Jesu Juva
“God Will Have His
Harvest”
Text: Matthew 13:1-9,
18-23; Isaiah 55:10-13
Grace, mercy, and peace
to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Ever have a really good week? Things at work or school
went really well. You finished a project or aced a test. You didn’t fight with
your family or lose your temper or kick the dog, maybe you were even helpful
around the house. You did your devotions every day and prayed every day. Your pet sins? Resisted those temptations this week! And
even a few more on top of that. And so overall, feelin’
pretty good! Doin’ pretty good. Makin’
progress.
So you come to church that Sunday, pretty proud,
pretty optimistic. Confession of sins? Um, really
can’t think of anything to confess! You just mouth the words. Been a good week. And Pastor’s preaching? Yup, I remember
when I was like that, did those things. Lots still doin’
them, still need to hear that word. And the Sacrament?
Finally feel like I’m worthy to receive it. And maybe this week I’ll do even
better!
A man went out to sow some seed, but some fell on
the path - the hard, self-righteous, self-centered, proud, unrepentant and
unbelieving heart. It didn’t grow; it bounced right off. And the evil one is
more than happy to come and snatch it away.
Or maybe that’s not you. Maybe you had a
particularly bad week, but the service today was great! It really picked
me up. Pastor finally picked my favorite hymns and the congregation sang them
so well. The church was pretty full, I got to see my
friends, the food after the service was tasty and the fellowship enjoyable. And
that last hymn was a real toe-tapper! Good service, pastor!
But how come that feeling doesn’t last? Monday
comes and its back to the grind. Tuesday means lunch
with that friend who is always bad-mouthing Christianity and saying how
backward and behind the times we are. Wednesday my boss tells me I’m going to
have to start working Sundays or he’ll find someone else who will. Thursday I
feel like crap because I missed my devotions all week and haven’t prayed.
Friday the doctor said . . .
A man went out to sow some seed, but some fell on
rocky ground - and it sprang up with joy, but it was all emotion - it had no
root. So when tribulation and persecution came, it withered away.
Well, that’s not me either, pastor. I wish life were that simple! My life - it’s
one thing after another. I have too much to do at work (or school), I have too much to do at home. But I still don’t know if
my job is secure or not, or if I’ll get into the school I want. My house is
underwater, I don’t get enough sleep, and my investments are going to pot. My
doctor said I need to quit worrying and exercise more and sleep more, but who
has time for that? I thought that new big screen TV and DVR where I can record
12 shows at once would help me get my mind off of things, but all I can think
about is how I’m going to pay for it and all the things I should be doing
instead of watching it. Why does life have to be so complicated? Why I can’t
have a little peace? . . .
A man went out to sow some seed, but some fell
among thorns - and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches
choked it, and it bore no fruit.
Well, oh-for-three so far, Mr. Farmer-man. But at
least there’s one more kind of soil, right? One more chance . . .
How is it with you? How is the Word with you? In your heart and mind and life? What it should be? Why not?
What is keeping that seed, that Word that you here
receive from taking root and growing and producing fruit throughout the week?
And what’s a God to do so that His Word, so graciously and generously and
abundantly sown, might find good soil and take root and grow and produce a
harvest?
Well, how about plow? You see, good ground
doesn’t just appear out of nowhere - it is the result of the farmer’s
preparation and plow. For hard ground cannot loosen itself, rocks do not
automatically clear themselves or jump out of the ground, and weeds will not go
silently into that good night. Truth is, if it were up to us, there would be no
plants, no growth, no fruit, no nothing. We’d be
forever o-fer, as they say in baseball. Like Adam and
Eve who swung and missed and turned a garden that produced nothing but fruit
into a world of thorns and thistles and sin and death.
But the God who planted that Garden in the
beginning, and now sows His seed so graciously and generously and abundantly,
will not have that. So He plows. You. In mercy. Your pride and self-righteousness, your desire for
good feelings, your false gods that cause so much care and anxiety, must be
plowed under and buried. Six feet under. You
must be buried six feet under. Dead. Dead to sin, that
the seed of God’s Word then grow in you.
The good news is that God has already done that
for you. Your six feet under happened here, at the font, where the old, sinful
you was crucified and buried with Christ, that a new, good soil you be also
raised with Christ. To live a new life. But that’s not
all, for when those weeds return, when that hardness returns, when those wrong
desires return - as they always do - God continues to work, plowing you under
with His Word of Law, and with trials and struggles and maybe even suffering,
to root out of you and your heart and life all that gets in the way of His
Word, that His Word grow in you. And produce a harvest, and abundant harvest,
the fruits of faith and the good works of love in your life.
But now, God’s merciful spade or rototiller
doesn’t feel so good. It doesn’t make you happy, or feel good about yourself,
or give you anyone to blame but yourself. You won’t like it one bit when you
come to the realization of how poor and miserable and wretched a sinner you
really are. All the Word you got that bounced off, got
eaten or choked or scorched over the years. You heard it, but what happened?
Where the fruit? So, God be merciful to me, a sinner. We prayed it again
this morning. And it is good so to confess.
And then to hear that He
is.
God is merciful. Forgiving your barrenness and continuing to plow, and
continuing to sow His seed in you - graciously, generously, and abundantly. You
don’t deserve it - what you deserve is for Him to have given up on your hard,
weedy, thorn-infested heart a long time ago. But He doesn’t give up. Still He continues
to work and sow. In you. For you.
And He won’t give up. He will have His harvest.
That’s why Isaiah could write the words he did,
that we heard today:
For
as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the
eater,
so shall my word be that
goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent
it.
When you hear those words, think first and
foremost of the Word that went out from God and came into this world - the
Word of God made flesh. He is the seed that the satanic foe tried to
devour, the sinful thorns of men tried to choke, and the heat of persecution
tried to whither. He is the seed that was planted in the ground after His death
on the cross, and then rose, accomplishing all the
Father sent Him to do. And now producing an abundant harvest.
A Church. Because the seed that is now sown in you is
the seed, the Word, packed full with Him.
Which is why it is attacked so! Any other seed,
no way! This seed must continue to be attacked. So satan continues to plant his weeds, the world
continues to tramp you down, but God continues His work, too. Plowing
and planting, never ceasing. Baptizing, preaching, feeding,
forgiving, that the Word, that He, grow in you, and produce a harvest.
For your sin that caused the Word of God made flesh to die your divine death
penalty on the cross for you, is now the sin that is forgiven by the
Word of God spoken from the cross for you, and forgiven by the water and
blood of the Word of God that poured from that cross - from Him, for you.
And as you are the blessed recipient of those cross-won
gifts, as you are washed, as you are fed, as you are absolved, you grow. In Him. For He grows in you. And
you shall, as Isaiah said, not only produce fruit, but also go out in joy
and be led forth in peace. The joy of the
Lord, which doesn’t just come when things are going your way, but even when
they’re not. And the peace of the Lord, which
comes with His forgiveness and His promise of everlasting life.
So be patient. We’re usually not so good at that
in our world today, but seeds take time to grow. Don’t worry. God will have His
harvest. Repent, receive, and trust that He is working. In
you and in others. You may not see it now, but in the end, at the final
harvest, all will be revealed. God will have His harvest, and will it be 30-,
60-, 100-fold in you? You just might be surprised . . .
In the Name of the Father
and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.