Sowing Seeds on the Way of Love

Sowing Seeds on the Way of Love (The Gospel of Mark) – April 28^th, 2024

“It’s a slow-moving day. I’ve got work to do. When I feel the spring, I don’t wanna move. I turn on the TV and try to watch the news. The world seems the same, so I turn on the brew. Simultaneously smooth and strong, all the colors, along with temptation of falling into another cup. Chock Full O’ Nuts is how heaven wakes up.”

Mark chapter four is sometimes referred to as “Mark’s parable chapter” because it is chock full of parables. The ancient world loved stories as much as we do. Jesus’ parables are, as N. T. Wright puts it, “dreams in search of meanings,” sometimes compared to political cartoons. Craig Keener calls them “sage’s riddles.” To understand a parable requires at least three things: some insider knowledge of dream language, symbols, caricatures, and codes; careful listening; and revelation from God, who “reveals deep and hidden things” (Daniel 2:22).

You know I’m going to work grandbaby stories into every talk for a while! What is parenting like? Our kids who recently became new parents asked us a couple of days ago, “We’ve heard a lot of stories about how hard it is to be parents, but how come they didn’t tell us how amazingly wonderful it is, too?” That’s a great question, isn’t it? I began my response by pointing out that not every parent is as attentive to their children as our kids are (the four of us engaged in a lot of baby adoration together). Not every parent makes themselves present to their children. Oftentimes, economic realities mean that parents have to strap their baby on their backs right away and get back to work. The arrival of a child may put extra stress and strain on already thinly stretched resources like energy and sleep and time and money. Many, if not most, parents are very distracted. “What is parenting like?” can have wildly different answers depending on who you’re asking. How often do we only get partial understanding because we’re only hearing partial perspectives?

If someone who was interested in finding out more about following Jesus were to ask a random assortment of Christians, “What is the kingdom of God like?” they might hear some wildly different answers, too! I wonder how many people are disinterested in the kingdom of God because they have only heard about the hard stuff (like why does a loving God allow suffering?) and missed realizing how amazingly wonderful it is? We might stumble over our own responses and realize only too well how partial our understanding is. Mark chapter four is not only chock full of parables, it’s also chock full of perspectives on the kingdom of God!

One commentator describes Mark chapter four as “the first sermon on revolutionary patience.” Jesus came to start a revolution, for sure, but it didn’t look anything like what the people of God were expecting or hoping for. They were looking for a king who would rescue them in a blaze of glory. Instead, Jesus came on the scene talking about the already-not-yet kingdom of God by talking about ordinary, everyday things like farming. In today’s text, Jesus draws our attention to not only the visibility and “success” of God’s kingdom, but also to the reality that God’s kingdom, from our perspective, includes mystery, challenge, elusiveness, ineffectiveness, limitation, and even failure.

We don’t have time to unpack the whole chapter, but today we are going to take a deep dive into the first parable, The Parable of the Sower.

Mark 4:1-20 (NRSV) –
“1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 He began to teach them many things in parables and in his teaching he said to them: 3 ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ 9 And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ 10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; 12 in order that “they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.”’ 13 And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. 20 And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’”

Although it ends on a positive note, at first glance, this parable sounds a bit depressing. It sounds like Jesus is saying that a lot of the seed being sown is going to waste because in many ways, the ground just isn’t good for growing. Jesus describes people who hear and then forget, people who have endurance deficit disorder, and people whose hearts and minds are cluttered up with distractions. These descriptors are #accurate for our generation, too! Praise God that there are also some who hear and accept and bear a lot of fruit. The big picture is that Jesus is giving a coded warning: the kingdom of God is coming-and-has-already-arrived, yes, but being a part of it is not automatic. But why didn’t he just say that straight up? His original hearers who hung around with him day in day out didn’t understand what he said in Mark 4, verses 1-9, even after he explained it to them in verses 10-20. You might have noticed that throughout the gospels, Jesus says things like, “My time is not yet here” and “Tell no one … until [later].” Why did Jesus speak in parables, using codes and symbols? It’s all about the timing. The good news Jesus was showing and telling was very radical and very subversive to the kingdom of Rome. Jesus knew that the good news needed to be allowed to spread and grow slowly until the time was right.

