Dirt Stories

This message was first delivered at Cove United Methodist Church in Coleman Falls, Virginia on July 13, 2014. It is based on the lectionary text Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.

I am not much of a gardener. I've planted my fair share of pansies, shrubs, herbs and a few tomato plants. But most everything I've ever planted has one thing in common – somebody else got the thing started! I've even got packets of seeds! But I don't know much about how to sow them. That tiny little print probably tells me how far apart to plant the seeds and what kind of soil conditions they need. And when to thin those out...as I said before, I'm not much of a gardener. I'm pretty good at weeding gardens. It is time consuming hard work, but through the years I figured out what most of our local weeds look like. As someone has said: "When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant." There is a corollary to that truth: "To distinguish flowers from weeds, simply pull up everything. What grows back is weeds."

Jesus lived in the ancient land of Palestine. After doing some Googling, I can tell you that the soil in Palestine doesn’t look very fertile. It doesn’t look at all like the kind of dirt that comes out of those nice bags at Lowe's. The Holy Land is mostly a dry and rocky desert where, if seeds are planted, they might have difficulty growing because of the poor soil. Jesus knew his audience and knew that this parable would resonate with the people he was talking to. They knew about planting and knew a lot about what could go wrong with a crop.

So in today’s Scripture lesson from Matthew, Jesus took this analogy of sowing seeds in good soil and applied it to human beings.

In his interpretation, the seed is the Word of God, the good news of God’s love for all people shown in Jesus Christ. And this seed falls on all kinds of people with all kinds of soil, all kinds of hearts. Each soil represents a different level of spiritual preparation (or deficiency) that keeps the Word of God from growing in the heart of the hearer.

Some of the seeds fall upon well-trodden paths that have become hardened, so that the seeds can’t sink in. These hearers have hardened their hearts to being able to hear the gospel. Maybe they are angry about something that has happened in their life in the past, or they are angry at God or someone at the church, or they carry resentment about something that they haven’t been able to resolve.

At one point in my life I worked with a young man named Sam. We had to drive to Richmond and back together one day. We spent all four and a half hours discussing belief and faith. Sam attended church, in fact he graduated from Liberty University – but I don't think I've ever encountered anyone who was struggling more with their faith. You could almost see him grappling with God. Our conversation took many different directions but it always came back to the same question – how can you hang on to your faith when you have asked God to remove something from your life, and he never has? I do not know what Sam struggled with. It could have been anything from alcoholism or addiction or bitterness or homosexuality or disappointment or abuse from a parent – Sam never said what it was. He just said that he couldn't reconcile faith in a God who refused to remove this unnamed demon from his life. I tried to express my faith in a loving God whose ways are often mysterious to us. I made a case for the possibility that his struggle might help him relate to someone suffering a similar crisis in the future. I did all I could to tell him that God loved him despite the flaws that Sam saw in himself. I don't think Sam came to grips with a belief in a loving God. There is no way to know now. A year or so after our intense conversation, Sam took his own life. I went to his funeral. When I walked into the chapel at the funeral home – Sam lay there in the casket. I am not particularly comfortable with open caskets, but I walked up front anyway. As I looked down on this young man, finally at peace, I felt...angry. I wanted to shake him and say, “do you get it now? As soon as you took your last breath here and found yourself in the presence of Jesus...did you finally get it? That he loves us unconditionally?” Sam was hardened ground. Like a lot of people.

The seed of the gospel falls on them, but their hearts are not open to hearing what is being said. The poor condition of their spiritual selves blinds them to being able to see the joy of Christ living in people, and it blocks their ears from being able to hear the good news. They see only what they want to see, and they shut down their ears before they walk in the door. They come in expecting to get nothing, and so that’s what they get. The seeds that are being offered can’t penetrate the hardened surface of their hearts, and so those seeds just lay there until some hungry scavenger comes along and steals them away.

Jesus talked about other soil. One of those was shallow soil. Soil like the deserts of the southwest or Palestine: soil that is shallow, with too many rocks in it.

This kind of soil represents people who are excited when they first come to hear the word, but then they don’t really do anything more to till and nourish the soil of their hearts. They just expect to keep feeling excited over and over. And so, week after week when they come back, the seeds of God’s word fall upon hearts with no deep foundations in which faith may grow. And you know what happens? Their faith dies at the first sign of trouble.

These folks treat the Word of God as a kind of drug, a quick-fix for their psychological troubles. These are the people who come to church mostly to get their own needs taken care of, who crave “getting fed” week after week, folks who expect that every time they walk through this door, the preacher and the congregation are supposed to make them feel good.

