The Farmer at Work

Preached by Rev. Tammy Martens on May 13, 2007
Text: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Before moving to Madison, I served at a very small rural church west of Reedsburg, Wisconsin. My first spring there I decided I wanted to grow a garden. I didn’t have very much experience with gardening, but felt inspired or maybe culturally pressured because everyone had gardens and worked and talked about their gardens all the time. So, I had the ground dug up that was behind our house and thus began my work as a gardener. Like I said, I really had very little knowledge of gardening and so I didn’t test the soil, I didn’t’ use any fertilizer, I just planted seeds. Well, while I was planting, I started to uncover pieces of glass and all sorts of garbage, and soon discovered that where I was planting my garden had been where previous tenants had burned their trash. I had to admit that I was a bit discouraged, but I went ahead and planted some seeds and some plants but really didn’t know what would happen.

But lo and behold, Mother Nature came through. There among the ruins, among the pieces of garbage, I saw signs of growth. Seeds had sprouted, and plants were growing. I was amazed. In spite of my feeble attempts and in spite of where I had dug my garden, by the end of the summer, the garden had produced a number of vegetables that my husband and I enjoyed. This mystery of growth was indeed a humbling experience to me.

I was reminded of this experience, as I was meditating on this passage from the gospel of Matthew. Jesus is using a farming metaphor to explain to his listeners about the soils of our own hearts and how we respond to God’s grace is dependent on the soil quality that exists there. Even though Jesus describes 4 kinds of soil, we could easily reduce them in two simple categories: bad soil and good soil. And I think it would not be hard to say that both bad and good soil exist within all of us; rather than to believe that others might be the bad soil, and only we the good.

But what makes the soil of our hearts bad? Quite simply, bad soil is the inability to receive the generous and extravagant love from God for whatever reason. For instance, there are times in our lives when hurt and pain have so filled our hearts that we have closed ourselves off to receiving God’s goodness. Or there are times when worry and confusion suffocate any ability for us to hear of God’s providence and care. Or there are times when the soil of our hearts is not receptive to hear how much we are loved or how many are our gifts. Whatever the reasons, bad soil is bad soil.

On the other hand, good soil is receptive; it is open. The good soil that exists in us can receive and consider the extraordinary gift of grace from God and be nurtured by it. Good soil can receive the love from Christ and as it does, the seed within the soil flourishes and grows.

Now just a little about the seed that is sown. Did you notice that in the parable the farmer scatters the seed everywhere…even where there seems to be no good soil? What farmer would throw seeds over rocky patches or dry paths or among thorns? Jesus seems to be telling us that God is not a frugal God when it comes to sharing her grace. There is this kind of extravagance we can picture as God scatters the seeds of his generous love and goodness everywhere. Not only in this parable, but in many of the parables, we learn of a God whose kindness is extravagant, whose generosity is far reaching and exuberant. Jesus seems to be saying that this kind of God scatters her grace and loving kindness not only into the best of circumstances, but also in the bleakest of circumstances knowing that grace has the ability to soften even the toughest of soil. To me this is a very inviting and helpful insight into the nature of God.

And perhaps we need an image of God, the farmer, whose grace is at work all the time, trying to affect change in both bad soil and good soil.

I’d like to offer an image of God to you that proved to be very healing to me a few years back. It was a time in my life when things were very hectic and stressful. I was working as a full-time pastor and also a mother of one child, and pregnant with a second. Things seemed to be moving too fast and I felt like I was drowning. I had lost touch with the healing grace and love of Christ.

At that time, I happened to be reading from the book Garden of Faith by Lynne Hinton. In the book, there is a scene where this parable of the soils is referred to. In the scene is a therapist who is talking with her client about a certain picture that is hanging on the wall in the office. The watercolor print depicts a large woman bending over a small, fragile plant. As the client gazes at the picture on the wall, the therapist asks her what kind of soil this seed was planted in. And the client said she thought it was planted in the good soil. But the therapist offers another interpretation. She said that “maybe this plant was from one of the seeds that was thrown along the path or on the rocky ground or even among the thorns, but the farmer found it and saved it, nurtured it with great tenderness and care, and it sprouted and grew after all.”

As I read that different interpretation, tears welled up in my eyes and I could feel a sense of God’s love and peace touch my heart. As I read this over and over again, I was made of aware of the great and powerful mystery of the work of God’s grace. No matter the quality of the soil, God, the farmer is always at work. The nature of God’s grace is this way. It cannot help itself…grace shows up, Christ’s love shows up, even in the bleakest of circumstances. Even when we are weary to the message or even when we find ourselves struggling to believe, grace shows up. The farmer is always at work.

There are many aspects of this picture I like. First of all, I am drawn to the size of the woman’s hands. They are large but can still tenderly attend to the weakest part of the plant without breaking it. It reminds me of when I was a girl and how I was always drawn to my grandmother’s hands—they were large too and showed signs of wear but they had handled life very tenderly. My eyes are also drawn to the center of the picture where there is a glow that is radiating from where her hands are working and touching the plant. One can feel the warmth coming from this center and sense that from such tenderness, the plant will survive and grow. I also notice the woman’s focus—all of herself, from her bent over, kneeling position, to her eyes, to her hands…all attention is given over to this plant.

And from this image, I can see a glimpse of God. I see a God who tenderly cares for all of her children. I see a God who seeks to restore her children to health and wholeness. I see a God whose touch makes all the difference in the world.

The Parable of the Sower reminds us of the paradox of our faith. We have this soil that receives the seed of grace that comes from God. Sometimes we have a poor soil quality and sometimes we have a good soil quality. And it is helpful for us to work on our soil quality so that we are open and receptive in receiving the seed of grace. There is a part we certainly play in the work of faith. And yet, there is much mystery in how God’s seed grows. For even in the bleakest of circumstances, grace and love can take root and grow and in those moments when we witness such mystery, we can only stand in awe and give thanks and praise to God. Amen.