In the Parable of the Sower, we are told, “A sower went out to sow.” Each time Jesus “went out” in the preceding chapters of the gospel of Mark, Jesus was making the kingdom of God visible by showing and telling his authority over diseases, demons, and death. Mark intentionally uses this language to be sure that we understand that Jesus is the sower who started this kingdom sowing thing. And we who follow Jesus are to sow as Jesus sowed. What did Jesus sow? Jesus explains in verse 14 that “the sower sows the word,” the logos, the same Greek word used in John 1:1 to designate Christ Jesus. Jesus sows the word, and we sow Jesus, the incarnate and living Word of God, by doing what Jesus did – proclaiming and demonstrating the good news of the kingdom of God! These are seeds of life! Today we’re going to look at four things that tell us how the sower sowed.

1. The sower did not sow only one seed.

Recently Tamera gave me a package of tiny mustard seeds, such an awesome gift! I envisioned our back yard being transformed into a mustard wonderland by way of these precious seeds. So, because I really wanted every one of the seeds to succeed, Jonathan, Aditi, and I sowed each tiny seed directly into an Expanding Peat Pellet, apparently perfect for seed starting. Sowing one seed here, another one there felt like we were meticulously setting up a lab experiment. But that’s not the kind of sowing Jesus was talking about in this parable. The sower scattered many seeds with grand generosity. I want to draw an analogy here to something that is a very natural and yet miraculous thing that God thought up. Sex. We don’t usually talk about that in church, but here we go. By the way, in the original language of the New Testament, did you know that the Greek word for “seed” is “sperma” and the Greek word for “sow” is “speiró”? When a man and a woman have intercourse, sperm can be produced by the man, independently of whether or not an egg in the woman is present and prepared, ready or not. Even if there were an egg that satisfied all of the ideal conditions for fertilization, only one sperm would be needed to initiate the miraculous baby-making process. In God’s beautiful design, not just one sperm but tens or even hundreds of millions of sperm can be dis-semin-ated on a single occasion. Sex talk over! Everywhere we look, God’s design is characterized by generosity and abundance. We might be tempted to withhold from others because we know our own inadequacies. We might fear not having enough. We might focus our energies on trying to gain more for ourselves. God’s abundance means that the word of God is not a limited commodity. We don’t need to worry because there is plenty to go around! It’s as we give away what we have that God freely replenishes the supply. God’s kingdom calls us away from troubled scarcity on the way of love. The sower went out and the sower sowed seeds with grand generosity.

2. The sower freely flung seeds.

I have to admit that in my mind’s eye, I’ve childishly pictured the scene described in this parable as one of those formal gardens with clearly delineated sections. In this picture, the seeds that fell in the path section were all eaten by birds. The seeds that fell in the rocky section all withered away. The seeds that fell in the thorny section yielded no grain at all. The seeds that fell in the good soil section all grew up and increased and yielded an abundant amount of grain. All-or-nothing thinking can lead us to super unhealthy conclusions like, “Let’s be sure not to waste any seed by sowing it where there might be birds, thorns, or rocks”, “Let’s identify good places to sow before we begin to sow any seeds,” or “Let’s withhold seed from places where it doesn’t look very fertile.” These things all make sense if we’re talking about literal seeds in a literal garden. But remember, Jesus is telling this parable to help us to understand what the kingdom of God is like. The sower did not store the seeds into a cool dry place until the temperature and rainfall were ideal. The sower did not consult almanacs to determine where, when, or how to distribute seeds in order to get the most desirable outcome. We might think that if a seed landed there, it would be sure to fail because that ground looks 100% inhospitable. But here’s the thing, the ground isn’t neatly delineated as in my childish imagination. We do not know which seeds will grow where. We are not to label anyone as an enemy, a lost cause, or even evil. We can’t possibly know what’s going on inside another person. No matter what we think we know about someone, God is always doing a good, holy, and beautiful work in that person. The sower was inclusive of all potential beneficiaries. None of us can go everywhere (even Jesus didn’t do that). The Lord calls us, the church, the body of Christ. We do this together, interdependently, each part doing its part, with a posture of openness, welcome, and embrace. God wants us to have eyes of faith and hearts of love that sow seeds everywhere, to include all, no exceptions. God’s kingdom calls us away from territorial exclusion on the way of love. The sower went out and the sower sowed seeds with interdependent inclusion.

