2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
When we listen to a familiar story, it’s easy to tune out – after all, you know the ending, so why listen. This gospel can be one of those stories. The farmer went out to sow some seed. You know the rest – some fell on the path, the rocks, the thorns and some fell on good soil. So, what’s the point for me?
In today’s church, we are the sowers of seeds. Sometimes with a smile, sometimes with a kind word, and sometimes with an explanation of why we still believe in spite of our own problems and the problems of the world. It can be easy to get discourages when the seed doesn’t bear fruit – often within our own families! But, Jesus doesn’t tell his apostles to get discouraged if the good news isn’t well received, instead he gives us the parable of the sower. The sower didn’t expect all of the seed to mature, but that didn’t stop him from sowing it. Instead, he just spread a little more so that more might hit the good soil. We shouldn’t get discouraged either.
Today we are asked to be sowers of the Word of God. What more valuable seed is there? True, some of it will fall on “deaf ears.” Some might fall on ears that are open, but too soon wooed away by media that calls us to prefer immediate gratification. But some might just fall on hearts that are crying out for the joy that only God’s love and grace can make happen. If they don’t receive the seed from us, they may never come to know God and how important a relationship with God can be.
Gracious God, help us to sow the seeds of your Word even when we don’t see that it is making a difference. We trust that you will nourish it in the hearts who need to hear it. Amen.