Ears to Hear

Friends, would you please be seated.

Do any of y'all remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?

One of Aesop's fables.

Nod your head if you remember it.

Remember the moral of the story is slow and steady wins the race.

Because the hare burns himself out going way too fast.

And as a hare who's married to a tortoise, this is actually a really hard one for me.

Maybe some of your hares also and you can relate to this.

Or think about the story of the boy who cried wolf, right?

The kid is not truthful.

And so he's always kind of making up these stories about wolves are coming.

And so when the wolves do really come, nobody believes him.

And then he gets eaten, which is pretty dark.

But we remember.

We remember the story, don't we?

We remember.

We tell the truth.

Like, that's the goal.

That's the takeaway.

And I'm sure we can think of tons of other stories that are woven into our imaginations.

And most of these do have like a single takeaway.

Like, be patient.

Be kind.

Be gracious.

Look beneath the surface.

And a lot of Jesus' parables are deep in our cultural fabric too.

Many of us have grown up hearing these parables taught a lot like fables.

We're exhorted to be a good Samaritan.

Or we call irresponsible or wayward people prodigals.

And that's not entirely wrong.

Okay?

But when we do this, we're reducing the parable to one thing.

And we often miss the big picture.

And friends, the big picture is that Jesus wasn't dispensing life advice.

He was trying to show his listeners something about God's in-breaking kingdom.

He wasn't trying to get his listeners to be good people.

He was trying to get them to be his people.

And the same is true for us.

So the first question we need to ask when we approach a parable like the one that Lisa just read is,

what does this parable teach us about the kingdom of God?

And only after we've considered that question from different angles can we ask,

what does the parable mean for me?

So would you pray with me?

Lord, we thank you for your word.

Lord, we thank you that your word accomplishes what you desire.

And so, Lord, would you give us ears to hear?

Would we be attentive to how you're moving?

Would we listen well?

And would you speak to us this morning?

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

So first, what does this parable teach us about the kingdom of God?

Well, before we answer that larger question, let's talk about why Jesus preached in parables.

So a couple reasons.

And I think the first reason is really simple.

So we remember stories, right?

There's a lot of research out there about how we remember things, what our brain is able to retain.

And overall, we're pretty forgetful.

I think I read somewhere that we only hear about 5%, or we only remember about 5% of what we hear,

which is kind of a bummer when you think about it, right?

But that number goes way up if we are hearing something in stories,

because we connect to stories emotionally.

When it's something that we relate to, we can remember, right?

Our brains love a good story.

My spiritual director has been a priest for 50 years.

And for 50 years, his wife has been saying to him as he leaves the house to go preach,

don't forget to tell a story, because she knows this, right?

And when I brought up all those fables, I saw you all nodding your heads.

You remember these stories.

You don't remember the list of ingredients from the last recipe you made, or your grocery list.

But we remember stories.

And I think it's safe to say that Jesus knew this.

He knew how we were created.

He knew how our brains were wired.

And he was an excellent communicator and a great preacher.

And he used plain language and imagery that would have made sense to his listeners

and felt relevant, that they could connect to.

The parables always used these simple, everyday scenes

that were really specific to the time and place that Jesus was operating in

when he was in the flesh.

And I can imagine Jesus preaching to us today, doing something similar,

saying something like, when you're at school and you're in the classroom,

or when you're at work, when you're home having dinner with your family, right?

And he always chose the story and the characters very specifically.

Often in response to something.

And this particular parable comes almost exactly in the middle of Matthew's gospel.

In the preceding chapters, Matthew has shown us in many different ways

how people have rejected Jesus' message.

So the first takeaway here is that Jesus tells this parable to answer a question, why?

Why did so many people reject his message about the kingdom of God?

And he quotes the prophet Isaiah in verses 14 and 15 to explain this to the disciples.

He says their hearts are so hard.

And while Jesus is offering an explanation to the disciples,

he says this specifically to the disciples about why people weren't receiving his message,

he told the parable to the larger crowd that was following him,

hopefully to wake people up, to get them to listen another way,

to reframe assumptions and understandings.

That's true of almost all the parables.

There are these everyday scenes, but a lot of times there's something unexpected that happens,

that people would have heard and said,

wait a second, I don't know about that.

Or it was designed to make you think.

Remember what Jesus says at the end,

he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

So he says this to the crowd to say like,

if you really sit with this, something's going on.

Think about it.

Theologian Amy Jill Levine writes,

Friends, the point here is that Jesus wasn't going around giving life hacks or morality lessons.

He was telling people to get ready,

that they can choose to participate in something that's eternally significant.

And it's no different for us.

Okay, so why were so many people rejecting him

when what he had on offer was so good?

