Scripture:  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears[a] listen!”

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.[a] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Thoughts to Ponder:

The Parable of the Sower is one of a but only a few that is found in all three of the Synoptic (having a similar synopsis) Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Jesus tells this story early on in His ministry as He has begun to gain a following larger than the 12 we refer to as His disciples. This is important to note because it appears Jesus is setting a tone for what the future would hold for those who continue to follow Him. As often happens, Jesus’ stories reflect reality. They are not necessarily meant to be prescriptive to specific people.
In Jesus’ day many people were expecting God’s Kingdom to burst on the scene. In today’s world many of us see the actions of people in the streets and are hopeful of a similar kind of renewal and revival. We long to see a miracle of change in our society. However, in Jesus’ story it looks more like the hard work of a laborer. Jesus’ story shows that change will be hard to come by and to different extents we will be open to it.

Knowing that change doesn’t occur overnight how should we respond? Will this change be something we embrace with openness? Will this change be something we nonchalantly accept? Will this change be something that causes stress? Will this change be something that we resist?
When God throws the seeds how will we respond?

Sermon: "Dirt" ( no text available)