Good and fertile soil...

A few days ago I was given a very special gift...a copy of The Divine Hours, compiled by a favorite author of mine, Phyllis Tickle. The Divine Hours is a book of prayers, which, in the ancient traditions of the church, were prayed daily, at appointed hours of the day.

I'd like to share some of what I read this evening, and then talk just a bit about the Parable of the Sower, as told in the 8th chapter of Luke...

First, a prayer:

O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into morning: Drive far from me all wrong desires, incline my heart to keep your law, and guide my feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, I may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells the story of farmer who went out to sow seed...some fell along the path, and missing the dirt altogether, was trampled upon and then eaten by the birds. Nothing came from this seed...no plant grew, no fruit was born. Other seed fell on the rocks, and though plants managed to sprout up, they died for lack of water. Still other seed fell among thorns...and the thorns, growing up alongside the plants, ultimately overtook the plants and choked them. In each of these situations, there was no fruit. Finally, the farmer managed to throw some seed on good soil! It came up, and then it actually bore fruit...not just a little bit of fruit either, but fruit 100 times more than the seed that was sown.

When asked to explain the parable, Jesus told his disciples that the seed in this story is the word of God. We could use Jesus' parable to illustrate many different types of situations in life...spiritual, financial, personal, and relational...but Jesus doesn't do this. Instead, he says, the seed in his parable is the word of God, and the different types of ground represent types of people. These people hear "the word", and more often than not, it doesn't take root...no plant comes up...and there is no fruit in the lives to indicate that God's word has taken root in their hearts and made a difference.

Some folks never get it at all, according to Jesus...and still others do get it, but when confronted with trials and testing, they die off, or "fall away," as he puts it. Many people hear the word and respond to it, only to by distracted by life's worries, the pursuit of money, and various other things...Jesus said, these folks never "mature." If you think about the fact that he's using a plant to illustrate his point, it's not too difficult to conclude that people who never mature will never bear fruit, because a plant that never matures is unlikely to bear fruit.

At the end, Jesus says this, "But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."

Just a couple of observations to consider this first day of November...according to the parable, well over half of the "seed" thrown lands on bad ground, or is choked off one way or another...which means that seed falling on good soil is a somewhat uncommon event. I notice too, that Jesus mentions 4 things related to seed that lands on the good soil:

1. The people who represent the "good soil" hear the word.

2. These people retain the word, or perhaps another way to put it: they hold onto the word, even in the face of trials, testing, and temptations to pursue other priorities.

3. The people who mature and produce a crop do so by persevering.

4. The seed that lands on fertile ground produces such a huge crop, it makes up for all of the seed that fell on bad ground....100 times over.

As I sit here tonight, I can't help but wonder if my heart and life are good soil...and if perchance, they are not...what can I do about that to make it more fertile?