The Extravagant Sower

Well I said that last week was the latest that I had ever put up a blog post so it is a good thing that I am a bit earlier this week . . . by a day or so 🙂

The sermons for this Sunday were another revisit of a parable I have preached on before, the Parable of the Sower, as it is sometimes called. It was another opportunity for me to realize that while my younger self may have had a particular idea about what the parable meant that didn’t mean that there isn’t quite a lot more to say or think about it. When I encountered this parable in the past, by which I mean 40 years ago as a child, I saw it as an exhortation to make sure that we were not choked out by weeds or to ensure that our roots had enough soil that we might flourish. I’m sure you see the problem, or at least the limitation, with that interpretation; since when are seeds responsible for where they are planted?

My more mature reflection on this parable keeps coming back to the whole idea of the liberality, if not extravagance, of the sower. This seed sower isn’t being meticulous about sowing only in the best soil, in fact, the seeds are thrown more or less everywhere. As one of the seeds that looked pretty poorly for a long time, I’m glad.

Knox Presbyterian What do I know about sowing?

St. Mark’s Presbyterian What do I know about sowing?

As always, thanks for reading and listening. Let me know what you think of my interpretation in the comments or email me directly: barry [at] holtslander [dot] com

Blessings,