The sermon for February 3 was based on Luke 8:4-15.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Sower sows with reckless love. With seeming abandon, with carelessness, with utter disregard for the fertility of the soil, He sows. The Seed goes forth to the most unlikely of places: to the wayside, to the rocky soil, to thorn infested ground. It seems as though the Seed has no chance of bearing fruit. This Sower does not act like any sower you've ever known. In fact, it would seem easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for this Seed to come to fruition. But all things are possible with God, and by His all-sufficient grace some seed does come to fruition. And while most of it seems to be wasted - gone to the birds, dead of dehydration, or trampled under foot - that which is brought to maturity, against all odds, bears a hundredfold.

Jesus says that the Seed in this parable is the Word of God. By God's Word men are separated into those who reject God and those who are saved by God. This Word is that which will not return empty. It will accomplish that for which it is sent. It will either damn or it will save. Mostly, like it or not, it will damn. For the most part the Word will be rejected out of hand, like seed that is cast onto the pavement. In other cases it will be received with joy for a short time but then given up in time of temptation, like seed in rocky places without deep roots. Or it will be tossed aside when things get tough like seed choked out by thorns. But your focus should not be on that which is rejected, for this rejection is natural and to be expected. Instead, your focus should be on the miracle of increase, life, and growth given and sustained by the Sower through His precious Seed. Much was rejected. So what? That doesn't matter. For a small portion is received by good and noble hearts that keep it and bear fruit with patience. This is all that really matters!

And the Lord tells you that this is a mystery. It is not commonly known or self-evident. Those who know it are those to whom God has revealed it and no one else. It is a mystery because it does not agree with the ways of the world. The world's wisdom dictates that there are good farmers who follow the laws of experience and science and foolish farmers who do not. It is difficult enough to scratch out a living with all the aid of fertilizers and herbicides, with seeds planted at the correct depth for the moisture level and all of that. What if a farmer disregarded all that and sowed his seed in Meijer's parking lot? You would call him a fool. Fools are those who fail. By the world's standards, it is success that counts. The world's wisdom sows according to the laws of reason, experience, and science. And the world makes disciples in the same manner.

It is the world's proverb, not the Bible's, that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. It is the wisdom of advertising and marketing that rule discipleship for the world. What is it that makes men disciples of certain sports teams or products? Those are tried and true techniques. And so the wisdom of world says to the Church, "Take up our methods and quit being foolish. Do away with all that old fashioned nonsense. Stop talking like Jesus did, about sin and death and Hell. Be practical. Give advice for this life, for the here and now, and leave the talk of the after-life for another time." The world says "You gotta sell it. You gotta meet people where they are. You gotta appeal." But Jesus says "You gotta sow it. You gotta preach without regard to what the fallen flesh of men desire or demand. And it cannot be compromised for itching ears or in accordance with advice garnered from Wall Street. Most will not like it. Be forewarned, most will reject it. But in those whom I choose," the Lord says, "My Word will bear fruit. You just sow it and leave the rest up to Me."

Perhaps you could make Bethany "grow" by using the world's methods, with modern fertilizers of schmaltzy, easy music and flashy posters, with scientific herbicides of Law-motivation and false promises. You could market your church like TV markets Coca-Cola. But in the end, would you be the Church or would you be the world? Would you be a congregation which knows the Word of God and loves and keeps it, or would you merely be a congregation which reflects and repeats the cultural ideas of the day? Would you be a congregation through which the love of Christ bears spiritual fruit of amazing and unmeasurable proportions, or a congregation of statistics and counting? Will they know you by your love, by your zeal for God and His Word, or will they know you by your prestige, status, and power in this life? Will Bethany be in the image of the Man of Sorrows who was despised and rejected and crucified, or in the image of a popular game show host with perfect hair and a dazzling smile?

The fact of the matter is, at times you and I can feel quite overwhelmed and despair threatens to rule over us. How can Christ expect Bethany to make disciples simply by preaching and baptizing - and especially by preaching the hard, solid, uncompromising message of the prophets and apostles? In the final analysis all we really have are words. We have no clever slogans, we have no flashy posters, no thought provoking, bit-sentimentality on the TV. All we have is the Gospel, mere words. Even the Sacraments, upon close inspection, are nothing more than the Word enfleshed in visible elements. For it is not the bread and the wine or the water themselves that give life and salvation, but the Word of God in, and connected to, those things.

The world has all the multi-media advantages as it preaches to people raised on ten-second sound bites and used to judging by emotions. In a world where everyone only has ten seconds of fame, it seems as though Jesus has already had His ten seconds. Can Bethany really carry on? Can you be a faithful sower of His Word? You feel so hungry, nearly starving, for a bit of success. And there is Satan with a hot, steaming bowl of lentil soup. Will you sell your birthright for a moment's satisfaction? Will you yield; or will you stand fast?

And here is the Sower, the Good Shepherd who loves and lays down His life for the sheep, who recklessly sows His life-giving Seed. With out-dated simplicity and clarity He calls the world to repentance and faith. And the world just laughs. But, nevertheless, He sows. He sows with abandon, casting His Seed even upon you, a poor, miserable sinner. The world would certainly not bother with you; Wayne-TV has never filmed a special on Bethany Lutheran Church. But Jesus Christ has bothered with you! And I'll take Christ over a TV reporter any day. I'm not claiming that by preaching Christ Bethany will "reach" as many people as a rock-n-roll beauty, or bring in as much money. No, measured in that sort of a way, Bethany cannot win. But, really, who cares? That is NOT what matters.

No, instead, Bethany will carry on as the Lord has given the Church to do: preaching - just preaching and teaching, in season and out of season, and caring not for the great many times when the Word is rejected and mocked, but rejoicing in those moments of miraculous intervention when God gives growth to His seed; those miraculous moments when Christ makes alive a spiritually dead baby at the Baptismal font or raises you from spiritual death by Holy Absolution; rejoicing in those miraculous moments when Christ comes into this building in the same Flesh born of Mary, crucified and raised from the dead, in lowly bread and wine, for His dear children to eat and to drink; rejoicing in those miraculous moments when His Word goes out and of His accord, by His own power and strength, creates and sustains faith in His elect. For those who are painfully pruned by Him and bear the fruit of patience in confession and give glory and praise to Him, for those dear saints, for you, I will rejoice and be glad.

For without the world even really noticing, the Word, the Seed, has been sown and it has - by the all-sufficient Grace of God - made a home for itself, in the most unlikely of places: even in your heart. It has borne the fruit of faith. In you, who have no merit or worthiness on your part in which to boast, who were the worst sort of soil imaginable, in you, a sinner whom He came to seek and to save, the Lord of the harvest has caused faith and trust in Him to grow. And He has not failed you. He will not fail you by His Word and His all-sufficient grace. You will bear fruit, a hundredfold. Thanks be to God!

The Peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Based on a sermon by Rev. D. H. Petersen.

Last Updated: 7/15/2008