Word to the Wise
Saturday, September 19, 2009 - Saturday in the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Timothy 6:13-16 and Luke 8:4-15]But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.
One of my favorite hobbies is gardening. I am familiar with a phrase that appears on the seed packets of a particular company that says, "Guaranteed to grow!" I notice that it doesn't say, "Guaranteed to sprout" or "Guaranteed to produce what you see on the front of the seed packet!" (Maybe it's a good thing, because I might be overwhelmed by one hundred Basil plants!) In any case, the whole process, as any farmer or gardener knows, is best called "Planter beware!" or "I hope!" The same is true with preaching! It should be noted that the competence of the sower is not the point of Jesus' interpretation of the parable! I know that the most frequent comment I receive from folks in the pew about their pastors concerns the quality - good or bad - of the pastor's preaching! Nor is the point about the quality of the seed! Jesus points out that when the seed falls in the right place, it is "guaranteed to grow." The point of the parable concerns where the seed falls. The early preachers may have had a hard time understanding why some folks accepted the Word and some didn't, or why some seemed to accept it but then didn't thrive or follow up on it. This is what I might call the "mystery of preaching." Sometimes it takes a while for the seed to sprout. Sometimes it doesn't sprout at all. Every congregation has people in it who represent each of the categories of acceptance in the parable. They aren't all going to be like the group described in the quotation above! Sometimes usually good soil becomes hardened by drought like we've had in Austin this past summer. St. Paul points out in First Corinthians that it is God who causes the growth. The planter has to let God take over once everything is done that the planter can do. Then it's prayer-time! AMEN
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