Sexagesima, 2023
Rev. Thomas Van Hemert
St. Luke 8:4-15
Sexagesima
February 12, 2023
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
This morning, we hear another one of our Lord’s parables. Except this time, He also gives the meaning. The parable is, of course, how God’s gives His grace to us indiscriminately—He does not care where His grace goes. He gives it to everyone, even though He knows that not everyone will benefit from it. He is the Sower. He tells us that the seed is the word of God. This is why He says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” We receive the word of God, first and foremost, by hearing, by listening with our ears to the proclamation of God’s word, when it is read and preached. From the parable, we learn that we, human beings, males and females, adults and children, are the various types of ground in the parable. The parable also shows us how varying types of people receive the word of God and how they react to it—what they do with it. This is why St. Luke records Jesus speaking this parable. He gives this parable as a response to the great multitude who had gathered, who had come to Him from every city. Because even in and among that great multitude, not everyone was a true believer.
When it comes to the parables of Jesus, I am becoming more and more convinced that in almost every parable—I mean at least I think most of them, I haven’t actually gone through each and every one and examined this—but I’m starting to think more and more, that even if there is not an explicit warning, often times, He gives us a hidden or implicit warning. For example, the Parable of the Ten Virgins. All the virgins fell asleep. Five were wise and five were foolish. The wise virgins brought oil, that is faith to help them through the darkness of the night while they waited for the bridegroom, who is Christ. At the end of the parable, Jesus gives the explicit warning, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” That’s pretty obvious. The warning is that we need to stay awake in our faith because we do not know when Jesus is coming again. God forbid we let our faith die out by not coming to church and by receiving the Lord’s Supper. But that is just one example of an explicit warning.
The same is true for the Parable of the Sower. While the warnings are not that obvious, they are still there. In fact, we are given not one warning, but three. And while Jesus is giving us three warnings in the parable, He also gives a promise that is greater in gravitas and solemnity than the three warnings combined.
A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed some fell by the wayside—that is, along the path—and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold. That’s the parable. The four different soils describe people who have heard the word of God in four distinct situations. The first three are bad. The last one is good.
The first group of people whom Jesus describes are those who hear the word of God but selfishly remain in their old way of life and walk the same road that they walked before. These are the ones who are along the wayside or the path. The devil keeps them in their former life. And though they hear the word with their ears, the devil does not let it enter and take root in their heart. This is why we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Literally, the Greek translation reads, “But deliver us from the evil one”—Satan, the devil. You might be wondering who these types of people would be in the world. These would be people who are not Baptized; those who refuse to receive the Kingdom of Heaven as a child. Baptism is the sacred act, by which, we are delivered from the evil one. Because if you are not baptized, then you haven’t been claimed by God and sundered from the number of the unbelieving. This is why the Sacrament of Holy Baptism is so important. God comes to us, marks us with the cross, and welcomes us into His family as His children.
The second group of people who hear the word are those who are the stones or the rocky soil. They are men who hear the word and receive it with joy, but in a time of cross and temptation, they fall away just like leaves from a tree. What are times of cross and temptation? Use your imagination. We know the stories of the martyrs who gave their life for the faith—those who would rather die than fall away; who stood up in the face of oppression and risked it all. The people who are among the stones and the rocky soil are the opposite of the martyrs. When they are confronted by the world, when they are faced with persecution, when they are told to pick up their cross, suffer all, and follow Jesus, they refuse. They give into the world and persecution because they would rather save their life in this world and yet lose their eternal life in the next. A worldly example of this would be in the middle-east or in Soviet Russia or even in ancient Rome when soldiers would come to your house and say “Blaspheme Jesus or die.” And you blaspheme Jesus so that you don’t die.
Now of course, such a thing hasn’t happened here, at least not yet. But we see, for example, quite obviously, in our culture, in our country, time and time again of leaders and politicians who claim to be Christians—Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, take your pick—and who claim to be these great paragons of faith and morality, but who constantly give into the sinful world and into temptation. While we cannot see into their hearts, we clearly see, by their works, by what they say, how they behave, and especially how they vote on various morality issues, that they are not acting like Christians. So beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits, literally, you will know them by their works, by what they do, how they act.
This is a warning, even for us. Temptations and crosses will come our way. Pray that you do not fall into temptation. Pick up your cross and follow Jesus. For His yoke is easy and His burden is light. His word brings us comfort. It creates faith, it nourishes faith, even strengthens and sustains faith, especially in the wake of cross and temptation.
The final group of people that our Lord lists in this parable are those who are among the thorns. They hear the word of God, but then thorns rise up with them when they come their way, which are cares, riches, and pleasures of life. In a sense, these ones are the worst of all three. The devil does not stop God’s word from taking hold in them, nor are they persecuted. There is no outside force working on them to stop them from hearing the word of God. Instead, these are the ones who of their own will give into worldly cares, earthly riches, and sinful and abominable pleasures. A perfect example of this would be when we hear our well-meaning neighbor say, “I would go to church, but Sunday is the only day I have to sleep in,” so they don’t come to church. Most likely, we all have also heard the axiom, “God made me this way.” God did not make you that way. What God creates is always good. God is not the author of sin or of evil desires. Just read the creation account in Genesis. It is our sin that corrupts our nature. So repent of your sin. Turn back to Christ, for He loves you. He desires not the death of the sinner. He will forgive.
To be sure, all of these ones—the ones among the thorns have heard the word of God! They went to church. They may even appear to have the outward trappings of a good person and of a Christian. For they believe for a while and a time, but in a time of temptation, they fall away, and bring no fruit to maturity. And in the end, they have no faith, so they will not be saved. That’s why we receive this warning.
If you have ever wondered why there are more pagans, heathens, and people who outnumber faithful Christians, just read this parable. It’s obvious. Many are called, but few are chosen. Based on the parable alone, it’s 1/4th to 3/4ths. But in our day and age, I would wager it’s less than that.
But those are the warnings. Enough of that for now. The promise Jesus gives us is greater. We keep coming back here. You keep coming back to this place. That’s why it’s so important to be in church, paying attention to the readings each Sunday, contemplating these things in our minds: how do all of the readings—the introit, collect of the day, the Old Testament, Epistle, Gospel readings, the hymns, even the color of the day—how do all of these fit together? What’s the theme? What is God teaching us through His word? We hear and participate in all of these each Sunday. And because we hear it, our faith is maturing, blossoming, growing, and bearing fruit with patience. That’s the promise—God promises to come to us in and through His word to create and sustain our faith. The word of God is like a seed. That’s why we need to constantly be receiving the means of grace! What we do here matters, because in the means of grace—by hearing God’s word and by eating and drinking—this is how we know we have faith. Again, faith comes through hearing. You cannot hear, if you are not here. But if you are here and you hear God’s word, you can be sure, that your faith is growing stronger. For by our faith and with our heart, we believe and are justified. So what if we are in the minority in this world? With our mouths, we confess this faith because we have heard it and we keep hearing it. The faith we have, that which we can claim and that which we cling to—here’s the promise—it yields a crop a hundredfold.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear that.
In +Jesus’ name.
