Growing as Good Soil in the Kingdom of God 

This week, Father Seb gives a sermon on Matthew Chapter 13, verses 1-9 and 18-23 exploring the Parable of the Sower and how curiosity, rootedness, and focus help Christians receive and nurture the Word of God. He also reflects on how faith grows when we stay intellectually engaged, grounded in prayer and tradition, and centred on Christ amid life’s distractions.

I’ve always enjoyed thinking through the parables of Jesus. They hold such deep truths about the life of faith and the nature of grace. If you read further on in the Gospel passage from Matthew chapter 13 that we heard, we come across the disciples asking Jesus why he speaks in parables to the crowds for they can seem strange and puzzling. It is in fact very rare to find Jesus explaining things in a doctrinal format, but rather he often speaks and teaches through stories – parables – that reveal truths which are never quite reached by argument alone.
 
So, what’s going on? Notice Jesus ‘went out of the house and sat beside the lake’. And then, we are told, great crowds gathered around him. The idea is that Jesus here is speaking to the whole world. He has emerged from his house and he is addressing everyone – then, now, and always.
 
And sitting in the sort of posture we can imagine of an ancient teacher he talks about the sower, who went far and wide sowing seeds. Some of the seeds landed on the path and they were eaten up by the birds. Some of the seeds landed on rocky ground, where they withered away. Some seeds were sown among thorns. And then there were some which were sown on rich soil, and brought forth grain – thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.
 
We don’t need to think too hard about what it means because Jesus explains it to us. Jesus is the seed that is sown for the whole world and is destined to take root in the hearts of the whole world. The grace of God is present and open to everyone far and wide.
 
But, says the Lord, it doesn’t all go as hoped. The seed sown on the path refers to those who hear the word of the kingdom but do not understand it. As such the ‘evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart.’
 
Curiosity. I spoke last week about how Christianity comprises of a great intellectual tradition. Perhaps that can remind us of the importance of thinking, learning, and being curious about the faith. Through those things the fundamentals are nurtured so that the Word of God can be received and accepted – both in ourselves and in others. Let’s not settle for religious apathy. Rather, let us share our faith in a spirit of discussion and learning. Such things help nurture our hearts so that the Word of God can take hold.
 
So, we have curiosity.
 
Next, we have rootedness. The seed is sown on rocky ground. This points to ‘the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while.’
 
Have you ever noticed how there are those who appear so passionately interested by questions and matters of faith and religion, or are drawn in by very charismatic leaders and influences, yet lack the disciplines of the faith? They express great excitement and enthusiasm for a while, but in time grow vaguely spiritual. There is in them a lack of rootedness. Rootedness in what? Rootedness in prayer, liturgy, the sacraments and traditions of Mother Church. These things give a focus, depth, and pattern by which the heart can be nurtured and truly changed by the Word of God. Jesus is telling us that in our faith we must persevere in staying rooted in these things.
 
Next, comes focus. We need to have our priorities straight. The issue is outlined as such: ‘As for what is sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.’
 
We can hear the Word, take it in, but then comes the business of staying focused. The path of God needs to take centre place amidst all the competing and conflicting voices. Where are our priorities set? Are they set on Jesus Christ or on particular concerns, such as home and family, work and reputation, earnings and savings. Those concerns are important – it wouldn’t be good to entirely neglect them – but if they start to dominate over the Word of God that has started to form in our heart, then something is very off.
 
So, what about the good soil? Its nature should now appear clear to see. The good soil remains curious. It tries to understand and learn about the faith. It takes time to read, study the scriptures, and work things out alongside other curious pilgrims. The good soil stays rooted. It perseveres in the religious disciplines and practices of the faith. And the good soil keeps its focus amidst the various distractions and conflicting voices in the world.
 
And when we do those things and encourage those things in one another, Jesus tells us, it will bear fruit – thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold. We will, as we continually pray, see growth.
 
So, let us be a church community who seek to grow in faithfulness, as we try evermore to nurture in ourselves and in one another a spirit of curiosity, rootedness, and focus, where Jesus, the Word made flesh, may dwell very richly.
 
Amen

Fr. Seb Lundberg, 12 July 2026