In my years of seminary, I not only studied the Bible and Christianity, I also studied the world’s other major faith traditions and their holy books, as well.
I loved learning about the other faiths and discovering all the commonalities between religions.
When we studied the Buddhist faith, and I learned that Buddhist teachers often teach by using koans.
Koans are riddles which are used to provoke contemplation. Paradoxes to be meditated upon.
For example, the teacher might ask the student, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” or “What is the color of wind?”
There are no right answers to these questions, of course. Rather, the teacher is trying to the students to think for themselves. To get them in touch with their own inner wisdom. That’s the true purpose of the spiritual life.
That’s it’s more about the questions, than the answers!
Now, Jesus, of course, was one of the world’s greatest spiritual teachers, and he, too, wanted his students to live in the questions.
But instead of using koans, Jesus used parables. That was his teaching method.
One of my favorite spiritual books is called The Power of the Parable, and it was written by John Dominic Crossan, one of the leaders of the Progressive Christian movement.
In it, he writes:
“The purpose of the parable is to make us probe and question, ponder and wonder, discuss and debate, and above all else, practice the gift of the human spirit known as thinking.”
Jesus used parables because he wanted his students to think, to ponder, and to wonder. That is the purpose and power of the parable.
The gospel reading from this Sunday’s lectionary is one of Jesus’s most famous parables, known as “The Parable of the Sower.”
Unlike most of Jesus’s other parables, “The Parable of the Sower” appears not in just one gospel, but in three of the four canonical gospels, and it also appears in the Gospel of Thomas, one of the gnostic gospels which was not included in the Bible.
I think the reason that it appears so much in Scripture is because “The Parable of the Sower” points to one of the greatest spiritual teachings of all time: the principle of sowing and reaping.
As we just heard, in the story, a sower goes out to sow seeds. Some of the seeds fall on the road and birds come and eat them. Other seeds fall on rocky ground where’s there’s little soil, and the sun scorches them and they wither away. Other seeds fall among thorns, and they’re choked.
However, the seeds that fell on good soil bring forth great abundance of grain, some 30, some 60, and some 100 fold.
So, what did Jesus mean by this parable? Well, let’s ponder the story together.
What do seeds represent? Well, they represent potential for growth and for new life.
Just as a tiny little seed has within it the potential to become an enormous tree bearing much fruit, you, too, have the potential inside of you for greatness and abundance.
Because God’s seed – God’s DNA – is within you. That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”
But, in Jesus’ parable today, it’s not really about the seed, is it? All the seeds (even those on rocky soil and those eaten by the birds) have the same potential within, but it’s the soil that makes the difference.
If the seed is not planted in GOOD soil, it will die.
So, my question for you today is: “How’s your soil?” “How are you tending to your INNER spiritual garden?”
Is your inner garden full of WEEDS? Weeds of negative thoughts, past wounds, old resentments?
Is it your inner soil full of ROCKS? Rocks of worries, anxieties and fears?
If so, how can anything good grow there? It’s time to pull out those weeds, remove those rocks, and till that inner soil, so that the seed of God may grow in you.
The 13th Century mystic, Meister Eckhart, said, “The seed of God is in us. Pear seeds grow into pear trees. Hazel seeds grow in to hazel trees. And, God seeds grow into God.”
That is our purpose for being. To grow into our FULL DIVINE POTENTIAL, so that we can MAKE MANIFEST the Kingdom here on earth.
But, many of us are not NURTURING the God seed within us. Instead, we are planting seeds of worry, fear, lack and separation, and so guess what: that’s what will continue to grow!
You may have heard the expression: “Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds.”
It’s your choice! YOU get to choose. You’re the LANDSCAPER of your inner garden.
Going back to Buddhism: The Buddha said something similar. He said: “The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?”
And the late 20th Century Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hahn, said: “In our consciousness, there are many negative seeds and also positive seeds. The practice is to avoid watering the negative seeds, and to identify and water the positive seeds every day.”
“The Parable of the Sower” reminds us to do just that. If we truly want to live life abundantly, then we must water the positive seeds, so that we can transform our thinking from lack to abundance, from fear to love.
Research has shown that we can RETRAIN our brains through practices like prayer, meditation, mindfulness techniques, and other spiritual practices, but this requires great discipline, and most of us don’t want to do that much work.
But, I remind you, that word “disciple” is part of the word of “discipline.” If we truly are disciples, then we must find the time each and every day to TILL our inner gardens – to remove the weeds and rocks of negative thinking, so that we can prepare the soil for NEW THOUGHTS to TAKE ROOT and grow abundantly, so that we can have life to the full.
I’d like to end my message today with the words of writer, Irvin Seale, from his book, Learn to Live: The Meaning of the Parables. He writes:
“Let us look to our soil. Let us develop the soil, and the seeds which are in it will sprout and grow. Cultivate a healthy and vibrant expectancy. Condition your mind with the thought of the highest truths. Then, having made your soil ready, when the word of God falls upon your soil, it will spring up and bear fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundredfold.”
May it be so. Amen.
Here are three follow-up questions for reflection and/or journal writing:
- Jesus’ parable suggests that the condition of the soil matters more than the seed. What “weeds” or “rocks” in your own life—such as fear, resentment, anxiety, or self-doubt—might be preventing God’s potential from taking deeper root in you?
- The sermon reminds us that we are the “landscapers” of our inner gardens. What daily spiritual practice (prayer, meditation, gratitude, Scripture, service, or mindfulness) could help you intentionally water the positive seeds of love, hope, compassion, and abundance this week?
- If the Kingdom of God is already within you, what is one gift, calling, or aspect of your divine potential that God may be inviting you to cultivate and share more fully with the world?