3. The sower distributed diverse seeds.

We need to read between the lines to discover what type of seeds the sower was sowing. Were they mustard seeds? Apple seeds? Coconut seeds? The Scripture doesn’t say. We do know that Jesus is the sower. We also know that Jesus created the world with all of its delightful diversity. Think of all the gorgeous array of sights, sounds, and smells we’ve enjoyed this spring, each one sparking joy and delight. In every arena of life, God sows delightfully diversity, whether we’re talking about snowflakes, stars, babies, beetles, personalities, or people. Jesus is God’s incarnated and living word. God’s word is not a formula to be woodenly applied. God’s word is not a one-size-fits-all shirt to be draped around or squeezed into. God’s word meets the deepest needs of every person and every part of creation! God’s word brings light and life, salvation and transformation, healing and hope, and peace and joy to all. God’s word is alive and active! God’s kingdom calls us away from tribal uniformity on the way of love. The sower went out and the sower sowed delightfully diverse seeds for delightfully diverse recipients.

4. The sower sowed seeds faithfully.

I confess that I struggle being patient with salespeople sometimes. I’m sure there are good and ethical ones out there, but I tend to be skeptical about their motivations and intentions. I don’t like being used, manipulated, or lied to. I don’t like upselling, shaming, or pushiness. The world of sales is about getting results. The kingdom of God is not like that. We may at times consider our efforts to be failures. Satan may take away the word sown; the received word may fall away because of trouble or persecution; or the heard word may be choked out by cares, lures, or desires. We are to sow seeds no matter how, when, or even if they are received. We are to focus on people, not results. People are not trophies to be showcased, tally marks for our scoreboards, or problems to be solved. Loving others includes respecting each individual’s freedom to choose their response to the Holy Spirit. God encourages us to persevere and keep sowing seeds faithfully because of and relying on the faithfulness of Christ. God’s kingdom calls us away from seeking tangible results on the way of love. The sower went out and the sower faithfully sowed seeds.

Of course, we hope for and pray that as we show and tell God’s word, people will hear and accept it and bear fruit for the kingdom and glory of God. We remember God’s assurance from Isaiah 55:10-11 (NRSV) – “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

Our part is to make the kingdom of God visible, as Jesus did, by proclaiming and demonstrating the good news of the kingdom. One thing I’ve noticed is that Jesus didn’t do things the same way over and over again. Neither did the early church. God has poured out the Holy Spirit upon us, the same Spirit that breathed on creation. Instead of just memorizing words to repeat woodenly and call that “the gospel,” remember that the word is alive and active! How do we know what seeds to sow? There are principles, certainly, but not rote formulas. Don’t try to sow someone else’s seeds. Freely sow what God has given you, with all of the passion, prayer, intelligence, and energy you can muster! What skills do you have? Sow that. How could you show up? Sow that. Where could you share what you have? Sow that. When could you come alongside another? Sow that. With whom could you be present? Sow that.

In closing, as we follow Jesus on the way of love, let’s pause and reflect on the four ways in which the sower sowed:

1. How is God calling us away from troubled scarcity and toward grand generosity?
2. How is God calling us away from territorial exclusion and toward interdependent inclusion?
3. How is God calling us away from tribal uniformity and toward delightful diversity?
4. How is God calling us away from seeking tangible results and toward faithfulness?

Come, Holy Spirit!