Preparing the soil of the heart

Isaiah 55.10-13  The word that goes out from my mouth does not return to me empty

Romans 8.1-11

Matthew 13.1-9,18-23 A sower went out to sow

 

The word that goes out from my mouth;

shall not return to me empty, says the Lord,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

(cf Isaiah 55.11)

 

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The poet T S Eliot remarks in a poem: ‘take no thought of the harvest, but only of the proper sowing’.

 

It’s a rather appropriate quote when we hear the Parable of the Sower: ‘take no thought of the harvest, but only of the proper sowing’.

 

In other words, don’t think about the end results first, but think about what you sow or plant and how you sow or plant it.

 

That’s not to say that the harvest, the results, the productivity or yield doesn’t matter; but the focus at the outset is about what you sow before determining the result.

 

In the biblical witness the first concern is not with the harvest, the results, the yield, but with the gift, with the proper sowing.

 

What we are asked to aspire to is fruitfulness in our lives and in our church; what that looks like is down to the growth God gives: it’s an exercise in grace and trust.

 

As St Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians: ‘neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth’. (1 Corinthians 3.7)

 

We can be sure that God wills fruitfulness in our lives and in the Church: the fruitfulness God wills in our lives is always in response to his gift of abundant life, it’s something beautifully captured in Psalm 65 sung today..

 

And as the Lord says, through the words of the prophet Isaiah, in our first reading:

 

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

   it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

   and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55.11)

 

Seed is not sown with the intention of no return; ‘it shall not return to me empty’.

 

Jesus Christ is the Word of God, sent by the Father, his mission is not to return empty, but accomplishing all that the Father wills.

 

So we could say that the sower is God, sowing himself in the person of Jesus Christ, into the soil of our hearts and lives.

 

So let’s take a look at the sower and then at the soil of our hearts.

 

First there’s the sower.

 

If you think about it, there is something a bit crazy about the sower in the parable.

 

The sower scatters seed everywhere; it goes everywhere: all over the place!

 

This flies in the face of modern farming techniques and simple common sense.

 

The modern seed drill sows the seed exactly where the farmer wants it, in the best soil.

 

It’s highly mechanised and scientific: computers calculate the amount to sow and where to sow in it the field to achieve the maximum yield when it is cut down.

 

But that’s also true in the technique used until the mechanisation of agriculture.

 

The sower would take handfuls of seed from a basket on his hip and cast it onto the ground.

 

The sower was skilled in getting as much of the seed onto as much of the good soil as possible.

 

So, in ancient and modern times it seems bonkers to sow seed on a  footpath, or on rocky ground or in amongst weeds.

 

Seed was, and is, hugely precious and not to be wasted.

 

God, the sower is wonderfully lavish in scattering the seed: it is sown indiscriminately, it is sown without cost and sown everywhere: God the Sower sows his word into every human heart: the question is, ‘how will it grow’?

 

But Jesus’ parable isn’t agricultural guidance; it is a parable of the Kingdom.

 

Parables are not one hit morality tales, but endlessly generative stories that are sown in our minds and hearts to open us to the ways of the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Jesus Christ sows the seeds of the Kingdom into our hearts by the telling of parable and this parable is about the soil as much as about the sower or the seed; it demands that we pay attention to ourselves and our inner life.

 

So now, consider the soil of your heart.

 

When the seed of the Word of God lands in your heart, what chance are you giving it to grow, to yield and be fruitful? How able is God’s word able to take root, truly and deeply in your heart?

 

This is about deep self-examination. It’s the sort of self-examination and expression of vulnerability that I am privileged to hear in confession and spiritual direction.

 

Is the soil of your heart like a path? The soil of a path is trodden down, well-worn and compacted; a hard carapace, a crust, sits on top of it making it impenetrable: the seed cannot take root; when it rains the seed is washed away.

 

That’s when our hearts are ready to receive the Word but we don’t engage with it, we offer nothing in return for the gift and, as a bird pecks the seed, so the Evil One pecks it away and the Word of God is lost to us.

 

Are you seeking truly to understand the Word of God? What needs to break up or soften the ground so the seed can root?

 

Is the soil of your heart like rocky ground? The soil of rocky ground is sparse. When there is little soil but mostly rock the seed can send out roots but the root has little chance: there’s no depth of soil, all is shallow so when the sun comes out rather than giving growth it burns the roots away and the seedling withers away.

 

That’s when our hearts receive the Word of God and then fall away at the first sign of pressure, because the Word of God can’t grow deep in us.

 

Are you seeking to take the hard rocks out of your life so that there is more soil in your life to receive the Word of God?

 

Is the soil of your heart already full of other strong plants? Soil that’s full of already established plants is not going to have space for the seed of the Word of God to grow.

 

That’s when other priorities are already established in us. As Jesus’ interpretation of the parable suggests the cares of the world and the lure of wealth are like already established plants that crowd out the Word of God, to which we might add distractions, doggedly held onto ideologies or views that are not of the Gospel.

 

Are you ready to root out pernicious or unhealthy attitudes, practices or pursuits that are not of the Gospel?

 

Is the soil of your heart good soil? Soil ready to receive the seed so that it can take deep root in you? For then you will be fruitful.

 

‘How do I do that?’ you might say. It’s in confession of our sins. It’s in deepening our relationship with God in prayer. It’s in receiving the grace of the sacrament.

 

In confession, prayer and the Sacrament we prepare and till the soil to receive the Word of Christ which will grow richly in us and we will be drawn into intimacy with our loving heavenly Father, to whom be all honour, glory and praise, now and to all eternity.