Sermon on Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

I love a personality test.

Whether it’s the Myers-Briggs or the Enneagram or a ridiculous Buzzfeed quiz that tells you what Disney princess you are, sign me up!

So, it’s easy for me to look at the parable of the sower and ask, “which part of the parable am I?”

Am I like the seed that fell on the path? Does my lack of understanding allow the seed of faith to be snatched up by birds?

Am I rocky ground? Is my faith enthusiastic but lacking in depth?

Or am I full of the thorns of worry and greed that choke the life out of my faith?

Or am I good soil that bears fruit? And if so, am I bearing a yield of thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold?

As much as I normally like to puzzle over what personality type I am, this parable has caused me a lot of anxiety over the years. I’ve worried that my faith wasn’t genuine or deep or bearing enough fruit. It’s easy to use this parable as a litmus test to see if one’s faith measures up.

On the other hand, it’s also easy to try and type other people.

That person who just comes to church because their family does, maybe that person is like the seed on the path and just doesn’t get it.

Or maybe that other person who stopped coming to church after something difficult happened, maybe they’re like the rocky ground and expected things to be easy if they believed in God.

Or all of the so-called “nones,” people who report that they have no religious affiliation—maybe they’re like the seeds among the thorns, so caught up in worldly pursuits that they have no time for God.

And that person over there who attends every Bible study and never stops talking about God, that person must be good soil.

But, earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reminds us, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” Typing other people based on the parable of the sower might not be the best way to keep from judging other people.

Besides, the parable of the sower is not a personality test. It wasn’t a tool developed by psychologists or even internet content creators looking for more hits on their website. It’s a parable—a story that tells us something about God and the world we live in.

When trying to understand something in the Bible, it’s always good to look at the context, so let’s see what comes before and after this parable and what that tells us:

In Matthew chapter 12, Jesus has been butting heads with both the religious leaders and the crowds over doing things on the Sabbath and where Jesus’ authority comes from. Last week, we heard a frustrated Jesus scold the crowd for their contradictory attitudes toward John the Baptist and himself. Jesus essentially says, “There’s no pleasing you!” Then, he goes on to offer them instead the peace and rest that comes from following him and being part of the Beloved Community.

So, the parable of the sower could be an explanation of why different people are reacting to the good news of the Beloved Community differently. Some people are going to receive it gladly, some will receive it conditionally, and some won’t get it at all.

Then, if we look at what comes after this parable, we discover that it’s just the first in a long series of parables that Jesus tells in Matthew chapter 13, and they all touch on the Beloved Community. Most of them begin: “the kingdom of heaven is like…”, and we’ll be looking at more of them in the next few weeks.

This chapter is a collection of things Jesus has to say about the Beloved Community. And the Beloved Community is about, well, community. It’s about relationship and connection and generosity and support for one another. It’s not about whether individuals measure up to arbitrary standards. It’s not about dividing people between good soil and bad soil. All are invited. All are welcome. All are supported and celebrated.

In the parable, the sower doesn’t look at the path or the rocky ground or the thorns and say, “That’s not good soil—I’m not going to bother.” Instead, the sower throws seeds generously, abundantly, even foolishly.

There’s no sense of having to use the seeds sparingly—the sower throws the seeds all over and trusts that there will be fruit.

Jesus explains that the seeds are “the word of the kingdom.” Like the sower, Jesus is not worrying about who will hear it as good news and who will be resistant to it. He’s throwing invitations into the Beloved Community lavishly, without regard to who’s “worthy” or what “type” people might be. The invitation is as abundant as the Beloved Community itself.

If we emulate the sower, we don’t need to be concerned with what type of soil we are or others are.

When we’re worried about typing ourselves, our focus is inward. We’re riddled with anxiety about whether we’re bearing enough fruit and how deep our roots are. That’s a scarcity mindset that doesn’t leave room for the abundance of the Beloved Community.

And when we find ourselves typing others, our focus is outward, but in a way that judges others instead of embracing them. 

We’re looking at someone and deciding that they must only come to church because their family does, but we don’t know the faithful questions they’re struggling with on the inside. 

Or we notice that someone stopped going to church after a difficult situation in their life and we judge them instead of checking in to see if they need support.

Or we read about the “nones” with no religious affiliation or the “dones” who have walked away from institutional religion, and we make assumptions instead of listening to the deep hurt religion has caused them or people they love. Their integrity in taking a stand is something to be admired, not judged.

And when we’re focused on how others are measuring up, that’s usually a good sign that we’re insecure about some aspect of ourselves. A judging mindset doesn’t leave room for the generosity of the Beloved Community.

But when our focus is on the sower, we see the lavish Beloved Community at work, and we can lay down our sense of scarcity and judgment and take up a sense of abundance and generosity instead.

Not everyone is going to receive the message of the Beloved Community as good news, but the invitation is for everyone. And the sower doesn’t worry about “wasting” the invitation. There will be enough fruit for everyone.

So, let’s leave the personality tests to Buzzfeed, and let’s live abundantly and generously together in the Beloved Community.

That is good news.