Sexagesima
Lk
8:4-15
1/31/15
At the seminary, there was a
professor who was well known for a response he often gave. When a student asked
a question, he would reply by asking, “What’s the question behind your question?” Now I always thought this was kind of
annoying. But I had to grant that he did
have a point. Sometimes we ask a
question because we are really trying to find out about some larger issue. We ask about one thing, because we really are
interested in learning the answer to some related question.
That’s how it is when people ask
about whether a person can be sure that he or she will be saved. In answering this it is important to know why
they are asking. If they are asking
because they are concerned about the continuing struggle against sin and the
ways they fail, then the answer is that in repentance and faith they can know
that they will be saved. Jesus Christ
died on the cross and rose from the dead to win forgiveness for their every
sin. They have been baptized into Jesus’
saving death and in the water of baptism they were clothed with Christ. When
God looks at them, he does not see their sin but instead sees what Jesus did
for them. Yes we do fail, but in repentance
we return to our baptism, and there we find the assurance of forgiveness and
eternal life.
However, if the person asks the
question because they want to be freed from having to strive to live as a
Christian, then a different answer is in order.
Although you often hear Christians express the idea that “once saved,
always saved,” this is simply not true.
Christians are not saved because of what they do. However, because
they are saved they seek to live like Christians. When they cease to do this, it is a sign that
they are on their way to no longer being saved because faith is no longer
present. Faith can be lost if we do
not cling to Christ and his Means of Grace.
This point comes out very clearly in
the Gospel lesson for today. We learn at
the beginning of our text that a great crowd was gathering and people from town
after town came to hear Jesus. So our
Lord told them a parable. Parables
played a central role in Jesus’ teaching, and they had a unique character. Jesus spoke them in order to teach. But their
very form revealed and concealed at the same time. If you understood who Jesus was and
recognized that he was bringing the kingdom of God – the reign of God – then
they were powerful tools to teach you more about Jesus and his saving work. However if this faith and understanding was
not present, they were just entertaining stories. In fact the entertaining and familiar
character of the story actually concealed the truth.
Life in first century Palestine was
tied to the land. Fishing and the
raising of animals like sheep were certainly important. But it was farming that provided what was
needed to make the staple of life – bread.
From what we know, the practice of farming in Palestine was different
from what we are used to seeing. In
Jesus’ day the seed was sown on to the ground first. Then the farmer came back and plowed the seed
under the soil so that it would grow.
This explains what we find in the
parable Jesus tells. He says that, “A
sower went out to sow his seed.” The
farmer walked through the field area and tossed the seed out. Our Lord tells us, “And as he sowed, some
fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air
devoured it.” Long established walking
paths cut through the fields, and it was easy for some seed to land on them. Those
travelling on the paths stepped on the seed and then birds came and got an easy
meal.
Jesus went on to say, “And some fell
on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.” Not all of the land in the area of the field
was equally good. Some seed landed in
rocky soil where the seed at first grew, but then died because it didn’t have
any moisture. Some seed landed in the midst of thorns, and the thorns grew up
and choked out the seed.
Thus far things don’t sound so
great. But then Jesus added, “And some fell into good soil and grew and
yielded a hundredfold.” Some of the seed landed where it could produce … and it
did. In fact it produced a hundredfold –
a great harvest. As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to
hear, let him hear.”
Jesus’ statement, “He who has ears
to hear, let him hear,” signaled that there was more going on than just the
surface meaning. And so the disciples
asked what the parable meant. Our Lord’s
explanation makes it clear that the parable is allegorical – that different
elements of the story each mean something. The most important thing to
understand is that the seed is the word of God.
In particular, in the setting of Jesus’ ministry, it is the word of the
Gospel – the good news about the kingdom of God that had arrived in Jesus.
Jesus explains that, “The ones along
the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word
from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” Our Lord’s words remind us that all of life
is lived in the midst of a great spiritual war. Through the temptation of Eve,
the devil brought sin into the world.
