortable. He was and still is asking us to make a choice.
So,…what about this parable?
Well there is less of mystery in this parable because Jesus makes an explanation to the Disciples so that is a help.
The parable is about seed but it is also about four different types of soil. The seed is the word of God or the Gospel, the Good News. The soil is made up of four different types that produce different results.
- Seed that falls on the path hears the message but the Devil comes and takes it away before it can even germinate. Some us might struggle with thoughts of a Devil or deceiver but Jesus us very clear here, and through the rest of the Gospel, that the Devil exists.
- Seed that falls on the rocky ground begins to grow but when a time of testing or hardship come then the roots are not strong enough to resist and the plants initial growth withers and dies. A time of testing or hardship can come in a whole different variety of ways.
- Seed that fall amongst the thorns never ripens. The worries and pleasure of this world, whatever you might understand those to be, strangle the plants and it never produces fruit.
- The final soil is good soil. It is able to bear fruit and there is a harvest.
So we need to get inside this parable, here are a few questions to get you thinking and discussing.
Discussion
Now the focus has been on what type of soil we are. But from what I understand of this parable we are also called to be gardeners, we are called to sow seed, we are called to share the Gospel. That is a sign of fruitfulness, if a plant grows to maturity it will reproduce. It will produce more seeds to be sown.
I think that is why Jesus says to the his audience.
‘Listen, then, if you have ears!’
It’s a clever play on words. Crops such as wheat and barley have ears, i.e. they have borne fruit, there is a harvest. Fruitfulness is about attentive obedience,
So let’s turn this around.
Followers of Jesus are all called to be gardeners. So here are a few pointers for seed sowers;
- Seed sowers are in a cosmic battle. There is a battle going on between good and evil, between the Good News of the Gospel and the deceiver. We need to be aware of this fact, we need to arm ourselves for the fight, otherwise we are left exposed and at risk. Ephesians 6 is a good place to start. Learn a simple Celtic circling prayer.
- There are consequences of falling away. There are consequences of soil never doing what it is supposed to do when the seed is planted within it – bear fruit.
- Worries, riches and pleasures will take nutrients out of the soil, the consequences are fruitlessness. Seed sowers need to be fed with things that will feed the seed and plant of the Good News growing within you. Luke talks more about the consequences of the worries, riches and pleasures than any other Gospel writer. It is Luke who has the stories of the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12) , the rich man and Lazarus(Luke 16), the rich man (Luke19) the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19), the warnings of storing up riches in heaven, the Widows offering (Luke 21). Maybe reading Luke’s Gospel over and over again wouldn’t be a bad thing to do.
- Good soil is those who hear the word and hold it, they hold it tight,….Fruitfulness is brought about by an honest and good heart who perseveres. Associating with Jesus will not bring us popularity. This parable calls for reflection, we need to cling to the Good News in patient faith to bear fruit and to sow fruit.
means.