When that doesn’t happen, or when the euphoric feelings that they once got when they came here begin to fade, they are quick to move on to something else – some other pursuit that gives them a high or a sense of accomplishment and success, or some other organization or church that tells them what they need to hear to feel better, some other distraction that will get them through the day.

They need to develop some roots. And that takes time. To see God produce in your life, it takes time and you have to commit to it as a lifestyle. Effort needs to be put into getting rooted and grounded. Don’t dwell on the visible results. Take the example of an oak tree, for every foot above the ground there is three to four feet of roots below the ground. Throughout its life cycle, it withstands the storms because the strong roots make it stable. People have to put effort into their root system. Get established in scripture, meditate, study, strive to understand and get some depth of soil.

We need to get to a place where God’s Word is more real to us than anything else. We must have this attitude concerning the scriptures. It has to be more important to us than our world views. It has to dictate our thoughts and actions. It needs to be our guide and direction. It should be the first thing we reach for in times of trouble.

The next soil situation is similar, a third group of seeds falls among thorns and weeds – false teachings and false interpretations that choke out the fullness and truth of the gospel message. Last week I shared one thing that I believe is tearing the body of Christ apart – rivalry. Churches so focused on being THE right interpretation and Christians so focused on being right that we lose the real gospel message. People so certain that they know what God believes is right and acceptable – that they forget one core truth: God so loved the world. Love. The instruction that Jesus gave to love one another. Instead, they preach guilt and shame and judgment.

The scripture from Romans that I read earlier starts with “There is therefore now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It is hard for us to believe. Perhaps the hardest thing of all. And yet it is true! We don’t have to worry about either yesterday’s sins or tomorrow’s sins, because in Jesus Christ we have been set free from the law of sin and death. God assures us that we are forgiven.

Earlier in the letter to Romans, when Paul was trying to explain this miracle, the obvious question was raised: Well, if my sins are forgiven, why would I not go ahead and sin some more so I can receive that much more grace? Why would I even try to live a holy and sinless life?” And the truth is, we could. We absolutely could, for there is no limit to God’s grace.

But just because we could does not mean we should. Knowing God’s unlimited grace should not inspire us to sin more. Rather, it should inspire us to, day by day, learn to walk in the Spirit of the one who has saved us, the Spirit of life and peace, rather than continuing to walk in a spirit that is deadly, both to us and to others. Why? Because walking in the Spirit of Christ is a better way to live. It is a way of life and peace. It is creating that deep root system that keeps us able to weather the storms of life.

In addition to that deep root system, we are able to tell the difference between the weeds and the real crop. We have a measuring stick.

In my travels to Louisiana to work at the UMCOR Relief Depot in Sager Brown – I have had the opportunity to visit the Tabasco plant. One thing that I learned there was how the harvesters know when a pepper is ready for picking. They have a little red stick that shows them what color a perfect pepper is – the Baton Rouge. We have the same ability to discern weedy messages from truth – does it ultimately point to the God that we recognize? The one who loved us so much that he sent his Son?

Now even a terrible gardener like myself knows that nothing ruins the health of a garden faster than weeds. Weeds are very persistent. They’ll take over the whole garden if you let them.

The same can be said for our spiritual lives. Every few years a new preaching star comes along and says all the right things that draw big crowds. Billy Sunday, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, and Joel Osteen. Don’t get me wrong. It isn’t that these preachers aren’t great, or worthy of the admiration or crowds they draw. Rather, the problem arises when everyone gets distracted by the success of these wildly successful preachers and tries to copy their message instead of sticking to what is good and true and right. That God loves us and desires a real relationship with each and every one of us.

Then there is the fourth kind of soil that Jesus mentions. It is the soil of the hearts that are ready to welcome the seed and who will nourish it in the depths of their souls, eventually producing a harvest of thirty, or sixty, or even a hundredfold. These are the hearts that have been carefully nourished and tilled and prepared to receive the Word, and who not only receive it, but allow it to grow in every aspect of their lives, from the inner workings of their spirit to the very movements of their bodies. These are the hearts of disciples.

