I don’t think Matthew was a very good story teller. Its intriguing, and engaging, and all of that stuff. But, there is one pretty hard and fast rule when it comes to good storytelling that one should never break. And that is…never explain what you mean.
I’ll explain what I mean.
You know when you tell a joke to a group of people, and everybody laughs, except one person who says, “wait, I don’t get it.” And you have to explain the joke? Its never funny. It doesn’t matter how funny the joke is, if you have to explain the meaning, then it loses its humor.
For example. A string walks into a movie theatre, and tries to buy a ticket. But, the cashier says, we can’t let you into this movie, you’re a piece of string! So the string goes outside, twists himself all around, messes up his hair, and goes back in to buy a ticket to the movie. The cashier says, “didn’t I just tell you that we can’t sell a ticket to you because you’re a piece of string?” And the string says, “I’m a frayed knot!”
Now if I explain it. Even though that joke is hilarious. It won’t be funny anymore. You see. It’s wordplay. When he says I’m afraid not, it has a double meaning that both the string is disagreeing with the cashier. AND he is a frayed knot. A knot in the string. That is fraying on the end…because he messed up his hair? Get it?
So now that joke isn’t funny anymore, because I explained it.
That is where a tremendous amount of power comes from in any art form. And really, in any experience. Listening to a symphony, and you know if it is good, you don’t want experts telling you why it was good. That the melody perfectly balanced the harmony in a way that enlivened synapses in your brain that made the music “good.” Reading a poem that really affects you. As soon as you read an essay explaining why it affected you, it won’t affect you that way anymore. That the rhythm used in the first three stanzas set you up emotionally for a change in the fourth makes the poem, “meaningful.”
And I’m all for understanding. But sometimes I like things to remain meaningful…and people sometimes explain away the meaning.
Preachers do it with the book of revelation or the writings of the prophets all the time. They say this symbol means that. Or this horseman is really this. Or this ancient city really represents this modern city. When the truth is, no one knows. They are just guessing. And it is when you think that this symbol has one direct interpretation that you miss the beauty and artistry of the book.
And in our reading this morning, Matthew’s version of the parable of the Sower is told. And immediately after it, eight verses later, it is explained. The mystery is solved. No real reason to continue to search for meaning in that story, here it is. So that is what I mean when I say that Matthew broke one of the most important rules in storytelling. He explained its meaning.
A sower, God, spreads some seeds (the good news). Some fell on a rocky path (that is a type of soil that has no hope for growth whatsoever, you might as well throw it on Asphalt). And the birds came and ate it (that is the evil one claiming those seeds for themselves.) Some fell on shallow soil (that is the type of soil that gets really excited at first, but there is no depth, so they don’t pursue their faith). And the sun bakes the plants away. Some fell on thorns (that is the soil that is distracted by so many other things, that the good news cannot compete and gets choked out by the influence of everything else). And some fell on good soil (that is the people who hear, understand, persevere, and continue to grow) producing a hundredfold of the plant (the abundant grace of God.)
But maybe I’m not giving Matthew enough credit. Because while it is still explained. There is still a lot of mystery involved. And I think we still make mistakes in its meaning.
I think we mistakenly think this parable is about the seed. We think that we need to go out and spread seed, and to make sure we find good soil.
That is what a smart farmer does. And I know a lot of you are smart farmers, and know a lot about soil.
Now I don’t farm, or even have a garden. I tried once, but failed. I tried another time, and failed. I wasn’t very consistent in my gardening. Well, I was consistent I guess, just not in a good way.
But I think if I were to take it more seriously, I would try to find the best soil possible to plant my seeds. Make sure it is in the right amount of sunlight. I would take samples, and check PH balance. I would know when is the right season for planting what types of seeds, and I would try to build and foster an environment where the seeds could flourish. I would set up a watering and fertilizing schedule.
That is what a smart farmer does. A smart farmer checks the soil.
