Sermon - 2020 - 07 - 12

The parable of the sower is one that we have heard over and over again.  However, when we hear a word of scripture over again, it is one then that can really take root.  It is one that we can not only hear the message but then allow it to shape and form us into the message that Jesus is sharing with us as disciples.   Thankfully Jesus went so far as to clearly explain what it is this parable is all about.  However, one concern I think we all need to consider and answer honestly is what kind of soil is your heart and mind?  Now our immediate answer is “the good kind of course”.  Yet we need to also analyze our own thoughts and actions in the world to truly determine which kind of soil.  For you can not always just look and see but look to see if the plants are bearing fruit in order to determine if the soil is right for the plant.  

When I was in seminary, I would continually ask different professors and Pastors.  How can I not become one of those priests or pastors?  I don’t want to lead people astray.  I want to help people realize the kind of soil they are and even be able to become better soil.  A number of them answered with similar answers. When you wake up in the morning: read or state the Small Catechism, read through the Bible, and then pray about the day to come.  Do this as the first thing you do, give the first hour of your new day to God.  For God has given you this day, to be God’s servant in the world, to share God’s love with those you encounter.  Yet what this looks like will be different among you, some will do this on their own, some will do it as family.  You will read large sections of the Bible and some will read short sections.  You will read the whole Bible within two weeks or read the Bible within a year. 

However, they warned me as well.  You can do this for your own growth.  However, not everyone will want what you have.  For plants need different things and people have their own decision to make.  Plants need sunshine however some people will feel the heat of the sun and complain about how it will be.  Plants need food and water however some people will complain that the manure smells, is sticky, or does not seem to make their life better right away.  These teachers were reminding me that I am not the only one who will determine a person’s growth.  YOU also have a part in your own growth.  

For it is these that we have agreed as a church that we hear the Word of God coming to us.  Here in the Small Catechism, we have the statutes given to us by Abraham and their meanings.  We hear of the Baptism that Christ has given to us, and the final supper that Jesus shared with his disciples along with their meanings.  Within the Bible, we hear of God’s people and their journey of faith.  How it is so much like our own, to learn from their mistakes, and stay focused on your Holy Word. Why we shouldn’t travel down these other paths, though they seem to make sense and are so easy to travel down once again. 

For we live within our Heavenly Father’s world. We worship a God that does not change.  We continue, but we are called to change.  Where we are called to our Baptism of Jesus Christ.  Not the water, but truly God’s Word that is spoken there.  How we are claimed and called to be God’s very own.  Yet I look upon this congregation, I see the ones who are living out that Baptism.  I see the ones who think that they are living it out, but are really drifting after false teachings.  I even see the ones who do not seem to care which side they are on.  I see the division that Jesus Christ has brought here. 

Yet so often in the church, we hear of God as love and comfort and really as a giant teddy bear.  This is not a bad thing but we should also be reminded that Christ comes to divide, to separate us. And some people will speak that this is God’s Word and that here is the division, yet when Christ came.  When Christ drew the line in the sand, Christ was not with those who were right but rather the one who was suffering.  When they found that a person should be stoned for their actions, Christ drew a line within the sand and said that you who are without sin may cast the first stone.  Yet here is the line, here is the distinction, I am with the sinners and you want to be with God and yet God is on the other side.  God is the one who saves, who gives you that eternal life that you long for.  

Week after week, I continue to preach and to teach in hopes that you shall be good soil.  That the Holy Spirit will till the soil that is your heart and soul, and you may hear the Good News of what Jesus Christ has done for you every single day. That you may be brought back to your Baptism and to the promise that you gave God in response to the rich gift that God has given to you. Thanks be to God that we are able to be that servant. Amen.