The Gospel reading for Sexagesima, the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, is Luke 8:4-15. The title that is generally given to this is The Parable of the Sower. Amazingly, however, in practice those who identify themselves as Christians rarely treat this as the parable of THE Sower. In practice, the tendency is to ignore The Sower and to act as though we were the sower.
In common parlance this is called Evangelism. Yet the Lord Jesus gives this parable in contrast to what is commonly thought to be evangelism. He explains the true work of evangelism in this parable. He also teaches what the true message of the Gospel is.
As I prepared Sunday’s sermon my thoughts became so deep that I wondered whether the sermon would be hard to hear on account of the depth. Even as I proofread I wondered. It was not until I heard it as I preached it that my wondering was turned to wonderment. Truly the message of this parable is a wonderful message.
I find myself amazed at the difference in the dynamic of hearing the Word as opposed to reading it only. There truly is a difference. It impacts a person differently. That, too, is declared in this parable of our Lord Jesus as He sets before us the wonderful statement of affirmation that is simultaneously a word of warning, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
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