July 13, 2014 5th of Pentecost

Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.  2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach.  3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow.  4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,  6 but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away.  7 Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  9 He who has ears, let him hear." ...  18 "Hear then the parable of the sower.  19 When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path.  20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;  21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.  22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.  23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

 “God’s Word In Us”

A parable is a story you can’t get unless it first gets you.  It is a story designed to “pull another story out of the listener”.  The end result is that “more happens in the mind of the listener then in the mouth of the teller.”

The Word of God (seed) will not fail.  It will do what it is meant to do - create faith in our hearts, stir us up in hope and challenge us to live in love.  Our words fail.  God’s Word will not fail!  Some times it sounds harsh; sometimes it sounds gentle; but it always seeks to make a promise and keep it - no matter what!

The seed is good; it is the soil which has the problem.  We are the soil - all 4 kinds of soil!
We are not always receptive to what God’s Word has to say.  We run hot and cold when we listen to God’s Word.    We have goodness choked out by our indifference.   We also hear and respond - doing that which pleases God.  God takes what comes from the good soil of our hearts and makes more of it then we ever could have dreamed possible.

It is God’s intent that His Word live in us , with us, through us;  so we can be a part of God’s Word living in our day and age.