Good Soil

Soon afterwards Jesus went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that ‘looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.’ “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.” Luke 8:1-15

It is that time of year when we plant our gardens and work the soil to help make it good and productive. Our ground is full of rocks and so we have raised beds and planters all over the place, Still some things thrive better than others, and the soil needs to be tended and fed. My Grandfather WalkingStick would use fish parts, especially the heads, in order to enrich the soil. We compost and nurture the soil as best we can. Good soil demands time and attention, a steady and constant relationship of tending and watering. Our lives of faith also need tending and watering, time to enrich the ground and time to grow. 

Creator God, source of all life

you plant us in loving communities

enriched places which help us grow

and where we are fed and lifted up.

We often want to go it on our own

wandering off into the weedy places

thinking we are better off among the rocks

forgetting we need to be nurtured always.

Help us today to invest in our communities

strengthen us to teach and to tend others

let your love grow so strong within us

that we bear the abundant fruits of your love.