The fall brought death and placed humanity under the devil’s power. We are conceived and born as people for whom
the devil is lord.
By his death on the cross and
resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ won forgiveness for all people. He provided the means by which people can be
reconciled to God and again live as his children. He redeemed us – he freed us
from slavery to the devil. That freedom
is received through faith in Jesus Christ which the Holy Spirit works.
Now the devil may be evil, but he’s
not stupid. He doesn’t want to lose
people who are under his spiritual power. And so he works to snatch the word of
the Gospel so that people do not believe.
He works through our culture to create a worldview that rejects the
Gospel. He wants people to think that there is no such thing as truth; that there
are not absolutes; that no one religion can be true; that the individual must
decide what is true for him or her; that it is better to be “spiritual” than
religious. For when people think in
these ways, they are primed to reject faith.
Jesus goes on to explain, “And the
ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy.
But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall
away.” The Gospel is a source of
joy. But the Gospel does not provide
freedom from testing and trials. In
fact, the exact opposite is true. The
Gospel often brings the cross and trials.
And so if we are to continue in the faith we must be deeply rooted in
Christ and his word.
Our Lord and his word must be a
regular and important part of our life so that when testing arrives we remain
believers. The question then, is whether it is for you. Is reading God’s Word a daily part of your
life? Are you seeking to deepen your
understanding of the Scriptures? This is
the means that the Holy Spirit uses to root you in Christ so that faith can
remain firm in the midst of trials.
Next Jesus explains, “And as for
what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their
way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their
fruit does not mature.” Just as with the seed that fell on the rocks, the seed
that fell among the thorns teaches us that faith can be lost.
In particular here, Jesus calls
attention to the way the cares of life, and riches and pleasures of life, can
destroy faith. What are the things you worry about? What are the things you value most? What are the things you enjoy most? How much
time, attention and effort do you direct towards these things? Are they perhaps
even things that are contrary to God’s will – things that God’s word declares
to be sin?
The Small Catechism explains the
First Commandment with the words that, “we are to fear, love and trust in God
above all things.” That which you value
most; that which you treat as most important; that which gives you a sense of
security, worth and well being is your god. In his explanation Jesus says “but as they go on their way they are choked
by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.” This is not something that happens
overnight. Instead it is a pattern of
life over time in which false gods – and we all have them - crowd out the true
God.
We each must identify and confess
those things that we put before Christ – the things that our actions say are more important.
We must repent. This means that we confess our sin and receive the
forgiveness that Jesus Christ has won for us.
But it also means that we seek
to make changes. You can’t just keep
doing the same thing as you go on your way. Instead we are called to struggle against sin and to recognize it
as such.
Finally Jesus says, “As for that in
the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest
and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”
Our Lord tells us to hold fast to his word, which is the same thing as
holding fast to him. We cling to Christ
and his word because in Jesus we have the assurance of forgiveness and
salvation. We have the certainty that by
his death and resurrection he as reconciled us to God. He has made us saints – forgiven sinners –
who now live as children of God. This is the gift of our Lord that we do not
deserve and could not earn. Yet in his
love he gives it to us.
And when we cling to Christ in faith,
we will bear fruit with patience. This
fruit is the love we show towards our neighbor.
It is the way that Christ uses us to care for those around us – for
those that he has placed in our life.
The Holy Spirit who has created faith, leads us to walk in the way of
faith – a way that seeks to serve the needs of others just as Jesus Christ
served us.
In the parable of the sower, our
Lord teaches us to hold fast to him and his word. He leads us to recognize that faith can be
lost. Therefore we need to repent where
sin is present. We need to confess our
false gods – the things we put before Jesus – so that we can receive
forgiveness. And we also need to seek to turn away from them.
The means by which we continue to
live in the faith is the same means that created faith – God’s word. It was water and the word that made us a
child of God in Holy Baptism. Now we
make God’s word an important and central part of our daily life. For when Christ and his word hold this place,
we can bear fruit with patience.
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