7th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10) – July 16th, 2023
Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas
Rev. Joshua Woelmer
Text: Matthew 13:1–9; 18–23
“A Sower Sows”
Theme: God sows the seed of his Word for faith and gives us warnings about our enemies.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
A basic rule of life is that you’ve got to know who your friends and enemies are. Let’s start with something easy and basic: sports. Sports makes it very easy to know who your friends and enemies are. Look at the jersey. In fact, we kinda chuckle when a basketball player passes to a player on the other side. Now, it’s one thing to make that mistake by confusion in the middle of a stressful game. It’s another thing if you go into a situation ignoring the fact that someone hates you. Think about geopolitical conflict. If someone says that they hate the United States of America and want to see it gone from the face of the earth, and our national leaders ignore that, it will not turn out well. We as Christians also have enemies. We disregard them to our spiritual—and eternal—peril. It’s not a matter of losing a game or even of attack by national enemies. It’s a matter of eternal salvation for each of us. So, who are our enemies?
Jesus’s parable tells us about our enemies. Our first enemy is the Devil. When Jesus tells the parable of the Sower and the Seed, the first seed falls on a path, and birds come and devour the seed. Jesus explains this by saying that when someone “hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart” (19). This happens a lot. I think our initial idea of the devil is someone who is whispering evil thoughts into our ears. I don’t doubt that he does that.
Satan is just as busy stopping people from hearing the Word of God. Starting closer to home, Satan is probably busy at work right now trying to block you from hearing the Word of God. What are the things that go through your mind as you listen to a sermon? To-do lists. Work issues. Laundry. Spouse. Children. Food. I’m tired. Jesus still loves you, even when you get distracted during sermons.
What is happening to you now during a sermon is also happening when you talk with non-believers or when you try to share your faith. If you talk about Jesus or offer to pray with someone, the devil is working to pluck the Word of God out of the hearts of people.
Our second enemy is our sinful flesh inside us. Now, here’s a dirty little secret: all of our enemies are working together. You’ll rarely find one without the other. The devil loves to work with your sinful nature. He knows your vices and pet sins, and he can play them like a fiddle. Jesus’s second example in the parable of the seed on rocky ground gives us a warning about our sinful flesh.
If the Word of God does take root in our hearts, the devil might not be happy, but he knows that we don’t stay with things for very long. How many of us have started projects and not finished them? How many of us have tried to read the Bible from cover to cover and got stuck in Leviticus? This can happen to Christians too, especially new converts. There’s a surge of happiness and encouragement when someone begins to believe.
We shouldn’t dampen that enthusiasm, but we should encourage roots to grow deep into God’s Word. We should train new Christians for the marathon that is the life of faith rather than a short-lived sprint. Jesus doesn’t say “if bad things will happen,” but “when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word” (21). It will not be easy to be a Christian. We should be honest about that, preparing and strengthen each other for these times.
Our third enemy is the World. These are the thorns that grow up among the seeds as they grow and choke out faith. Jesus identifies these thorns as “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches” (22). I see this as a very potent attack. We all want to protect our belongings, our income, our status or prestige. God does give them to us that we may serve our family and our neighbors. But this is why they are weeds. They grow up with faith and then slowly choke it out. We start caring more about the things of this world rather than the maker of those things.
I like how Jesus describes riches as deceitful. You are already wealthier than you can imagine because of faith in Christ. Yet it is so easy to direct our eyes to the wealth of this earth that is here one minute and is gone the next.
God gives us these three pictures as warnings about our enemies. We should recognize them at work in our lives and combat them. Before I give you advice on that, let’s look at the seed in good soil.
Jesus’s parable tells us about faith. Jesus describes the seed of faith as “one who hears the word and understands it.” It’s not enough to come to church and tune out for an hour. Jesus wants you to understand his Word too. He wants you to mull it over and think how it impacts your life. I can’t always make every sermon exactly practical to your life. I’ll try to do that some as I’m able. But you all are different ages, different backgrounds, and you all have different experiences.
Whether you hear practical advice for daily living or theology for your mind’s edification, God wants you to understand his Word and seek to live it. His promise is that this will bear fruit. It will yield “in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (23). This life of faith will bear fruit, whether it is in good works or in the struggle against sin. Don’t expect your fruit of faith to be the same as someone else. God apportions his fruits of faith to each individual according to His will. But give thanks to God when he grants you victory of your enemies.
If you want some practical advice in this fight against our Unholy Trinity, here is some. First, recognize every Word of God as a seed that is meant to give you hope. Whether it is preached or sung or spoken in our liturgy or read in the Bible, God is continually seeding and reseeding his Church. God is helping you to grow in your faith and understanding. When you don’t understand something that the pastor or a fellow Christian says, ASK! Also, go back to Scripture for answers to your questions.
Second, strive against laziness or apathy. Set regular times for devotions, especially if you have a family. Whether it’s first thing in the morning or before bed, establish a routine where you’re praying together, reading God’s Word together, and even singing together. If a routine falters, don’t give up. We all stumble and falter. How you react to a broken routine says more than anything.
Recognize what money and things of this world are good for and what they’re not good for. They cannot give you eternal peace. They can support this earthly life for a time. They will pass away. Teach your kids by Word and deed that eternal matters are more important than earthly ones. They, along with you, will one day stand before the throne of God. On that day, none of the pleasures of this world will come with them.
Finally, you are not alone. You are on a team wearing the same colors. Every believer is a member of the Church. St. Paul is always encouraging Christians to recognize this bond of the Spirit. Fellow Christians are not our enemies, but they help us and defend us against all that would target our faith. In the end, the Church—all believers in Christ—is what will last through all the trials of this world. Thanks be to God.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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