Saturday 15 September 2018

Luke 8:4-15 The Farmer and the Field


Stories have the power to touch us in deep ways  because a good story uses images and pictures that are close to us and help us understand with both our head and heart what the story-teller is trying to get across to us. A story can change us in deep life altering ways. Growing up in the church, it was the stories of Jesus’ grace filled encounters with people that finally got to me and helped me to give my dreams and life over to Jesus: the stories of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, the woman caught in adultery, of Zacchaeus the tax collector; all people who lived on the fringes of society, not really accepted by the people around them and yet embraced and shown acceptance by Jesus. Then there are the stories of the lives of Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and others who inspired me to completely trust Jesus and search for his call on my life.
Jesus is a master story-teller, able to touch the hearts and souls of the people around him, teaching us to see the world through the eyes of God. Often, we only see what’s directly in front of us like a horse wearing blinkers to keep it staring only ahead in a narrow line, unable to see the amazing things of God that surround us. In the stories of Jesus, we meet his Father over and over again. Jesus reminds us that God is our father and his love and his desire is for us to come home to him. He uses the images of everyday life to show us what the kingdom of God is all about. Because of this, the people were fascinated by Jesus and came from all over the area to hear Jesus speak.
The Jewish people were looking for a messiah, God’s promised messiah whom he was sending and would save them. The people kept looking back to the good old days when their own king sat on the throne in Israel. It’s kind of like today, where so many followers of Jesus keep looking back to the good old days when politicians and leaders listened to the church and Christianity was the dominant force in society. So many followers of Jesus continue to be shocked that our governments no longer listen to churches and shape society around what the church tells them is right and wrong. This past week the Alberta government threatened to pull finding from any school that refuses to allow GSAs. The problem with looking back to the good old days is that they often aren’t nearly as good as we think they are. There’s a reason God sent his people Israel into exile and let them be conquered by their enemies, there’s a reason why so many people have walked away from the church and Christianity in our own life-times. We too often focused on the sin, forgetting how much Jesus loves the sinner. We forget we’re also sinners.
Jesus is the Messiah, but he doesn’t come to set up a throne, instead he uses stories to show us the true kingdom of God. A large crowd is gathering around Jesus. He often taught outside the cities where more people could gather around and hear him, so I’m imagining Jesus standing on a small hill surrounded by farmers’ fields when he sees a farmer working in the field, planting seed. In Jesus’ day the farmers planted their seed by taking it in their hands or a scoop and scattering the seed in a side to side motion over the ground. Jesus says, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times what was sown.”
Jesus explains the story, telling us that the seed is the word of God. The farmer scattering the seed scatters it generously, he’s not stingy in throwing the seed around because the more generous he is in scattering the seed, the larger the crop. When we hear Jesus talk about the word of God we hear the word ‘Bible,’ but for the people listening to Jesus they heard something else. They heard Jesus say the teachings and calls of the prophets to return to God was being scattered into their hearts, the wonder and beauty in creation itself was calling them to God, the words of the Torah was being planted in their lives and the still quiet voice of God was being set into their hearts, minds and souls, calling them to be with God and listen to his voice, his love, and his call on their lives. God’s word is not only the words in this wonderful book he’s given us; it’s every way he’s reaching out to us.
Jesus explains that the soils the seed falls on are the heart conditions of the people. Some people will never accept Jesus no matter how often they hear the word of God; it’s like the seed on the pathway. Some people believe the word of God when they hear it, but there’s no depth in their hearts and lives for the word of God to be nourished and grow, so it fades away after a while like the rocky soil. Other people hear and accept the word of God, but then get distracted by the worries and pleasures of the world and so the word of God is choked out and Jesus gets forgotten.
The majority of the seed falls on fertile ground where it multiples like crazy. These people accept the word of God and it changes their lives! Today, these are the people who accept Jesus as their Saviour, knowing that they’re sinners unable to save themselves and need Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to make them right with God again. This changes their lives; life becomes an expression of gratitude and grace because know they’re forgiven and accepted and want everyone else to experience the same life changing relationship with Jesus. This is what Jesus is getting at when he says the good soil “stands for those with a noble and true heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”
When I hear this story of Jesus, it gives me hope. The word of God is getting scattered around generously and there’s plenty of opportunity to hear it and grow your relationship with God through Jesus. I know my heart and I know it’s not always good soil in there. There are rocky places and plenty of thorns in my heart and life. Remember, Jesus is using the image of a farmer for a reason, a farmer is always working his fields to make them better. I remember growing up helping out on my uncles’ farms, every spring they headed out into the fields to pick rocks, the first crop of the year as one of my uncles said. They worked hard every year to expand their fields, turning over new fields after clearing them and getting rid of the weeds and thorns. It’s hard work to create good soil.
If you feel as if your faith isn’t as exciting as when you first accepted Jesus, it feels like life is dusty and dry, Jesus reminds us that he’s the living water and is willing to water our souls and work with us to pick the rocks out of our lives that try to prevent the word of God from setting deep roots in our hearts. When worry creeps in and creates fear and anxiety, when your life begins to revolve around the next toy, the newer car, the next promotion or big deal, Jesus reminds us that true joy and meaning are found in a relationship with him. He offers you peace and brings meaning and purpose as he invites you to join him in growing the kingdom of God, beginning with your own heart.
Jesus comes to bring new life, he goes to the cross to deal with those rocks, thorns and hard soils in our hearts that are there because of sin and washes them away and brings forgiveness, acceptance and grace. As Jesus ends the story, he reminds us that hearing and embracing the word of God is the heart of God’s kingdom. You were led here this morning by the Holy Spirit in one way or another to open your heart to the living water, the new life found in Jesus, to get your heart soil worked over by the Holy Spirit to get you to Jesus or to give you a story from the Master Story-teller to scatter this week wherever the Holy Spirit leads you.

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