The one sowing sows the word. (Mark 4.14)
Jesus, the mysterious parable pronouncer, didn’t fit people’s cultural image of the Messiah. He didn’t ride into Jerusalem on a warhorse with the sunlight shattering the sky. He didn’t rage against the Roman sympathizers or call for the oppressive Empire’s blood. Instead, He sat calmly on the rolling waves of the Sea of Galilee and told of a farmer who went out to sow seed.
Today, we would say this sower didn’t follow the best practices of the farmers almanac or engage in a way the 4H would recommend. He scattered the seed over generously beyond the bounds of his field. No wonder the religious leaders of Jesus’ time were furious. They carefully weighed out exactly ten percent of their spices, and here Jesus’ sower was lavishing seed on unworthy soil. Their stingy hearts rejected the incomprehensible generosity of God. What they saw as waste was Christ’s very definition of grace.
And what did the sower sow? What does this parable show us about Jesus? The sower sows the word. The sower sows the message, the good news of restored life, the gospel of the Kingdom. And Jesus is not selective where His Word goes or who receives it. He does not scatter the seed of His message only on the visibly ready soil. No, Jesus sends it far and wide, liberally and generously beyond the boundaries of the field.
Not only that, but Jesus the sower invites us to sow this good news everywhere with Him! He does not confine our witness to the walls of the corner church or the places we think are fertile soil. Jesus draws us to His side and shows us all the fields, hills and cliffs still waiting. He generously blesses us with His good news and invites us to see it multiply among all people.
Jesus, open my eyes to the landscape around me. Help me to sow generously among all peoples, even those I would refuse to share with, in all places, terrains and occasions.