Proper 10 :: Isaiah 55: 10–13; Psalm 119: 105–112; Romans 8: 1–11; Matthew
13: 1–9, 18–23
This is the homily by Fr. Gene Tucker that was given at
St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Sunday, July 16, 2017.
“WHICH
SOIL AM I (NOW)?”
Homily text:
Matthew 13: 1–9, 18–23
This
morning, we hear Jesus’ very familiar parable of the four soils. For the early
Church, this must have been an extremely important part of the Lord’s teaching
for Mark and Luke also record this parable.[1]
Jesus’
teaching, which outlines the various responses to the Good News He was
appointed to bring, describes not only the reactions He received during His
earthly ministry, but it also accurately describes the responses the Apostles
would receive as they went out into the world, bringing the news of Jesus
Christ with them.
The
early congregation to whom Matthew may have been writing (many biblical
scholars seem to accept the idea that Matthew was writing late in the first
century to a Church which was located in what is now modern-day Syria, a
congregation which was made up of both Jews and Gentiles) most likely valued
Jesus’ teaching on this subject, for the responses these early Christians
received from family members, community members, and others most likely
mirrored what Jesus had said.
In
approaching this text, many preachers tend to focus on the various responses to
the Good News that people in every age make….it’s worth stating that people’s
reactions don’t differ much as the ages roll along. Other preachers take up the
theme of God’s generosity in spreading the seed of the Good News, scattering it
even in places (and on people) where there is little hope of a positive
outcome.
But
this morning, let’s take another view of this text: Let’s ask ourselves what our spiritual condition is at this very moment. For, I suspect
that, if your life experience is anything like mine, I find myself in one of
the four conditions Jesus outlines:
- At times, I am like
the hardened soil which cannot and will not receive the truth of God’s word.
- At other times, I
tend to want to give up on God when things are going poorly or with difficulty.
- At still other
times, the cares and occupations of daily life tend to crowd out the essential
truths of God.
- And - though only by the overwhelming grace of God - the soil of my heart and mind offers a receptive and fruitful home for the implanted word of God.
Given
this reality – and I believe it to be reality – what resources do we have to
improve the soil condition of our hearts and minds?
Surely,
one resource has to do with the power of the Holy Spirit, power which can
remold and remake us into the productive disciples that God requires.
Another
resource would have to be the power of prayer, and specifically, a prayer to
God to overcome our limitations and our self-centeredness which tends to
isolate us from God’s word implanted.
Still
another resource is our wonderful Book of
Common Prayer (1979 edition), which offers us prayers which are suitable
for each of these situations.
Turning
to the Book of Common Prayer, we note first the condition of the soil which
cannot receive God’s word, thereby offering the evil one the opportunity to
snatch the seed and carry it away. The prayer that comes to mind in this
situation is found on the top of Page 280 in the Good Friday liturgy. Its text
reads as follows:
Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of
souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are revealed in your
Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who
have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to
your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one
shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Notice particularly that phrase which says, “turn
the heart of those who resist it (the Gospel).”
Next, let’s consider the circumstances
in which a person initially responses to the Good News, but then turns away
from it when hardship arises. On Page 99, we find the Collect for Peace in
the Office of Morning Prayer, which says:
O God, the author of peace and lover of concord,
to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us,
your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting
in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might
of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Now,
let’s turn our attention to the description that Jesus offers us, in which a
person’s faith and ability to receive and hear God’s word is choked out by the
cares and concerns of daily living. (I cannot resist saying that, in our
contemporary society, this is an all-too-common situation.) Two prayers which may
be helpful in such situations are the Collect
for Grace in
the Office of Morning Prayer, found on Page 100:
Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have
our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit,
that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but
may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
And
the Collect for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (unfortunately,
not often heard because the season of Epiphany isn’t long enough to allow us to
celebrate that Sunday) may be helpful, as well. Its text is found on Page 216:
Most
loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear
nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who care for us:
Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this
mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and
which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives
and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever. Amen.
Finally, of course, the Lord wants us to be fruitful, to be
faithful stewards of the goodness and love which has been made known to us in
the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Three collects come to mind, in order to encourage us in our walk
with God:
The Collect for the First
Sunday after Christmas, found on Page 213:
Almighty God, you have
poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light,
enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.
And also the Collect for Proper 17, found on Page 233:
Lord of all power and
might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of
your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and
bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
And finally, a Collect # 68, After Worship, found on Page 834:
Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that the
words which we have heard this day with our outward ears, may, through thy grace, be so grafted
inwardly in our hearts, that they may bring forth in us the fruit of good living,
to the honor and praise of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May God’s Holy Spirit dig into our hardened
hearts, taking away all things that would prevent us from receiving God’s
implanted word, that we may bear fruit suitable for harvest, some thirty-fold,
some sixty-fold, and some a hundred-fold.
AMEN.
