Proper 10 A Tending the Seeds

Here we have another agricultural parable from Jesus.  A story from a type of life that is not so important to us today in our daily activities, unless we garden like crazy.  At the rectory we barely have enough space to put in a few vegetables, but we are very conscious of the quality of the soil and have added compost and top soil to enhance it.  We have been rewarded this year by a pretty good crop of lettuce and promising tomato plants.  Anyone can go to the University of Illinois extension office to get consultation about their soil and how to improve it.  Agronomists know quite a lot about the types of nutrients soils need to support growth of all kinds of seeds. 

If you have ever travelled in desert country, you also know that some kinds of plants can make a go of it in what farmers in Illinois would consider pretty poor soil; in fact one of the prettiest sights is the spring desert in bloom.  Because it lacks robustness, about twenty acres of my farm has soil that only supports alfalfa and wheat, but those crops do amazingly well on that ground.  We also used to grow watermelons pretty well there, which neighbor boys used to come and steal from us.

So the parable of the sowing of the seeds seems to have some gaps in it.  It presumes only a certain type of seed that needs a rich environment to grow.  A seed that must have sufficient organic matter and not too much rockiness, the depth to keep it from birds and wind, and the nurturing of an attentive farmer.  How many of us can say we have depth in our relationship with God? How many of us would characterize ourselves as good nurturers of our spiritual life or say that we have prepared our lives to live the word of God and make it grow?  And, how many Christians really take their task of spreading the word of God seriously, so that they not only talk about their faith but tend to the faith of those they care about?

Tending to a garden is hard work—preparing good soil, planting by watching which seeds need sun and which need shade; making sure there is sufficient water and the seeds grow without weeds.  Some good gardeners can spend most of every day tending to their plants, and get rewarded by beauty and abundance.

We know how to become a master gardener, but do we know how to become a master gardener with God?  Does our life get filled up with ungodly weeds, with blazing, burning sun, or with lack of attention during dry spells?

The University of Illinois can teach us to become a master gardener, while the church teaches us to become a gardener of our souls.  In this place we learn about the soil we must prepare by prayer, by confession and turning our life around, by taking eucharist with others and being in relationship with not only our friends but with our enemies. We learn about God by loving others, giving our time and talent, becoming a gardener of others’ souls.

Tending God’s garden of souls, like weeding and watering anything that grows, needs constant attention.  So, we carve out time for church and also for quiet time, for rest and reflection.  We make our relationship with God a priority by giving it time—for reading scripture, for prayer and meditation, for giving in time, money or talent to the poor, the sick, the dying.  In whatever way God is calling us, we respond by tending our soul, the seed of God’s love in our life that must have prepared soil, be kept from blowing away in the wind and taken away by the birds that peck at us.

Today I ask you to consider the types of activities that feed your soul and to make sure that this summer you take time to give priority to some of those things at least once a week.  Whenever the thermometer hits a certain temperature, make it a signal for you to tend to your soul needs.  Whenever it rains, see it like a beep on your phone reminding you of God’s message to love yourself and your neighbor by doing what tends those relationships of love.  Whenever you see sunny skies, remind yourself of God’s sun shining in your life, and be comforted by the warmth of that love.  

Tending the seeds of God’s message of good news takes all that Christians have to give.  While how we tend these seeds in the summer may differ from the rest of the church year, we have no less need for tending our spiritual life.  Whether you take in the beauty of the summer outdoors or read something uplifting on a rainy day, or make vacation plans here or at home, remember God’s grace in your life and how to spread it to others. 

At the end of the summer, good gardners expect good outcomes—beautiful flowers and abundant harvest.  So it is with God’s seeds planted by God and nurtured by us with God’s help.  The fruits of love, patience, kindness, and all the other spiritual effects become evident in our behavior toward others and even how we begin to think about ourselves as worthy of God’s love and forgiveness.

May each of us this summer have a great time tending our spiritual garden and may it be bountiful for us and those all around us.