Meeting Matthew Again...Anew

“Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, 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 brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  Let anyone with ears listen!”  Matthew 13:4-6

For all that is good and holy, what in the botany is going on here?!

Is this the worst farmer ever?

Guy is throwing seeds everyone...he could have been the inspiration for Oprah's favorite things show..."And you get some seeds...and you get some seeds...everyone/everywhere gets some seeds." 

Why in the world you would plant seeds on a path?  You know they are going to get trampled on by people walking down said path.
Why in the world would you plant in rocky ground?  I have lived in New Hampshire, tried to grow tomatoes there, it is called, "The Granite State" for good reasons. I pulled up enough rocks tilling my garden to pave a pathway.  I am being absolutely serious here!

And then dude goes and doesn't even try to plant them on the top of the soil...sprinkles them on the surface like he is making a birthday cake.  Finally sees some rose bushes and thinks, "Oh yeah...definitely there!" 

Seriously...worst farmer ever!

I know the passage goes on and makes a moral point about how the seed is like the word of God and sometimes our hearts/souls/imaginations are like a pathway or rocky ground or we just let God's wisdom sit on the top of our lives - not really sink down.

In some ways, that helps this parable be a bit less disturbing or disruptive.  After all, if I can control and be the master of my own universe on how/where/when the seed of God gets in...
After all, if I can claim to be good soil rather than that rocky, thorny stuff, like you know who, not to name any names, but I think we all know who we are talking about here.
After all, if I can claim to understand than I can be in charge.

But sometimes wonder if Jesus was even trying to fool us on the interpretation. What if, it is part of the joke?  What if the interpretation was a parable inside the parable.  Maybe Jesus was trying to do an MC Etcher sketch.  And here we are thinking, "Ah yes, the stairwells all run in different directions to no where.  I understand." 

No we don't.

I don't know if I am good soil...and I have a suspicion that I might actually be more thorny and rocky than I want to let on, which makes you so glad you are spending time reading a blog post from me. 

I sometimes have wondered if the point wasn't the soil...but the farmer, who like God's grace and love, just throws such a sacred seed/gift everywhere to everyone.  Maybe the other point is that sometimes we are the thorn and other times the good and sometimes we are frozen under five feet of snow.  Well...not us in Florida...but every where else.

My bias is that parables should feel as slippy as an eel, and the second we think we grasp the meaning, it should start to slip and slide out of our grasp.

Maybe in that moment we will realize just how much we need traces of that unconditional and unceasing grace of God.

May you find God's presence and peace in many places and within yourself this day.