Jesus' audience that day had farmers in it. Jesus taught a lot with parables. He talked about crops and fishing and vineyards and stewards and servants. He knew how to relate to his listeners. The parable of the sower is one of three that appears in Matthew, Mark and Luke (sower, mustard seed and wicked tenants). It is also one of the few parables that Jesus explained. In fact, the section of Matthew 13 that is left out of today's lectionary reading is the disciples asking him why he tells stories. I kind of picture that scene like when my 19 year old nephew asks my crazy uncle if all his stories are factual. Jesus replies that not everyone has the insight of the disciples. He says that he tells stories to create readiness, to nudge people toward receptive insight. He even quotes Isaiah, “The people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won’t have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won’t have to look, so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them.” He reassures the disciples that they have God-blessed ears and eyes.

Jesus told stories that the people could understand. This group of people understood agriculture. They knew the value of good soil.

Good soil is recognizably different from poor soil. Good soil is rich and deep and dark and not too sandy or dry, full of the right combination of nutrients. Good soil is able to produce a lush field of wheat or rice or corn, or a forest full of trees, or a vineyard, or a vegetable or flower garden. People spend a lot of time and money cultivating dirt – maybe they compost their food scraps and leaves and grass cuttings to make their own good soil, or maybe they just buy it in big bags from Home Depot. But no matter what – good soil is a very important component in producing a good crop.

It isn't the only factor, I know from growing tomatoes that good soil isn’t the only thing. There also has to be the right amount of water, and there has to be sunlight – just like with water, not too much or the plants will burn up, and not too little or they won’t grow at all. Soil and conditions all have to be right in order for plants to thrive.

There is one more thing that is crucial to creating good soil, and that thing is the ancient practice of letting the fields lie fallow once in a while. Letting the land lie fallow is a biblical teaching and commandment of God to the Israelites to let their lands rest every seventh year, as a reminder that the land belongs to God and that God’s people must trust in God’s providence. Just as the land needs to be worked and planted, the land also needs to lie fallow. It makes a lot of sense that God commanded this, because I’ve read that if you work the soil over and over again without a rest, you will eventually deplete it until it is only able to produce crops are small and weak.

So making soil fertile requires having not too many rocks or shallow, hardened places. It requires that there be plenty of nourishment through water and sunshine and a balanced mix of nutrients. And it requires making time for periods of rest and renewal.

One of my favorite Biblical stories of rest is the story of Elijah in the wilderness. Elijah has defeated the prophets of Baal in a crushing display of God's power. Unfortunately that brings forth the wrath of Jezebel – she vows that Elijah will be dead in 24 hours. He flees for his life.

After leaving his servant in Beersheba, he goes another day into the wilderness finally coming to rest under a solitary broom tree. Further into seclusion. There – this mighty prayer warrior of God, the one only recently prayed fire from the skies to prove the power of Yaweh...prays that he might die. It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors. Elijah is in a serious state of depression. He has had enough. He is saying “I can't do this any more Lord.” The work was stressful, exhausting, and it seemed to have accomplished nothing. The great miracle at Mount Carmel did not result in a lasting national revival or return to the Lord.

I think we can all relate to Elijah's despair. At some point in our lives we've all gotten to the point where we say, “what's the point? I can't go on. I don't want to go on.” If you haven't, then praise the Lord! Because the rest of us have gotten to the end of our rope at some point in our lives. Maybe we were overwhelmed by a family issue or something at work or even felt burned out in our faith or church ministry. Perhaps you or someone you know has even lay under the broom tree and wanted to give up completely. Prayed for death.

God didn't grant Elijah's prayer for death. He gave him something else.

In the midst of this great despair, God sent an angel. Not with a pep talk...he took care of Elijah's physical needs first. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.”

Sometimes the most spiritual thing a person can do is get enough rest and replenishment. And he received that repeatedly – one quick nap and one quick meal wasn't enough. Food and rest were the first elements needed to help this poor depressed servant of God.

It was very gracious of God to deal with Elijah in this way. Some of us might have expected a rebuke – but God didn't tell him to “walk it off” or “suck it up” - instead he allowed him respite, rest and renewal. Exactly what he needed before his long journey. And a long journey it was!

God sent Elijah on a 200 mile, 40 day trip to Mount Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai. God didn't demand an immediate recovery – he allowed his prophet time to recover from his spiritual depression. He allows that for us as well. Then, like Elijah, he puts us back to work cultivating the crop. Getting ready for the harvest.

What kind of soil do you feel like right now? What do we need to do to nourish and prepare our hearts so that when the seeds of God’s Word fall on us they will take root and grow? How do we fertilize our soil?

The answer is simple, but not easy to do: Find a good recipe for dirt, make sure there is an ample water supply and plenty of sunshine, keep out the weeds, and make sure to provide some time for the fields to lie fallow on a regular schedule.

The harvest is up to God.