Participation in the kingdom of heaven.

Why were people hard-hearted?

So let's turn to the images he uses here.

And this scene of a seed and a sower was very common in agrarian society.

But it was also deeply spiritually significant.

Both Jesus and his listeners were steeped in the Hebrew scriptures.

So they would have connected to this on two levels.

So let's talk about the characters in the parable.

The seed, the sower, and the soil.

And what each shows us about Jesus' kingdom.

This passage from Isaiah that Sharon read is just one example

where the scriptures compare God's word to seed.

But we see this a lot in scripture.

So in this parable, the message of the kingdom of heaven,

is the seed.

And that would have tracked with what Jesus' listeners expected.

They knew this.

But what they didn't expect was the form of delivery.

Jesus himself.

Most people expected the Messiah to show up

as a conquering political hero in the physical sense.

They didn't expect Jesus.

And I think a lot of us do something similar.

We tend to impose our own expectations on Jesus and his kingdom.

And when we do that, we can end up pretty far from who he actually is.

So here's a quick check to see if this is something you might be struggling with.

Let me ask you a question.

Does Jesus agree with you about everything?

I mean, does he?

Because if he does, you might have the wrong Jesus.

You probably have the wrong Jesus.

And I won't get the exact quote right,

but I remember reading something Beth Moore wrote once.

I don't even remember where it was.

I know it was her.

Along the lines of,

sometimes I think Jesus must hear our prayers and our conversations

and think, are you talking to me?

Because I'm not recognizing myself in this conversation.

So the first thing this image of seed shows us about the kingdom of God

is that Jesus is the word.

He is the kingdom incarnate in the flesh.

He is the fulfillment and the climax of Israel's story,

as Tim Mackey of the Bible Project says.

And friends, he's the climax and the fulfillment

and the hero of our stories too.

So that's the seed.

Let's talk about the sower.

And interestingly, Jesus doesn't specifically identify who the sower is.

But based on the rest of the story, we can draw some conclusions.

God is the sower.

Again, people that knew the Old Testament,

the Hebrew scriptures knew this.

The Isaiah 55 passage references.

And this was what people expected.

And as we saw above, Jesus is the seed.

But he's also showing in this parable,

he's also the sower.

And coming as the word incarnate,

he is replanting all that has been uprooted in Israel's history,

all the brokenness around him.

He's healing it, making it whole, replanting that seed.

And he's extending the opportunity to participate

in the kingdom of heaven beyond Israel to everyone,

to us.

He's scattering the seed everywhere.

So the second thing that shows us

is that the kingdom is available to everyone.

It is generous.

And it is abundant.

So lastly, the soil.

This is where Jesus really answers that question of why.

Why the rejection of his message.

And we see that there are three bad types of soil,

three types of soil that are inhospitable to growth.

And there's one good type.

And these illustrate the third principle,

which is that while the kingdom of heaven is generous and abundant,

even in the person of Jesus Christ,

some will choose to reject it.

So now that we understand more about what Jesus was illustrating here,

that he is the word incarnate,

that he's generous with his word,

and that people can choose to accept or reject his kingdom,

what does this parable mean for Jesus' listeners and for us?

Well, let's come back to the soil.

Jesus was speaking to a Jewish audience

who assumed that they were good soil

because they were the Israelites.

God's chosen people.

And I think we do this too.

We tend to focus on our external actions,

maybe our credentialing.

But Jesus makes it clear

that being part of his kingdom

and being good soil

means bearing fruit.

It's not just about knowing things about Jesus.

It's about hearing and obeying.

And bearing fruit happens from the inside out.

It's not a checklist of things we should be doing.

It comes from the heart.

So let's look at each of these types of soil

and we can link them up to a heart posture.

So the first one that Jesus talks about

is those who hear but don't understand

are the rocky path.

I think sometimes we hear something like this

and we think,

but if someone doesn't understand,

it's not their fault.

But Jesus is casting this as someone

who has an opportunity to understand

but doesn't take the time necessary

to let the word take root.

How much space and thought and time

are we giving to the word of God?

These are people that reject the word outright.

Again, this other part of Isaiah.

Isaiah, seek the Lord while he may be found.

Call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways

and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord

and he will have mercy on them

and to our God,

for he will freely pardon.

Isaiah's putting the responsibility

to seek God

and to turn from wickedness

squarely on us,

rejecting him as a choice.

That's what that first soil shows us.

And the second type of soil

is those who receive the word with joy,

but then they wither away

when their faith is challenged.

They don't persevere.

Now, the way that Matthew writes this

is that this is persecution

directly followed,

directly related to being a follower of Jesus.

