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A sower went out to sow His seed. And as He sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As He said these things, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let Him hear.”
A little later today, a good portion will watch a football game. After nearly every play, you’ll see a replay and hear some analysis about why this play either worked or didn’t work for the offense of the defense.
Most Sundays, we Christians simply play the game, go play by play,
Sing the hymns,
pray the prayers,
sing and pray the liturgy in the service,
hear the Lord’s Word and the sermon and receive the body and blood of Jesus.
But today Jesus gives us some analysis of what happens when we hear His Word,
what happens when it works – they are those who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
But also, who and what’s to blame when it doesn’t work – when it doesn’t create and strengthen faith in God and love toward others –
namely, it’s not Sower’s fault nor His seed, which the Word of God,
but the fault of the devil who snatches the Word from hearts,
the world who brings suffering and testing to lead us to fall away,
and our sinful flesh, which too often chokes God’s Word by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, not bringing the fruit to maturity.
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How easy is it for you to come to Church?
I think church is one of the most difficult places to come to. The devil, I’m convinced, is throwing things left and right, inside and outside of us, to prevent us from coming here because he hates it when we’re here.
Some other questions to consider are this:
How easy is it to start a routine of saying your daily prayers and hearings God’s Word?
How easy is it to continue that routine if you’ve started it personally or with your family?
How easy is it to pay attention to God’s Word?
The devil wants to prevent God’s Word from ever entering our ears and when it does, he wants to prevent us from actually hearing it.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
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When bad things happen, what does that do to your faith in God’s Word and the fruit of love that it produces for Him and for others?
Our Lord’s Word reveals that suffering ought produce in us hope,
that we are refined by the fire of suffering,
that we ought not be surprised that we suffer in this life
and that we should cling all that more firmly to God’s Word, in confidence that though heaven and will pass away, His Word endures forever.
But the world wants us to see the suffering of others, our own suffering in this body and soul, the general suffering of the entire world, or even the suffering we might experience as persecution, precisely because we are Christians and believe God’s Word,
it’s guidance and light,
it’s Law and Gospel,
and despair, to have no root,
to see suffering as a sign of God’s displeasure of us,
or of His goodness, and therefore,
in the time of testing, fall away.
But it is not only suffering that is pulling us away from God’s Word, because the next question,
rather than when bad things happens, it’s this:
When good things happen, what does that do to your faith in God’s Word and fruit of love that it produces for Him and for others.
There are pleasurable and wonderful things in that God gives in this life,
because we receive God’s gift of family, or of money, or of food, or of entertainment, or of education, and much more,
but our flesh clings to these things as the giver of gifts,
as the source of our joy.
The flesh looks to people and money for security and pleasure, and cares so much about this,
that it chokes away the Lord’s Word.
So we take a bit of break from the play by play, and we receive the analysis of what is happenings when God’s Word is heard, we repent from ever being tempted to think that God’s Word doesn’t have enemies, including our very flesh that can get too wrapped up in this life.
But we also rejoice that enemies of God, are not more powerful than God.
We rejoice that God’s Word is living and active, that is both an offensive weapon and a defensives weapon.
That it is God’s Word that softens our hearts again and again to hear it.
It is His Word that beats Satan’s and his accusations back with the Word of forgiveness.
It is His Word that gives us the only hope and assurance we have in the midst of suffering – in confidence that through His Word He delivers us from evil and will finally deliver us from all evil.
And that it is through His Word that pry’s our fingers off clinging every too tightly to the pleasures and care of this life.
Our Lord today, through His Word fights back and defends us from the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.
And it begins again to produce the fruit of faith and love as He works in us a clean heart that hears His Word, holding it fast in an honest and good heart, and bears fruit with patience. (over time) (honesty of sin and enemies, and honesty of forgiveness and deliverer of Jesus and His Word)