Matthew 13: 1 – 9, 18 – 23

There’s a really nice trail through the Pinelands out in the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest which very few people seem to use. My daughter Kim introduced it to me last Fall, and I’ve walked it a few times since then, including last Monday. It starts at Pakim Pond and zigs and zags on its way to Mt. Misery (you actually walk behind the camp) then back through some cranberry bogs to make about a 10 – 11 mile ‘loop’. 

It’s a pretty trail, and rather secluded. I wouldn’t recommend you trying it until after the next frost, however; this past Monday I pulled 27 ticks off of myself (yes, I was counting) and had to give Gabby a tick bath when we got home! I would also suggest that unless you’re pretty experienced in following trails that the first time you go, you take someone with you who has been there before. See, it’s a bit tricky in some places. 

The trail is blazed white (i.e., there are white lines on trees marking it)… mostly. There are a few stretches where there are lots of blazes, and then there are other places where you have to stop and guess which way is right. The problem is that there are lots of side trails, deer runs, ATV tracks, dirt roads, and fire cuts intersecting the Mt. Misery loop its entire length. And the trail frequently takes unexpected turns. 

Especially one spot right near the Mt. Misery camp! Going counter clockwise on the loop, just past the camp, you find yourself walking on a rather wide, flat trail. By wide, I mean 6 – 8 feet wide. Almost a road! Wide enough that you are not brushing up against the blueberry bushes on either side, so you aren’t collecting ticks on your legs for once. Wide enough that your mind – subconsciously, anyway – is saying to your legs, “Hey! Let’s stay on this trail for awhile longer… this is nice!” 

So it is very easy to miss this spot where the correct trail, (i.e., the one that takes you back to your car!) makes a radical turn to the left. (I’ve missed it twice now!) It’s easy to miss it because that trail to the left is surrounded by bushes, and is barely two feet wide. It is about a foot deep too, dug into the sand. It looks exactly like a ‘fire cut’ – a trench cut through the woods by some sort of digging machine to stop a brush fire. (It might have been exactly that at one point, I don’t know.) 

If you look down that trail, at that point, you see immediately how it starts to turn, and goes up and down over sand ‘humps’. And again, your mind tells you – ‘This can’t be right!  That wide, flat, straight, easy path that I’m already on must be the right one!’ But, it is not. 

***

Now there really is a point to my sharing all this! As I came to that same spot this week (I was watching for it this time!) I was thinking about this message, and the Scripture reading that we just read: Jesus’ ‘parable of the soils’.  And that spot on the Mt. Misery loop trail helped me see part of this parable in a new light. 

Jesus here, talks about a farmer scattering seed, you are probably very familiar with this story. Basically, he describes four types of soil, right?  There is first, the hard packed soil that lies between the rows of fertile ground. This is where the farmer walks. And the seed that lands there doesn’t have a chance – before anything happens at all, the birds swoop down and eat it. 

Then there is the rocky soil. Some of the seed settles in there, and germinates. But before very long, the young plants wither and die because the soil is so thin that the roots don’t develop properly. And without deep roots, of course they can’t survive the heat and pressures of life. 

And then there’s this third kind of soil.

Something that I never really noticed before is that Jesus says that the weeds (or, ‘thorns’) “grew up and choked the tender plants”.  Which means that they weren’t there, or at least, they weren’t noticeable when the seed first fell. But – see if you can follow my thought process here – the ground was fertile, wasn’t it? 

The ground, this third type of soil, was able to support the germination, and development of the seeds and young plants. The problem was that it also supported the germination and development of weeds and thorns! And these eventually came into dominance, to the point where they choked the farmer’s plants – not to death, as was the case for the other two, but to unfruitfulness.  Because of the weeds and thorns, there was no fruit to be harvested from these plants. 

You with me? 

Jesus, later on in this chapter gives an interpretation of the parable to his followers. He tells them that the story is all about discipleship; this parable is about how people will respond to the Word of God, which is represented by the farmer’s seed.  He says, there will be some people who ‘hear’ the Word, but before anything can happen as a result of that hearing, the devil will come along and snatch it away. And that’s it. End of story. 

Then there are those who will hear the Word, and respond to it joyfully; they will jump right in without considering what this new life is going to cost them. They don’t then do what they need to do to grow in their faith, they never ‘go deep’, they never become ‘grounded’ or ‘rooted’ in their faith, and eventually some of those inevitable storms of life that we talked about a couple of weeks ago come along, and that’s it for them, too. They wither right up and die. No roots… no depth. No life. 

