The grain can’t take credit or blame for where it lands. But we all can improve the soil.

AM Psalm 78:1-39 • PM Psalm 78:40-72
Lev. 26:1-20 • 1 Tim. 2:1-6 • Matt. 13:18-23

In Christ’s time in Palestine and even today in many locales around the world, farmers sow their grain by broadcasting: scattering it onto the soil by throwing it energetically by hand.

The fate of each grain is dependent on where it lands. On top of rocks, it cannot set down roots. On pathways, it can get trodden underfoot. Other seed gets eaten by birds, or choked by thorns, and so on. A lucky seed finds a soil loose enough for the roots and water to penetrate, and where there is fortuitously enough space so to thrive.

Christ’s first and most obvious point is that many things can get in the way of “we as seeds” receiving His message and maximizing its potential for goodness.

The less obvious but perhaps equally important point, is that seeds don’t have legs (or even eyes) and circumstances really do control their lives. They can’t see what’s coming or get out of the way even if they could sense it. This does not make the seed intrinsically bad or stupid. And we should not be judging the seed of others, as if our own seed actually earned all its good fortune.

We can, however, look at the field we ultimately all have to share. We can get rid of the stones for all of us, cut out the thorns for all of us, dig a well for all of us, but as for the birds, well, since I have been unable to locate the gospel of the NRA in the NRSV Bible, shotguns are probably out.

Written by Tony Stankus

Tony Stankus, now 71, remains a Distinguished Professor and the Health Science Librarian at the U of A. When he dies he will, at best, get an A-, owing to points taken off for when he pretended to be a comedian instead.