This week I begin prep for next Sunday’s message on Parables in Matthew 13. I love Matthew 13 because it gives the opportunity to reflect on the use of parables in the ministry of Jesus.

The biggest section is the parable of the sower. It is not the very top of my list for favorites in this chapter, but I do like it a lot. The main reason I like it is because it goes against the grain of how we are “doing church” in America. The way we “do church” right now is “target audiences.” Make sure you target a “receptive” audience and drag them in.

The problem is this: you don’t know exactly who is “receptive.” That is the point of the parable. The parable isn’t about the sower. It’s about the soils. We are to give out the seed. The soil condition is not up to us. The sowing of the seed IS up to us.

My task needs to focus on sowing the good news of the Kingdom of God. The condition of the soil (while I want it very much to be good soil ALL THE TIME) just isn’t my call. I grate against that lack of control as an obsessive American, but I can rest in the command to sow the seed if I will truly be a person of the Kingdom of God.