So there wouldn’t be any risk of seeds falling on the path, or in bad soil, or in thorns; because we wouldn’t spread our seeds there.
So why does this sower do that? Why even put the seeds on the path? Thorns are pretty easy to spot, why not steer clear of that section of the yard? Seems a little haphazard in his farming techniques.
And we already know that the sower is God. So why would God just go spreading the good news seed willy nilly like that?
That is a difference between us and God.
In our church, in all churches, we try to find the best soil. We try to find the techniques, we try to get the training, we try to read the right books, we try to find the best demographic report, we try to do all of it to ensure that our seed is falling on good soil.
We evaluate and analyze to make sure we in the good soil. And we can see evidence that we are in good soil, because disciples are being made. People who come, and join, and participate, and serve, and are in ministry. All the right things. It is the people who get excited and drop out that we wonder about. It is the people whose hearts are so hard that they can’t hear the gospel that we worry about. It is the people who are so distracted by other things that it chokes out the gospel message that breaks our heart.
You know these different soil types.
But we like good soil. We want our ministries to fall on good soil. And good soil is made up of all kinds of different things, and you need it all! It feels good to get your hands dirty in good soil! You heard the story; when seeds fall on good soil, these seeds produce a hundred fold! That is enough to retire on in one year’s crop!
And so, smartly, a lot of what churches do is try to make sure we are in good soil.
That is a difference between us and God. God is the sower, and spreads the good news everywhere.
Because God has a hope and trust in his promises that we can’t fully grasp. God promised that the whole world would be redeemed. The good soil, and the path, and the shallow soil, and the thorns. All of it.
That means, that the criminals, the hard hearts, the dishonesty, the pain, the tears, the totality of creation, can all be turned into good soil in God’s hands.
We try to stick to a successful plan and make sure we get to the good soil. God has the hope that we will all be good soil. And so he spreads seeds everywhere, let it fall where it may, because God is working the soil too.
Many of you are educators, and I’ll bet you can remember a student that you had that you thought was going to make your hair turn white. Always in trouble, never paying attention…and then you see them years later, and learn that they are a model citizen, and wonderful person.
It happened to us just last week. We were at the Franklin County baseball games, and a man came up to Mr. Bridges. Introduced himself, and we chatted for a little bit. He is a good person. Who cares deeply for his family. And lives a good solid life. And as we were walking away, Mr. Bridges shared with me that he would have expected to see that guy on the evening news, and not in a good way with how much trouble he used to get into. So even when we try to determine what is good soil, and what isn’t…the sower knows more than us.
Soil can change. The ground is shifting under our feet by the promises of God. And the ground is shifting without us even knowing.
To quote Bebe Campbell Moore, Our God told us to expect the best. And there is enough for everybody.
So while many read this and think it is all about the soil. Are you the good soil? Is our church sowing its seeds in good soil? Are your friends good soil? Is your family good soil? Does our demogaphic report show that we are accurately reflecting the community? Does our worship style make people feel better or less about themselves? How can we make sure we are the best soil we can possibly be?
Maybe the meaning that is still there in this parable, that isn’t explained, but instead is drawn out in our imagination by the telling of the story; is the mystery about the sower.
Who just gives good news away like that? Who spreads seed on a road, or in thorns? Who just invites anybody into their place of worship? Who hears about someone sick and puts aside everything to be by their side? Who heals people who don’t seem to give a rip about anyone but themselves? Who travels to places they have never been, to be with people they have never met, to do things they have never done, all because God asked them to? Who gives to a project that a church is doing that they will not directly benefit from?
Who does that?
The sower does. And if we are lucky enough to be good soil now, to have had the grace of God in our lives to prepare us to hear the good news so that it blossoms within us, maybe we can be more like the sower, and help change the soil around us.
It is not what a smart farmer would do. It is not what a good business would do if it wanted to make a profit. But it is what The Sower calls us to do.
Go, and preach the Gospel.
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