St. Helen’s Daily Lenten Devotional
“A sower went out to sow…” (Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23; Luke 8:4-8, 11-15) A parable is a little story used to illustrate a bigger one. This little story is all about seeds and soils…and the challenges facing farmers in every era. The twist to the saga is that the seeds that fell on good soil, and grew, resulted in an exaggerated harvest, some a hundredfold; an abundance that surely meant security for the coming year.
In the interpretation, the seed is ‘the word of the kingdom’ or ‘the word of God’. Usually understood as a later addition, or sermon, it paints various scenarios to reveal the outcome of the nurture, or lack of nurture, of the word. But what is God’s word?
We consider the Holy Scriptures to be God’s inspired word. We speak of God’s holy law, which is much more than the 10 Commandments, as God’s word. But The Word, Logos, is also Jesus himself; “the word became flesh and lived among us”. The parable invites us to Kingdom life, and Kingdom work, with Jesus. The promise is simple: life with God flourishes when the message, the Gospel, is received and nurtured. The complexities are acknowledged. Not everyone will respond in the same way. Different personalities and the range and nature of life experiences, can open, or close, people to the presence of God. Even different times in the same individual’s life make one more open or sceptical or more hesitant to respond. We can be receptive.
We can be closed. Life with God always remains a free invitation, not an imposition.