July 12th 6th after Pentecost
Readings: Psalm 65 and Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23
The parable of the Sower and the seed is one we probably know well, and it is one of the few parables that Jesus explains. There are those who don’t really get the message at all, there are those who get excited but who give up when it gets tough, and there are those whose faith is choked more slowly by the cares of this world. And later in the gospel, we will see people who do not get the message, we will see the disciples failing when there is persecution and the rich young man unable to follow Jesus because his wealth is too attractive. And I see it in me, times when faith feels too uncomfortable, times when I prefer to hold on to what I have or what I want. And yet the people who are generous and kind, who share readily of themselves, of their things and of their faith are so attractive. Can we work to improve the soil our seed is in, so that we reduce the risk of giving up or being choked by other cares, but instead become those who bear fruit for others? How sad it is when seed is eaten by birds with no chance to grow, when seed grows and withers before it bears fruit or when it is choked by competing weeds’ like the brambles in the vicarage garden which have tyrannised so many of the plants! How wonderful when we clear the space and the flowers can flourish.
What do you notice from this passage?
