Sowing Seeds

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13:1-9

The other morning, while driving to church, it was still very dark but the light was trying to breaking through. In a weeks' time we had lost more than a half hour of daylight. The autumn heralds the winter, our time of darkness and cold. It makes me wonder what seeds have been planted during the warmer seasons, and what will bring people indoors and maybe back to church. Did we plant love and welcome this year?

Jesus sat by the sea and told stories. He drew word pictures to help people understand their lives of faith. We all know that some seasons are better than others, some gardens more fruitful and some harvests more bountiful. The more we tend the soil and support the work of faith, feeding watering and weeding, the more growth we will see. And yet we are also subject to the seasons of the year, and the seasons of our lives. Jesus encourages us all to be faithful farmers, not just scattering enthusiastically in happy times but faithful in doing the tedious and tender work of loving care.

Today I ask God to help me be a faithful care taker. May we not worry so much about the numbers of the outward signs, and may we instead turn our hearts to bearing fruit through tender service. our world needs desperately to receive the tender loving care of faithful gardeners today.