It hasn’t been much of a July for gardening. In the Knuzden vicarage garden, plants which were blooming in June are now all wet, battered and bruised. Lack of sunshine, too much heavy rain, a proliferation of our old friends the slugs have all taken their toll. Never mind – there’s always next year!
Today’s gospel, the parable of the sower, is one of the best known parables told by Jesus. Some Christians think that the lengthy explanation which formed the second part of the reading didn’t derive directly from from Jesus himself but came from the reflections of some early Christians on the parable in the context of the terrible persecution and other challenges which they faced. The second half of the gospel reading is therefore like a little sermon about people who have no staying power under persecution and about people who let wealth get in the way of the things of God. Of course, nobody knows for sure whether this is the case but it is plausible.
Those with many years of church going behind them will have heard both the explanation in the gospel reading and very many sermons on this parable! So is there anything else we can gain from the parable? Is there any other way of looking at it?
If we put aside the explanation and just look at the parable, we can see that it is much more about the sower than it is about the seed. It was, perhaps, a rather careless sower. The seed was sown by hand, with a sort of sideways sweep of the arm so that the seed fell as evenly as possible. But even so, perhaps a little more care could have been taken over the margins of the field.
And who is the sower anyway? Is it God? Or Jesus himself. Or perhaps we, the Christian church, are the sowers? In fact, the parable is about anyone who brings the good news of God’s kingdom – it could equally well refer to God, Jesus or the Church – including individual churches. So let’s think about the Church for a while, especially in the context of our Diocesan Vision 2026, Healthy Churches Transforming Communities.
I suspect some churches are like rocky ground. They work hard sowing the word, and there’s an immediate and enthusiastic response. But it seems to stop there. There’s no depth to their teaching. They avoid difficult questions, like, for instance, the problem of suffering. Their teaching is simplistic and therefore not satisfying for very long. In St. Paul’s terms, they provide a milk diet but fail to move onto solid food. They might have an excellent and enthusiastic response to mission, but the growth isn’t sustained. The seed grows, but then withers away through lack of moisture.
Then, there are those churches which sprinkle a little seed (and it may be very little!) on the path, and somehow fail to realise they’ve missed the soil altogether. They say things like: “We’re OK as we are. We’re not going to change, because we like the way things are, the way they’ve always been. Church isn’t about numbers, it’s about the faithful few. We have invited people to come to our services, but they don’t want to know these days. It’s a waste of time even asking them.” These are churches where the seed is trodden underfoot. Trodden under the foot of the way it’s always been. Of the way which is most comfortable and least demanding. The seeds never have a chance to even begin growing. They’re simply devoured by the birds. Because these churches aren’t prepared to entertain any disturbances to their way of life. And their way of doing things might be threatened by the prospect of new growth.
What about the churches where the seed falls among thorns, which grow with it and choke it? Perhaps these churches are the direct opposite of those who sprinkle seed on the path. Because these churches are very much concerned with their own status and image. These churches exist for their own ends, their own glory – God gets locked away in a cupboard in the vestry and is forgotten. It is very easy to forget the reason for being a Church in the first place.
And what about the churches which provide good soil, good solid nourishment? Well, I guess they take something from each of the other churches. They reach out in mission, so that other people in the community are able to hear the word. But then they encourage a maturing faith. A faith which isn’t afraid of the difficult questions, and is prepared to follow those questions wherever they might lead, because they’re going to lead to the truth. These are churches which are prepared to adapt, so that other people might be enabled to hear. They give and they take. They listen and they respond to the needs of the community. But they’re not prepared to surrender the solid base of their worship, because they’re aware a solid base is essential as a firm foundation for any growth. And they’re churches which are inclusive. They don’t exclude anyone, because whilst they won’t allow thorns to choke the seeds, they’re sensible enough to allow some thorns to grow up alongside the seeds.
“Wheat and tares together sown, unto joy or sorrow grown.”
They’re aware that Christians must be part of the world. Not removed from it. Not sheltering in some ivory palace. Not wringing their hands helplessly over the morals of society. Not crying over the way things once were. These churches know where the boundaries lie, but they don’t pass judgement, because they’re aware judgement belongs to God alone. They make it quite clear Christian standards are very high indeed, and rather different from the world’s standards. And they’re not afraid to acknowledge the place God has in their lives.
I wonder what sort of soil our church offers? You can see that there are difficult balances to achieve. Worship which is both accessible to the newcomer and nourishing to old hands. A church which is inclusive but also distinctive. A church which is moral but not judgemental, welcoming but not woolly.
The parable of the sower is a story. We have a story too. The story of our church. It’s a story which has a beginning and a middle. But it’s up to the church to decide how that story should continue. It’s up to the church to determine the next chapter. So I want to leave you with a question now that lock-down is being eased and churches are beginning to meet for worship again. Where do we go from here? More specifically – how can we make the experience of worship, welcoming and fellowship one which makes people want to come back?
Amen
Rev’d Dr. Anne Morris
Vicar St. Oswald’s, Knuzden, Blackburn