A seed is a marvellous thing ; it can make barren ground fruitful, but can also be weak & vulnerable, it depends entirely on the soil in which it is sown. If the soil is lacking, nothing will happen, if the soil is good, the harvest will be rich. So it is with a word. A word can comfort, inspire, teach, correct, challenge, change a life… or it can come to nothing. It is completely dependant on the attitude of the one who hears it. If Seed falls on a hard path, it cannot put down roots so is eaten by the birds. So it is with words that are spoken to people with closed minds, prejudice & pride closes a person’s mind, so does fear; fear of a new or disturbing truth. These people seem to be unreachable.

Seed falls on stony ground & it takes root quickly but the withers away because of lack of soil & moisture. Some hear the word with enthusiasm but as soon as carrying it out becomes difficult, their enthusiasm wanes and they abandon it. The lives of some people are littered with thing they start but never finish.

Seed falls onto ground, where it gets off to a good start , but then weeds appear & the seed gets smothered. People may receive the word of God, but there are so many other interests in their lives that the most important thing is crowded out. People are too busy to pray, they are so involved in other things that they have no time or energy left for matters of the spirit.

Seed can of course fall on good soil, it can put down roots, find nourishment and it will produce a good harvest. These are people who hear the word, understand it and act on it. Their lives are enriched by it.

God’s word comforts, guides, inspires and challenges us. You could say that the sower in the reading, sows haphazardly, on the path, rocks, thorns & good ground. You could say it was wasteful but he wants to give every part of the field a chance to produce something. God keeps on sewing his word in our hears, even though he knows that most of it will be eaten up, falls on rocks or amongst thorns.

Grains of wheat were found in the tomb of one of the pharaohs, they were planted and watered and they came to live and grew, after 5000 years of lying in a tomb. The seed of God’s word, once dropped into the human heart, never dies, it is never too late to act on the word of God.

“A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day.” Emily Dickinson