Sermon preached via Live Zoom to Crete on Sundsay 12th July 2026 – Matthew 13, 1-9, 18-23

Revd Leonard Doolan

 

Around the end of June and beginning of July the Church universal is usually very busy with ordinations of deacons and priests, and newly ordained priests presiding at the Holy Liturgy for the first time. It can seem a bit ‘clergy heavy’ so we have to keep a keen eye on the whole people of God, ordained and lay together. Whichever we are, our primary calling to be Christ-like is an awesome calling.

At the first Mass of a young priest, the great priest-scholar Austin Farrer, in a sermon called Walking Sacraments, reminds everyone present that we are ‘pygmies in giants’ armour’. Juest imagine you and I are called to be ‘mini-me’s’ of Christ! Gulp!

I wonder how many of you know what a Hirax is? It is a funny little creature that you find in parts of north and east Africa. Strangely enough you also find them around the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Hiraxes are a little bigger than guinea pigs, have special padded feet that allow them to climb on rocks and they are very good at jumping. They entertain tourists and pilgrims effectively when they visit Galilee. So far you might think I’m making it up, but the best is yet to come. Although this little mammal is like a large guinea pig the nearest animal to it genetically in the animal kingdom is the elephant. There you are – now you are convinced I’m telling you a pack of lies.

Well, actually I’m not. The hirax is related to the elephant, and if you ever visit Galilee, you’ll see them. It seems bizarre that something so small can be related to one of the biggest animals on earth.

In this section of St. Matthew’s gospel Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God. What a huge reality the Kingdom of God must be – greater than we can imagine, understand, accept and explain – too big for us mere mortals. Yet Jesus tells us about it plainly and clearly in a way that we can relate to. Forget the big stuff. Focus!

To help us focus, our Lord uses parables to explain the nature, the qualities, the substance of the Kingdom; small examples to give us an insight into how we should be related to God, his Kingdom, and with each other.  These are as the hyrax is to the elephant – different in scale, but related in identity.

In today’s section of the Gospel, our Lord presents us with one of the best known of parables -the parable of the sower, and, it seems, its explanation. The whole point about parables is that they are self explanatory, so any explanation can actually diminish the layers of meaning and symbolism. I have a theory that the explanation given here is like a little mini sermon of the very early Christian church, a hermeneutic, that has found its way into the final version of the gospel text.

The parable of the Sower is rich in its layers of interpretation. A good parable allows the listener’s imagination to run wild. A good parable has an interpretation that is both universal in its truth but also particular to personal application and affect. So, that particularity will have different meanings and nuances for you, compared to the person next to you. That is one of the joys of truth – it is not a straightjacket to constrain and enslave us, but as we are told in John’s gospel, to set us free.

So it is unusual, to say the least, to have an interpretation of the Parable of the sower from the lips of Jesus, because it seems to be giving us a single interpretation of the truth inherent in the parable.

So the interpretation in the text has something of the flavour of a ‘teaching text’, a ‘text of the Church and for the Church. The interpretation is of course interesting, and of some considerable value. However I can see what the attraction is, what the temptation is, to read the parable in one single way.

Let’s think about its attraction and consider the temptation.

Our Lord sets before us a fine parable – maybe one of the finest, but certainly one of the most universally recognizable. In its gospel form, this parable is a piece of church text – used within the liturgy of the gathered People of God (I’m talking now about a long time ago!).

We are all good members of the Church – near to perfect in fact. Church life determines a great deal of our values and our behaviour – our Common Life gives us a view about the world, about God, about our neighbour. We know that all our texts, and shared life, revolve around the Great Commandment of Love. All good so far.

Who’s this new person here this morning? First time here, never seen him before. She’s new in the village and caused a lot of trouble when her furniture removal van turned up – didn’t even apologize afterwards. Very surprised to see him here. Doubt if she’ll stay the course. I’m sure she’s not one of us.

Oh look, there’s the young man that got into bother with the Police the other week. They say he was high on drugs when he was arrested. Came from a good family, I’m told, but went right downhill when he became a teacher. He was living rough on the streets when the Police took him in – in a bad way. Eating food put down for stray dogs and wild cats. Don’t think he will feel comfortable here with us. He says he wants to turn his life round and live like a Christian, you know, like us. Can’t see it myself. Don’t think he has the backbone to do it.

Baptism in the Liturgy today – what another one! I turned up to my church and it was full of strangers. Why does the Vicar keep putting baptisms into OUR Sunday morning worship? They never come to church and although they attended all the Baptism Preparation classes I wonder how long they’ll be able to keep up their promises? Of course I told them they were welcome when they turned up – well you have to say that these days, don’t you.

Three random little stories, entirely created by me, and ficticious. But did you sense anything familiar in the three stories? Are they anything like a little snapshot of what we can be tempted to become as God’s Holy People.

And so, from the perspective of God’s Holy people – so perfect and yet so flawed, can you begin to see how the interpretation of the Parable of the Sower has to it an element of the ‘insider’ observing the outsider. Each category in the contents of the Parable can have the interpretation of the church insider – and so the explanation given in the gospel text is highly attractive to the insiders, because it conforms to what we like conformity to be.

Some seed fell on the path and the birds ate them up. Some seeds fell on rocky ground so no depth of soil and so withered in the sun. Some seed fell among the thorns which choked them as they grew. Then, oh thank you Lord, the seed that fell on the good soil. That’s you and me isn’t it. We can see it all from where we’re standing, just waiting for our number to be called – some of the seed fell on good soil, so it’s just like us. Neat isn’t it – well it is from where I’m sitting. It all so fits so well. And better still the explanation in St. Matthew’s gospel confirms our viewpoint. Done and dusted! Best parable in the gospels!

Hold on though – how does Jesus finish the actual parable? ‘Let anyone with ears listen’. With our neat interpretation that suits our predisposition so well, are we actually listening? Is it all about the seed or is it about something else – something yet more challenging. Is Jesus telling us about the soil? Is he actually placing us under judgement? We are not insider observers at all. We are Christ’s Church, called to be his Body. What sort of soil are we as his Church? What are the conditions of our church life? Together do we allow new seeds to be pecked up because there is no depth to our life together? Is our church life really that shallow?

Do we allow new seeds dry up and wither because our hearts are rocky so we are also withered up? Do we have so many thorny rules and regulations, both ecclesiastical but also individually that subconsciously choke any new growth? Or are we rich in God’s grace, fertile in faith, living the love of God, rejoicing in scripture, prayer, worship, study, and community service, prepared as the host for new seed, nutritious to new seedlings, and rejoicing to see abundant fruits in other people?

It is a big ask! I believe the Parable is about Christ’s Church and about our judgement when we so often get things wrong. We are called, each of us, to be directly related to Christ himself, to be in mystical and real partnership with him in living the life of the Body of Christ, liberated by love and grace of God.

As St. Paul says in today’s Epistle, ‘For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, Abba, Father, it is the very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if in fact we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified in him.’ (Rom 8, 15-18).

We are the Church of Christ, called to strive at being the good soil in which the good news can flourish and our world be transformed. By God’s grace it’s not so hard. Most of what it takes is the word so willingly used by Blessed Mary – yes!

The next time you see a hyrax in the street just think of an elephant.