One of the impressive features of Jesus’ teaching is his ability to hold a crowd. Everywhere he went people gathered and they hung on to his every word. And he peppered his talks with illustrations drawn from ordinary life that challenged and transformed his listeners.
We see an example of his skill in today’s gospel. Here, Jesus is in a boat (an apt place for him to be on Sea Sunday) speaking to the masses on the beach. And he tells them a story. ‘A sower went out to sow’ he says. It is an image the people are familiar with and immediately their attention is caught. Nodding their heads in approval they turn towards him. And above the sound of the gentle lapping of the water on the shore, and the breeze blowing across the lake, they listen to what he has to say. They know there’s more. This is not any story. It is a parable, and beneath the rich imagery is a message for them to hear.
For close to 2000 years that message has remained the same. The medium may be different, but Jesus speaks to us as he did to those on the lake shore. Though one can’t help but think that somewhere along the way, those words have lost their impact. We have become too familiar with the story, or perhaps too distracted by everything else going on around us, the winds and the waves of our own day, that we no longer hear what is being said. The words whistle past our ears and the good seed of God’s word fails to take root in our lives.
I think this is true as much for us churchgoers as it is for those who close themselves off to the gospel. Some years ago I was sitting in a church and was taken back when the preacher got up and, with a smile on her face, announced she was going to read the first reading again. I had heard the readings, as had others, but had not noticed that the readers had each read the same passage! On another occasion, more recently, I was taking a wedding, and the bride’s brother, before reading the oft used passage from 1 Corinthians 13, said ‘Listen to these words, they are really important’. We all sat up in our pews, dragged out of our private dream worlds, and paid attention to what was being said.
When Jesus speaks to the crowds he also tells them to listen. For what he has to say is worth hearing. It is about living in the fullness of God’s love and about loving others in such a way that life is transformed. He has spoken in this way before. He has told the people to get their lives right with God, for the kingdom of God, the reign of God, is at hand. He has demonstrated this by healing the sick and the infirm, and by reaching out to the poor and the victimized. But he knows his words will sometimes fall on deaf ears. It will be like seed scattered on well trodden paths, rocky ground or amongst thorns, the birds will eat it, the sun will scorch it, the thorns will choke it, and it will not have a chance to grow.
But where it falls on good soil, a heart open to his message, Jesus speaks of a plentiful harvest, of life lived to the full in the presence and love of God. Such a life hears and acts on his teaching. It seeks to be salt and light to the world. It prays for God’s will to be done here on earth. It works for peace and the good of others. It brings people together. It loves the unlovable. It forgives those who do wrong. It heals and restores people to community. It never gives up hope.
This last week a group of the world’s most influential leaders gathered at an exclusive resort in Japan. On their agenda were issues affecting us all, food and oil and weather. All these are in a disturbing state of flux. Grain prices are double what they were in 2006. Oil is set to surpass 150 US dollars a barrel, it was half that a year ago. Frequent flooding and changing patterns of rainfall are impacting what is produced. And those most affected are those least able to protect themselves. 800 million people didn’t have enough to eat before the present crisis. Meanwhile, in a country like Britain, households throw out the equivalent of $20 of leftovers every week. I expect the same is true here.
The danger when we hear statistics like these is we do nothing. We are like the hard and stony ground in which a seed cannot grow. But Jesus speaks to us through Scripture, and he speaks to us through the events of our day. We cannot ignore what he says. As a community of faith, committed to living out the gospel, we have a responsibility to act. Poverty and global warming are not someone else’s problems to solve. We too must do something. We can pray and in such a way that our lives are changed. We can ask God to help us see the beauty of the earth and of all who inhabit it. We can consider wisely how we vote. And we can tread carefully on our planet, simplifying our lives so that others can simply live, and considerate of those who will follow us.
A letter was tabled at Vestry on Thursday night. It came from two parishioners. Following on from the talks and study groups held here in recent years, and an involvement in the East Harbour Carbon Reduction Action Group, they had an idea. They wanted to establish a community garden at St Alban’s. And having received support from our gardeners, the idea was presented to Vestry and it was given the green light. The problem is the land requested behind the hall is not the best of places for a garden. The ground is hard and full of roots, and is not as sunny as one would like. But being creative kinds of people, they plan to build raised beds and to sow their seeds in soil well prepared with compost.
I am sure the garden will be a success. Hopefully it will bring people together, and skills too easily lost will be shared with others. But I think it also serves as a parable for us. Sometimes to act on God’s word, in our personal lives or on a global scale, seems all too hard and difficult. We would prefer not to listen. But if we are open to new ways of doing things and are prepared to get our fingers dirty, then the impossible becomes possible, and God’s life in us will grow.
So may we listen to Jesus’ words and be inspired by his life, that the word of God may not be scorched by the sun nor consumed by the birds; but take root in our lives and bring forth grain abundantly.
As Jesus says, ‘Let anyone who has ears to hear listen!’

A sermon preached at St Alban’s on Sunday 13 July 2008
(Isaiah 55:10-13; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)