And this was something

that a lot of Matthew's readers

would have been dealing with

at the time that they heard this gospel.

And it could be another type of hardship

related to our lives

as followers of Jesus.

But the emphasis here

is on things that happen to us

that call into question

whether we really believe

if Jesus is who he says he is.

So when something happens,

whether it's a job loss

or a broken relationship,

a diagnosis,

suffering, pain,

some kind of persecution,

do we doubt the character of Jesus?

Do we say,

it must not have been true?

Or do we say,

Lord,

hold me fast

and shelter me in this storm

and strengthen me.

Would you show me where you are

in the midst of this?

Would you show me

what you're calling me to?

Do we trust what Jesus says

to his disciples in John 14?

In this world,

you will have trouble.

But take heart.

I have overcome the world.

The third soil

is those who get choked

by distractions

and cares of the world.

So there is some sort of growth

happening here,

but there's no fruit on the plant.

It's unhealthy

and it's anemic.

It's not flourishing.

And friends,

this is the human condition.

We're distracted

and we're drawn

to things that

are quick,

that are easy,

or we think

that if we

have a certain circumstance,

then it'll solve our problems,

that we'll be content.

And I'll never forget

something that Pastor Thomas

said in our wedding homily

when Tom and I

got married 10 years ago.

He said,

marriage doesn't make

contentment possible.

Contentment

makes marriage

possible.

And you could fill in

anything for marriage

in that statement.

A job,

having more money,

buying a house,

having certain friends,

whatever it is.

We have a tendency

to think that

our circumstances,

which are always

shifting,

are what we draw

contentment from.

But contentment

comes from our creator.

St. Augustine

famously said,

thou hast formed us

for thyself,

and our hearts

are restless

till they find

rest in thee.

And friends,

those who find

rest in the Lord

are good soil.

They produce

good crops.

And here's the thing,

crops take time

to grow.

So the seeds

might be planted

for a long time

before we see growth.

Especially an abundant

harvest like Jesus

is talking about.

It's not a fast process.

God's kingdom

is patient.

And producing a crop

is generative.

It's self-replicating,

right?

So I am not a gardener.

I have never planted

anything that has lived

ever in my life,

actually.

I just feel like

I should be honest

about that.

Not physically.

But I know

that when you have crops,

when you have fruit,

that they also have seed,

right?

So as crops flower,

as you bring in the harvest,

then you have more

and more seed.

And so the implication

is that we get

to join Jesus

in being sowers

because as our crops

produce seed,

then we get to replant

and re-sow the seed

with Jesus.

He sends us out

as sowers.

So what does it look like

to sow seed

and to participate?

How do we get there?

How do we get to that point

of producing

this incredibly

abundant crop?

First,

we cultivate good soil

in our own lives.

So we cultivate

understanding

rather than

a lack of understanding.

So what does this mean?

You can have a lot

of knowledge

but not understand

something.

There's a difference.

The people that Jesus

was addressing here

knew a lot about God

in most cases.

But a lot of times

they were missing

the larger points

of God's kingdom.

So relationships

require time.

It's not just like

driver's license stats,

right?

You know,

your driver's license

that has like

your eye color,

your hair,

your weight,

your height.

But that doesn't mean

somebody knows you

just because they look

at your driver's license,

right?

So a relationship

takes time.

Understanding God

takes time.

It means we have

to learn to listen

and we have to learn

to sit with Him.

And it's okay

to put an appointment

time with God

on your calendar.

Block it off.

The same way you would

meeting with somebody else.

We can also cultivate

faith that lasts

rather than faith

that withers.

We do that

through the sacraments.

We come to the table.

We receive the Eucharist

every week.

We join with one another

in worshiping the Lord.

We read the scriptures

together

and on our own.

And these things

strengthen us.

They help our roots

be deep.

they help our soil

be deep.

These things are

a long obedience

in the same direction

as Pastor Eugene

Peterson says.

And we cultivate

a quiet life

rather than a life

choked by worry

and distraction.

So something to consider

your inputs.

What are you

marinating in?

What are you soaking in

on a daily basis?

And we probably

remember

what the beginning

of 2020 was like

when the pandemic

started to shut

everything down,

right?

And there was so much

we didn't know.

Like news reports

were coming out

every day

and it seemed like

things were

really quickly

shifting all the time.

And there was just

an anxiety

in the air,

right?

And I remember

personally starting

every day

by looking at the news

and then I would

check that website.

I don't know if y'all

remember the website,

but there was the

World Health Organization

website where it had

like the number

of new COVID cases

every day

tracking how many

cases there were.

And I remember

Tom and I were

walking the dogs

one morning.

This was probably

like a month

into the pandemic.

And of course

we had already

been online reading

as much as we could.

