Sowing Class

“ But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. ”

In a week and a half, we will emerge from this building with crosses made of water, oil and ashes smeared on our foreheads. On Ash Wednesday, we will remember that dust we are, and unto dust shall we return . It is the commemoration of Adam's fall from perfection and the burden that God laid on him as the consequence of eating a fruit forbidden by God. It was a burden to sow seed.

“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:17-19

The first child born into the world became a farmer. He learned the secrets of making the ground yield only that kind of plant you want it to. He was so proud of himself that when his younger brother pleased God more with an animal sacrifice, he sowed not seed but his own brother's blood in the field. A second generation learned that whatever you sow, you will reap. As St. Paul wrote: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Galatians 6:7-8

Whether we farm the earth or not, we sow seeds anyway. We may sow good seeds or bad, and the results will tell what kind they were. The prophet Hosea lamented the kind of seed his countrymen had sown with their disobedience to God: “For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.” Hosea 8:6-8

It may be a challenging lesson, but it is one that has been lost today among the entitlements and supposed rights we hear spoken in political spheres. A woman has the right to destroy her unborn child. A lazy man is entitled to free health care and an income. A murderer shouldn't be punished for his crime as though by an angry mob set on vengeance. These philosophies cloud our thinking and seek to avoid a very certain outcome of our lives: actions have consequences . What you sow, that shall you reap. If you do violence , violence will likewise find you and make you suffer. If you do nothing , you should expect nothing—it's yours, you earned it. If you love and give and honor and sacrifice, good things will come to you as well.

St. Paul again said , “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” 2 Cor. 9:6 And St. James wrote that: “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” James 3:17-18 If you want a better world in which to live, start being the kind of person you want to meet. This is elementary, but everyone needs a sowing class.

The quality of your seed will greatly affect the quality of your harvest. So also, the quality of the ground on which you sow seed will determine where and how much harvest you'll achieve. Much of actual farming is preparation of the ground . We think of the great combines harvesting wheat, but that happens in only a few hours, at the season's end. The first job is many backbreaking days removing rocks from the field. The great stone walls you see all over Butte county were not imported stone: those volcanic rocks were cleared from the fields before any farming could be done. They couldn't build their houses with that kind of stone, so they built fences.

Then the field needs to be cleared of its native vegetation. Weeds are simply plants where we don't want them. But they are quite a nuisance to farming: they compete with the crop. You've got a lot more time, friend, getting those weeds out.

A good many more hours will then be spent turning the soil with blades, then breaking it down. And finally furrows will be formed, waterways established, and now it's time to sow the seeds. The sowing is easy. Just throw it down and turn the soil. Water, sun, months and good fortune are all that is necessary now to see a good crop. Do a little more weeding, thinning out perhaps. But once the crop is in the ground, it's pretty much God's job to see that it grows and produces.

Hard soil, rocky soil, weed-infested soil and good soil are the subject of Jesus' parable of a sower and his seed. The word of God is God's desired will for man given us by His prophets, apostles and His own Son. God's will is for us to love Him with everything we are, and to love each other, and to obey Him and follow His Son in order that we might live with Him forever. That's what's in the seed. It's good seed.

Hard soil, the wayside or pathway, is packed down and unable to receive seed. The seed sits on top, not being taken in or understood. In short order, the devil comes to take it away, instead sowing in doubt, confusion, cynicism or just despair. That hard packed earth will never bear a crop for God.

The rocky soil is shallow. Character that can receive and hold onto a vital plant needs to be turned over and have rocks removed. Rocks are like our inherited sinfulness. We are naturally selfish. We can settle for mere pleasure. We get our needs met and maybe just stop trying. The shallow person may hear the Gospel gladly, but in time, when it doesn't pan out like they thought or trials make the Christian life hard or unpopular, they give it up. The seed can't go deep and dies.

The weed-infested soil is fertile enough. It will grow plants, and it has for years. These are not the plants God wants, however, and they should be removed. But the soil likes these familiar things, materials things, riches, worldly status, fame, and glory. Christianity doesn't do well in a life filled up with other pursuits. It gets farther and farther down the list of things desired until it's just an afterthought. The next time this fair-weather Christian comes to church will be feet first. Weeds choked out the Gospel.

Good ground receives the seed and produces greatly. It makes up for the lack of production on the other ground, as it produces a hundredfold. That is, 100 fruits for each seed. The good ground has not had it easy. It was torn up, rocks removed, weeded, broken down time and again. It doesn't become good ground by chance.

St. Paul spoke of himself as worthy to produce good fruit. Others competed with him, and instead of showing off his diplomas or worldly awards, Paul enumerated the distressing things he had experienced for the Gospel. Labors, whip lashings and beatings with rods, imprisonment, near-deaths, a stoning, shipwreck, journeys, perils in waters, of robbers, by Jews and Gentiles, in the city, in the wilderness, in the sea, among false brethren: weary, pained, keeping watch, hungry and thirsty, cold and naked—Paul had experienced them all in order to bring the good news. 2 Corinthians 11 In some other profession, these experiences may have disqualified a candidate, obviously unfit for service, unlucky and drawing ill favor wherever he went. But Paul wore his scars as badges of honor, having suffered greatly for the Gospel. He was good soil. Much fruit was being produced through his suffering.

Americans love having life easy. We want sunshine when we've had too much rain, rain when it's been too hot, and instant food from a box or pouch or candy wrapper. This native soil of North America has yielded greatly, and the industry of innovative people has created the greatest agricultural society known to man. We feed the planet. Most of the world's almonds are grown right here in Butte County. Life being too easy is, unfortunately, bad for us. We can fail to become good soil. We avoid suffering. We take a pill to escape pain, depression, allergies, and just about any disease. We buy our clothes instead of making them. We eat out more than cook our own food. Most of us couldn't grow a strawberry to save his life.

Jesus comes with the Gospel. We are given the task to cast this life-giving seed across the span of our world. Our hope is that it may take root, germinate, grow strong and bring forth abundantly. We are farmers, like Adam, now burdened to till the soil and bring forth with sweat and blood and hard work. Our faith in Christ is our salvation, but the job He has given us is to give what we have to every person on earth, in hopes that they too might be saved. There is a great university in our back yard with thousands of unreached souls. There are family members who still don't know. There are next-door neighbors who only suspect that you are a Christian. Friends you would die for are destined for hell if you don't tell them.

The doors of this church are open to all who come seeking the answer. The seeds are sown here. You may be no evangelist, but you know where the word of God is preached, three times a week, and Bible studies are plentiful.

How is your soil? Untended, dirt can revert to hardpan or weed tangles. This church offers frequent studies of God's word and careful study and application to each person. You receive Christ's Body and Blood for your nourishment here, and tell your confession to God, receiving His forgiveness. Now that you have been cultivated, watered, and cleared: bear fruit. Bear fruit abundantly. Bear fruit a hundredfold. Bear fruit that lasts. The good ground represents those, “ which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

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