But the third soil is kind of interesting, because it’s in a bit different category from the others. See, it actually has more in common with the good soil than with the hard packed soil, or the shallow, rocky soil.  This third soil is a place where stuff can really grow, and in fact, it does grow. But while it’s growing it becomes evident that there is something else in there, too.  There is something else that is growing just as vibrantly as the good plant; in fact, this other thing is more powerful, stronger, more dominant than the farmer’s plant. And it eventually chokes the good seed…so that little or no fruit appears. 

Notice this: the danger to the farmer’s seed in this third type of soil does not appear until sometime down the road in the life span of the good plant. The danger doesn’t show itself until quite some time has gone by, after an extended period of time where it may have appeared that this plant was actually doing pretty well. Who would have realized that this ‘other thing’ was there all along? It just ‘sneaks into’ the picture. 

Now here’s where it really gets interesting. Jesus names the weeds! Their names are “worries of this life’ and ‘the deceitfulness of wealth”.   We looked at a parable two Wednesdays ago in our Soup and Study class where Jesus talked about worrying. And without taking time to read that again (you can look it up in Matthew 6) what’s clear is that Jesus linked up worry with ‘mammon’. Mammon is an Aramaic word that stands for property, money, or wealth.  I.e., security – whatever earthly thing we might put our ultimate trust in at the end of the day is our mammon. And Jesus said ‘you can’t serve God and mammon.  Can’t do it. You have to choose one or the other. 

So, back to today’s Scripture: Jesus says that worrying about wealth and the deceitfulness of wealth are the two things that can choke the Word of God in a person’s life; so much so that that life becomes unfruitful.  So, what is the deceitfulness of wealth?  How does wealth deceive? 

Well, I think that that is not hard to see at all: wealth deceives us when we begin to believe that it – wealth, stuff, pensions, property, etc. - is the basis of our happiness, or our security. When our wealth (mammon) becomes the thing we live for, when making money, accumulating property, enjoying stuff, is the main reason behind everything that we do, because we really are convinced that this is the road to peace, and security and happiness… then we have become deceived by wealth. We’ve bought into a lie, we’ve become entrapped by believing a promise that just can’t deliver. 

And when that happens, we find ourselves standing in a spiritual wasteland, a place where our fruitfulness for the Kingdom of God  – the only thing in our existence that really matters because it’s the only thing in our lives that goes beyond this life (the only thing we can ‘take with us’) becomes endangered.  And htat typically happens without our even realizing that it is happening. 

Now, I think its time for me to add a personal note, or a disclaimer, here.  At this point, because you are smart people and I know you listen to my messages carefully (a trust that I take very seriously), so you might have put two and two together and concluded that the “point of this sermon is to try to convince you to make a pledge to the Embrace the Future campaign next week to pay off our mortgage.”  That’s the reason for this message. 

I know you’re thinking that, I would be, too. And you know, I would probably be dishonest if I were to say that that just isn’t the case at all. Because, of course, I want us to be able pay down, or pay off this mortgage. And I think we can do that! I’d love for this to be the last capital campaign we do for this building! And the fact that next week we’re going to receive pledges for that, certainly factors into the timing of this message, of course it does!  But not entirely… let me explain… 

I heard my call into ministry about 35 years ago. Back when I was a sophomore in High School. Over the years since then, I have tried to be faithful to that call. I went to college, I went to Seminary for three years. I did all the things I was supposed to do in order that some others in authority over me might affirm my calling, which they did. In 1980 I began serving my first appointment, and in 1983 I was ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church.  That call is still the main motivator in my life. 

One common thread in this journey for me has been that I have always understood my calling as a mandate from God to go and ‘make disciples’. That is truly, the only reason that I’m in ministry. So I have always been able to define my ‘job’, my task, very simply: I am called to be a disciple and to share with others what I’ve learned on my journey, and to invite and encourage people to journey with me.  I have learned to do the other stuff that comes with the title ‘Pastor’ – the administration, counseling, the programming, the leadership issues, and the politics (you can’t escape that!)  And I’m comfortable with all that. 

But the day I start to see myself as primarily an administrator, or, a programmer, or a fund raiser is the day that I need to talk with my Bishop about finding a new place to serve.  Because it would mean that I have lost track of my calling. Yes, it is my responsibility as Senior Pastor of this great congregation to oversee the process of taking care of our debt – it has been our church’s project for over nine years now.  And I accept that responsibility, and I’m doing the best I can to make that happen, utilizing the amazing gifts and blessings of the lay people in this congregation – and putting a lot of trust in you to respond. 

But my bigger task is to make disciples. So, my approach to this whole ‘mortgage thing’ has been something like this all along: “what can we learn from this building project, from raising funds to pay a mortgage, that can help us grow as disciples of Jesus Christ here at First UMC?” What is the discipleship component of this practical need of the Church? 

