The Sower Went Out to Sow

Waste and failure. That is what we have in the parable Jesus tells us today. All the seed and the farmer’s hard work have produced nothing. This was Jesus’ experience in his own ministry. At first there was lots of excitement at his wise teachings and miraculous cures; later growing signs of hostility and rejection, which eventually led to his condemnation and death. Jesus’ efforts for the reign of God, like the farmer’s for the harvest, seemed to end only in waste and failure. But the story’s conclusion brings a sudden contrast. Some of the seed falls on good soil and yields grain a hundred- or sixty- or thirty-fold. A twenty-fold yield was considered a bumper crop in those days. But Jesus describes a harvest that exceeds this figure by as much as five times. Jesus knew that in spite of all the waste and failture, an abundant harvest, indeed a mega-harvest, is certain.
The failure of most of the farmer’s efforts shows that much does not turn out right in human life. Much of Jesus’ work looked like failure. But no farmer has failed to reap a good crop because there were bare patches in the field. In spite of the waste and failure, the harvest is plentiful, thanks to God alone.
Jesus message today is one of encouragement in the midst of defeat and failure. So much of the Church’s work seems wasted. Our own efforts to live as sisters and brothers of Jesus Christ, to be his living and life-giving disciples, end time and time again in failure. Will we ever make progress, we wonder?
The abandon with which the sower scatters his seed reflects the abandon with which God spreads His word before us. He knows there will be those who do not listen. He knows there will be those who do not respond. He knows there will be those who turn away. But again and again God speaks a word of promise, of hope, of challenge. We may, at times discover that all four kinds of soil are within each of us: hardened, rocky, weed-infested, and also productive. But Jesus encourages us to have confident hope in spite of failure. “Have patience and faith,” he tells us. “Do your God-given work for God and others. Sow the seed of holiness in every part of your life. Leave the rest to God. The harvest is certain. When it comes, it will be greater than you can possibly imagine. When the time comes, it will be greater than you can possibly imagine.” Why? Because this harvest really depends on God, not on us.