I was invited to preach at St. Thomas Church in Salem in July of 2026. They were kind to invite me, and it was my first time preaching to a congregation on a Sunday. They were gracious hearers, and I learned a lot in the experience. Thanks be to God.
The passage + an excerpt…
18 “Hear, then, the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matthew 13, NRSVUE)
Instead of asking ourselves, “Which soil am I?” … under God’s loving gaze, the parable might generate a different question, “What’s the current condition of the soil of my heart?”
It’s so relatable! Inevitably in our ordinary lives… we have moments (months–?) of feeling like a well-trodden and weary path. Or some kind of crowded and rocky terrain. Distracting thorns pop up. There might even be periods of flourishing like Good soil… and … yet… these are not our identities. They are Conditions. Seasons.
I think the invitation Jesus might be offering here is not “Be better soil.” Perhaps its more of a gentle reminder that the Sower is sowing, the seed is falling, and the yield benefits all. the kindom is all around us and still coming. When our soil is ready to receive, it gives out 100, 60, 30 fold.
Our formation is always for the sake of our neighbors.
The video version….
“What if it is not about our own successes and failures and birds and rocks and thorns, but about the extravagance of a sower who does not seem to be fazed by such concerns, who flings seed everywhere, wastes it with holy abandon, who feeds the birds, whistles at the rocks, picks his way through the thorns, shouts hallelujah at the good soil and just keeps on sowing, confident that there is enough seed to go around, that there is plenty, and that when the harvest comes at last it will fill every barn in the neighborhood to the rafters?” -Barbara Brown Taylor