And that is really why we’re looking at the parable of the soils today.  Yes, we need to pay the mortgage, and we will do that. Hopefully sooner than later! But look: here is a wonderful opportunity for us – for many of us – to take a serious, and powerful, (and maybe a risky and scary) step of discipleship that can make an amazing difference in the fruitfulness of your life in Christ, and the effectiveness of the ministry in this church.  Right here the practical needs of our church and the spiritual priorities of a life in Christ can come together.  And what a shame if we miss out on this opportunity! 

Back to that Mount Misery trail: maybe you can picture it like this… you’ve been walking along this wide, safe road for awhile. And you have been growing in your faith. But you’ve been walking so long, that perhaps you haven’t noticed the weeds growing around your feet. You haven’t noticed that the sides of the trail are closing in, tangling you up, so that your walk has slowed to a crawl.  But maybe you’ve been walking so long down this same road that it has become very comfortable, and familiar to you, so it’s hard to admit that you’re getting bogged down. 

But again, just maybe, there was a turnoff awhile back that you missed! And missing that turnoff is what has gotten you bogged down in your spiritual life. You’re not getting anywhere. There has been little or no fruit lately. You joy is lacking. Your faith is wavering. Maybe you are feeling like you’re missing something, and wishing that you could make more of a difference in the world. Maybe it is time to turn around and find that place – that turnoff – that you missed? 

Jesus named those weeds: the cares of life and the deceitfulness of wealth. That is the place where a lot of people get tripped up and off track. 

I’ve confessed to you before that I like to listen to Sports talk radio in my car. I still do! In fact, there are now three preset buttons on my radio, and I switch between the three. Especially during some of the more obnoxious commercials. Lately, I’ve noticed that there are two or three commercials running constantly that just flat out appeal to the base desires of the listening audience.  “You can be rich!”   “Everyone wants to be rich, and I can show you how!”  “Just think what your life would be like if you were as rich as me – and you can be! 

It’s just assumed that this is a starting point for everyone. How could our main desire in life not be to accumulate money? That’s their given. And for most people, it’s probably right, it’s built into us. They know it. It’s interesting how even in the church we can buy into that as well. Because even believers tend to ignore a lot of the things that Jesus taught us about money. 

For example, Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  We say that, but do we believe it? What evidence is there in our lives for that? 

In Christian circles, we talk about people with lots of possessions as being ‘blessed’. But Jesus told the rich young ruler to go and sell everything he had, so that he could have treasure in heaven. Meaning that his treasure was keeping him out of the kingdom. Jesus also said that “it is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”  Did you ever think about that? Because, in this nation, we all rich… 

Now, he also said right after that, that nothing is impossible with God!  His point in both of those passages, as the rest of the New Testament teaches us, is not that money or wealth or possessions, in themselves, are bad or evil.  ‘Stuff’ is neutral, neither good nor bad, and in fact, wealth can be used for great purposes.  The consistent biblical message, however, is that wealth that is hoarded sets us up for Spiritual trouble. 

Loving money is a root of all sorts of evil, says Paul. We can’t serve God and money, says Jesus – one has to take priority.  The deceitfulness of wealth is what chokes the fruit of mature believers. And we don’t have to be rich to be choking on wealth! This is not about our income level. Simply the desire for what we don’t have can do it. Choke! The important question, as I said earlier, is “What is the basis of your security?” That’s not an easy question to answer. I can’t answer this for anyone but myself, but it is well worth considering.

On this topic, I’ve been sharing the same message from this pulpit for 13 years; not very often, but steadily – and it is this: stewardship, giving, tithing, extra mile giving are together a huge component of what it means to be a faithful, growing disciple of Jesus Christ. We can talk about not trusting in our possessions, and trusting in God for our ultimate security, and the finding our deep joy of life in Christ … but we’ll never really know that unless we are givers.  Jesus made that pretty clear. 

So, yes, next Sunday is going to be a time of great celebration at FUMC – just like last week was, and our Discipleship commitment time in the Fall was.  Because in publicly stating our intention to give – joyfully, and freely, and gladly – we are once again declaring the priority of our allegiance to the Kingdom of God. We’re saying something about ourselves and this church. 

I hope you will join us in this great day of Celebration. I’m going to be sharing a great story of what God is doing among us. I have a letter (to you) from Harlan Baxter that I’m going to read. We’ll view a second inspirational video. And we’ll cap off the weekend with a great Chicken BBQ – everybody is invited... please come, and encourage others as well. Join us in worshipping God with our voices, our hearts, and our possessions.