And we just noticed

this really deeply

anxious response

in ourselves.

We could feel it

in our bodies.

we felt like

our minds

were distracted

and we felt like

we needed to

reorient ourselves.

And I remember

around that same time

we started an online

Bible study

in the book of Acts

at Advent.

Some of you guys

might remember this.

And we would just

Zoom and read

a passage from Acts

and I think it was

like at 7.30

or 8 o'clock

in the morning

so it was first thing.

And then we would

just talk about it

for a little while.

And that was

so important

for us

in reorienting

ourselves

to the word

of God

to what was true.

And it's not

that this other stuff

wasn't true too

but it was like

what's our focus?

Where's our gaze?

And it was hard

to do

but it was necessary

for our souls.

And the thing is

it didn't change

how informed

we were

shifting this way

shifting our day

around

but our heart

posture was different

because instead

of coming

to one another

and starting the day

full of anxiety

and fear

we were able

to have conversations

that were rooted

in the sovereignty

and love of God

and in our identity

as his children.

So that grinding

anxiety

started to lift

but it was hard.

It's still a really

hard time.

And I think

that's true

for a lot of us

now too.

It may not be

as pronounced

but what's the first

thing we do

in the morning

when we wake up?

Do we check

our phones?

Open our laptops?

Turn on the TV?

I mean I checked

my phone

first thing this morning

because I knew

that I needed

to text somebody

about a thing

and you know

and we do that

right?

But did I really

need to do that

first thing?

Or could I have

sat right away

when I woke up

and asked the Lord

to orient me to him?

I wonder

if that would

change things

for us

if we made

a practice

of doing that

because as we

cultivate

this good soil

as we reorient

our hearts

the crop comes

and then we

sow seed

with Jesus

and our families

with our friends

our neighbors

and our workplaces

in the world.

And here's another

thing about

sowing seed

with Jesus

you're on a mission

with him

and your responsibility

is the planting

you're not

responsible

for the state

of other people's

soil

that's what Jesus

is saying here

some people

will reject

the message

Paul says

in 1 Corinthians 3

I planted

Apollo swattered

but God

causes the growth

so neither

he who plants

nor he who waters

is anything

but God

who causes

the growth

and friends

he is faithful

as Isaiah

says

his word

will not return

to him empty

it will accomplish

what he desires

so as we close

I just want to give you

something to consider

this week

I would love

for all of us

to take some time

with this parable

so it's Matthew 13

1 through 23

and try doing

Lectio Divina

with it

now what is

Lectio Divina

if you don't know

that stands for

divine reading

and it's an ancient

way of reading

the scriptures

prayerfully

and in a

mood of contemplation

in a space

of contemplation

and it suits

the parables

really well

because they're

actually designed

for this kind

of marinating

and contemplative

thought

so what you're

going to do

there are different

ways to do this

but I would say

read the scripture

maybe three times

just take some time

read it three times

so the first time

as you finish

reading it

then just sit

for a few minutes

be aware of

thoughts

or feelings

or questions

or just

anything that

comes up for you

after you've

read it

and just sit

with it

don't try to

like think about

it or immediately

start chewing

on it

and then after

a few minutes

read it again

and this time

see if like

a word

or a phrase

or a sentence

a picture

something really

kind of

rises to the

surface

for you

and just

sit with that

and then

the third time

you read it

see if the

Lord is

asking you

to do something

see if there's

a response

he's calling

you to

see if there's

something he

wants you to

know

and you're

praying

and you're

checking in

with the

Lord about

this

you know

whatever

your phrase

might be

if it's

he who

has ears

to hear

let him

hear

Lord what

does that

mean

what are

you asking

me

and you'll

be surprised

I think

you know

how conversations

you have

might be

along those

same lines

what the

Lord says

and if

you've never

done this

before

I understand

it could

feel a little

bit

kind of

foreign

or not

something

you're

used to

but I

would just

love for

you to

try it

and then

I would

love to

hear how

it goes

talk to

me

about it

send me

an email

and we

can have

coffee

or have

lunch

and

and

this is a

way that

the scriptures

we learn to

really receive

the scriptures

as food

and so

let's see

what the

Lord

plants

would you

pray with

me

father

thank you

that you

nourish us

with your

word

I pray

that as

we sit

with your

scriptures

this week

that you

would be

our teacher

that you

would guide

us

that we

would learn

more

about your

kingdom

and how

you're calling

us

would you

convict us

where we need

to be

convicted

would you

comfort us

where we

need to be

comforted

and Lord

in all

things

would you

be glorified

and we

pray these

things

in the name

of the

father

and the

son

and the

holy

spirit

amen

and

Thank you.