07/23/2026
Deacon Sandy was with St. Andrew's on July 12th, 2026. She has provided us with a copy of her Sermon to share.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
When we look at our lives today, the lives of the people
we care about, and at what is happening in our country
today, what are our deepest hopes and prayers? I’m not
just asking what we wish would happen. I’m asking what
we are willing to do to help make this happen? I am
talking about the kind of hopes and prayers that get ahold
of us and won’t let go, that drives our life and never goes
away. I’m talking about the things we would invest
everything we are and have, including our life, energy,
effort, money, time and love.
Please dig deep within yourself as you answer my
questions. Answer these things to yourself, only not out
loud. What things have we received that seem too good to
be true, that brought tears to our eyes, that we have never
shared with anyone because they were too precious or
private? My guess is that most of us spoke of loves,
relationships, well-being, intense joy, deep peace,
forgiveness, family and justice. What we just named are
the hopes that carry the seeds of our lives. They’re asking
and waiting to be planted and given life.
Where do we want to sow the seeds of our lives? In good
soil, of course. Sowers want to see growth and expect a
harvest. Isn’t that what we all want when we plant seeds?
I know, I do. When I entered in a relationship, I gave my
time, energy, effort, and my love. I did it with the hope
that something great would come of it. I wanted my seeds
and their soil to be fruitful.
No one would plant seeds knowing they won’t grow. Yet,
that’s exactly what the Sower does in today’s parable and I
didn’t understand. A question kept coming up for me as I
sat with today’s reading. Why would anyone sow seeds
on a hard packed path, among rocks, and among thorns?
It didn’t make sense and that made me believe there was
more to this parable than we sometimes see or hear. The
usual explanation of this parable goes something like this.
Jesus is the Sower and He sows seeds on every kind of
soil, and the only question is what kind of soil we are;
hard, rocky, thorny, or good. That’s certainly a reasonable
interpretation. You’ve probably heard sermons like that
more than once. Maybe that’s how we’ve always
understood this parable. But today I want us to look at it
in a different way. We’ve heard about the Sower’s
generosity many times. Today I wonder whether Jesus is
revealing to us the Sower actually sowing or calling it into
question. At what point does the generosity of the Sower
become reckless? When does scattering seeds here, there,
and everywhere become simply going through the
motions? We know people who basically work in this
manner, right? What if this parable is suggesting that the
Sower is unaware and careless rather than clever and
wise? “Let anyone with ears listen!” When Jesus
explains this parable, I don’t believe he’s talking about
Himself as the Sower. To me, Jesus just doesn’t fit with
what the Sower does in today’s parable.
Remember, the Sower sowed anywhere and everywhere.
Jesus wouldn’t do that. He was always attentive to the
openness, readiness, and receptivity of the people he met.
He always evaluated the soil of their lives, and He wasn’t
judging and categorizing some as good soil and others as
bad soil. He was determining about which soil was ready
for sowing and which was not yet ready. When the
hemorrhaging woman touched the fringe of Jesus’ clothes,
He felt her readiness and receptivity to his healing. (Luke)
When he asked blind Bartimaeus, “What do you want me
to do for you?” (Mark) he was asking about Bartimaeus’
readiness to change and start a new life. When “many of
His disciples turned back and no longer went with him”
He saw they weren’t ready, He asked the others, “Do you
also wish to go away?” (John). When He was in
Jerusalem for the Passover festival, He didn’t entrust
Himself to the people because He knew what was in them
(John), and they weren’t yet ready.
So, if Jesus isn’t the Sower in today’s parable, who is?
I believe we are. You and me are the Sowers in this
parable. Every one of us has been given the gift to carry
the seeds of new life. I believe that when we listed our
hopes and prayers at the beginning of this sermon, we
inadvertently named ourselves as a Sower. At the end of
this sermon, I will say to you, “Go in peace to love and
serve the Lord.” I should just change it to say, “Go in
peace to sow your seeds.”
Where will you sow your seeds and what kind of seeds
will you sow? Let’s not scatter our seeds anywhere and
everywhere. Let’s plant them in people, places, and
situations that are open, receptive, and ready. Who are
those people you may wonder? What I see happening in
our country today makes me think something new can
grow here? The lives of others need a Sower with seeds
of new life; our country and the world needs Sowers with
seeds and they’re waiting for us. We are the Sowers and
our hopes and prayers carry seeds for that new life. “For
as rain and snow fall from heaven and return not again,
but water the earth, bringing forth life and giving growth”
(Isaiah) we can and will make a difference. If our lives,
our country and our world is going to change, to grow, to
flourish, and to become something new, it will be because,
and only because, “a Sower went out to sow the new seeds
of life.” “Now, Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”
And plant those seeds. Amen
