Scattered Seeds

Genesis 25:19-34 Matthew 13:1-9,18-23

July 13, 2008 Season after Pentecost

Seeds scattered where they cannot grow. Opportunity wasted. Esau didn't realize the importance of what he was doing when his brother offered him a bowl of stew in return for his birthright. He never thought his brother would hold him to it. Never imagined his brother would actually insist that what Esau said under duress should hold water. I'd like to say that this could never happen, and yet I have seen just such a thing occur in families fighting over the estate of a dearly beloved mother. I have seen it happen between sisters and brothers arguing over who gets to keep a special family heirloom after dad has passed away. Arguments stir up in even the most peaceable-seeming families, most especially when they are under the stress of grief and loss. What is most painful about this is that so much is lost, for so little gain.

Some say that Esau was at fault here for selling his birthright that he should have cared more about it than to toss it off so readily for a silly bowl of soup, like seeds scattered to the wind. But I wonder if Esau had any clue that Jacob actually meant what he was doing? Brothers tease and fight all the time and it amounts to very little. Esau may have thought this was just another silly tussle, no different from all the others in which they had been involved over the years. I wonder if there was a different glint in Jacob's eye on that day – something that might have given Esau a hint that Jacob was deadly serious? I can't imagine that Esau would have let go of his birthright so easily if he really knew it was at stake. But I think Esau was one of those people who are far more concerned with what exists here and now rather than with something that dwells in the land of the imagination. Planting seeds for the future – his own and his descendents - may well have been something for which he didn't have much patience. A friend and I had a conversation about this earlier in the week. She said, "You know, I am great at dealing with what is right in front of me, with what has practical implications, but all of the politics – well, someone else will have to worry about that." Esau would have agreed with her. He was a hunter, a man who provided for his family in very practical ways. When he returned from spending all of that time out chasing after game (it could have been days, after all), he was hungry and until his hunger was dealt with, he really couldn't begin to think beyond the present moment. (Kind of like some people I know before their first cup of coffee in the morning, hmm?)

What I want to spend the rest of our time this morning digging into is how Esau's story might tie into the parable Jesus told of the Sower and his seeds. So many seeds are sown – scattered to the winds and allowed to fall where they would – and yet only some of them actually grow into anything. Only some of them come into full fruition. There have been many interpretations of these seeds and the message Jesus intended, over the years. Most scholars agree that the second half of this morning's reading, in fact is not really the words of Jesus, but rather one of the very earliest attempts to interpret what Jesus intended to teach with the parable. Storytellers never explain themselves. Adding a moral or an explanation to a story is hardly ever done in cultures in which stories have a lively role. I remember more than one conversation with an indigenous storyteller who, having told a puzzling and complex tale, simply sat back and, at least in one case, smoked a cigar, refusing to respond to any questions. "Figure it out for you, in your own head," he said. "I can't tell you what the story means. What do I know? I am just the messenger." This is in direct contrast to the technique that was taught in Seminary preaching classes for years which went along the lines of "Tell the people what you are going to say, say it, and then tell them what you said." Traditional storytellers have a whole lot more trust in folks, which I appreciate, even though I am certainly one of those people for whom finding the "right" answer is a constant quest.

 

 

So, what I would like to do right now, is invite you into the parable as Jesus told it. I will guide you through it, and as I do, I encourage you to let go of any preconceptions you might have about what it means and what each group of seeds might represent. See what comes up for you in a more personal way rather than relying on the traditional more general interpretation.

A farmer went out to sow his seed.

Who is the farmer? Is it you? Is it God? Is it someone else? Who does the planting in your life?

4

As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path,

Take a moment to notice the path. What is it made up of? What do the surroundings look like? Is it a smooth path, a rocky one, mountainous or level, winding or straight? Is it crowded or are you alone, or are there maybe a few other people there?

and the birds came and ate it up.

Who or what are the birds? How do ideas that seem promising get eaten up in your experience? Who gobbles them up before they have a chance to grow into something?

5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.

What might these rocks be? What shape are they, what colors? Are there a lot of them or just a few?

The seeds sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Are there hopes or possibilities that seemed perfect, ones that started so readily it seemed that they were meant to be? Reflect for a moment on some of these short-lived dreams. What signs do you see that the soil in which they are planted is too shallow to support them? In what ways were they burned up by the intensity of the conditions? What kind of roots did they crave? What might they have needed in order to grow?

7

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

Often what kills a dream comes from the outside, from conditions that may not seem bad at first, but which eventually surround and overwhelm. What are the thorns that have strangled your seeds? What are the weeds that have overwhelmed them?

8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

What does good soil look like in your experience? What does it need to have in order to be healthy, in order to support life? Now reflect on one of the seeds that has grown in your life, a seed that has grown in you. What is this seed? Notice everything you can about it. What makes it strong and healthy? Why do you think it survived when so many others did not? What enabled it to not only survive but to thrive – to do better than expected?

9

He who has ears, let him hear.

If the seed that flourished could speak to you, what message might this seed carry to you today? Take some time now to listen.

God of grace, we thank you for all the good things that you bring to fruition in our lives. We ask forgiveness of those seeds we neglect, and pray we might become better gardeners of what is important. Help us to listen more carefully to you and to the messages of Spirit all around us. Amen.