I have a little herb garden in the courtyard outside my kitchen.  It is looking a little unkempt at this time of the year.  In the Spring I like to sow some seeds.  I like to be able to pick fresh parsley, coriander, mint, and basil from my garden.  In the last few years a couple of chilli plants have been added.  When I sow the seeds, I am careful not to spill any.  I don’t waste a seed from the packet.  I ensure each one is carefully laid in the shallow trench I have prepared.  The seeds are spaced evenly, and then watered and covered.  Then the waiting begins.  It is always lovely when the first shoots sprout.  I was reminded of my herb garden, and my sowing style, when I read this weeks Gospel.  Jesus tells the parable of a sower going out to sow.

I found myself distracted by the casual, and almost careless way, that the sower in the parable was sowing the seed. Some seed fell on the edge of the path and the birds came and ate it up!  Some seed fell on patches of rock where it found little soil and sprang up straight away, but because it didn’t have depth it withered and died.  Other seed fell among the thorns and was choked by weeds.  Finally the sower gets some seed in good soil and it produces a good crop.  It all seems a bit wasteful to me, and I don’t think I would employ that sower to plant my garden.

Of course, Jesus is not just talking about gardening.  He is talking about the wor(l)d of God.  He is talking about the seeds of God’s kingdom.  When I think about it like that I am in awe.  Jesus teaches and preaches and heals and forgives in a very generous way.  He brings the presence of God, and sows the seeds of God’s vision for the world, in a liberal way with elements spilling over in all sorts of places.

If our hearts and our lives are the soil that receives God’s word, then Jesus’ sowing is generous.  He sows the seeds even when the door to our heart is closed and it can only fall on the path outside.  He sows the seeds of the word of God even when our hearts are like rock.  He sows the seeds of the word of God even when our lives are tangled up with the weeds of worries and concerns about other matters going on in our lives.  He throws out seeds generously and trusts that somewhere, sometime, it will find rich soil and produce a crop.  He never stops sowing seeds it would seem.  And he gives without counting the cost.  This parable speaks to me of a generous and patient God, whose giving and forgiving is immense.  This text speaks to me of a world in which all people can be as generous and forgiving with their love, their patience, their nurturing and encouragement of others.

Maybe I will throw my seeds a little more liberally and less cautiously this Spring.

By Fr Brendan Reed