Sunday, July 12, 2026
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!” “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
What did you want to be when you grew up? What was your dream profession? And did any of you actually do it?
Well, in addition to my own childhood dreams of wanting to be a doctor or a lawyer or a journalist or a professor, I also really wanted to own a greenhouse. And long before I ever moved to Manhattan, I dreamed of a place like Cheshire where people would buy my plants and seek my advice and create beauty in their own little corner of the world.
It was a perfectly natural dream for me because as a kid, I always seemed to have my hands in the dirt - whether it was by force in my mother’s garden or whether it was in the seedlings I planted and nurtured as a young boy. Some of my most vivid childhood memories are directly connected to the earth. I remember eating blackberries fresh from the brambles and still warm from the sun. I remember the peppery goodness of a radish pulled from the ground and washed under a garden hose.
But these experiences are not unique. me. We humans are part and parcel of the earth – made from the earth, one with the earth. And perhaps that is part of the reason why the parables of Jesus continue to speak to us. We can all relate to his agrarian images -– even if our idea of a plentiful harvest is the produce section at Whole Foods.
“Once upon a time,” Jesus said, “there was a farmer who went out to plant seeds. But some of those seeds fell on the garden path. And the hungry birds, who are always watching, swooped down and gobbled them up. -- Some other seeds fell on rocky New England-type soil and quickly sprang to life. But the rocks kept their roots from going deep, and when the hot sun came out, they quickly withered and died. -- Still others of those seeds fell among the thorns and the weeds. And we all know how strong weeds can be. And they chocked out the crop. -- But some of those seeds actually hit the mark and fell on good soil. And those seeds took root and grew. And they didn’t just grow – they went crazy, like they had been doused with Miracle Grow, and produced 30, 60 and even 100 times more than usual.
We call this story the “Parable of the Sower.” But after hearing about all those seeds being scattered hither and yon, perhaps a more accurate description might be the “Parable of the Sloppy Farmer.”
But here’s the thing: that’s the way they farmed back in Jesus’s day. The farmer would walk into a field, grab a handful of seeds from the bag he carried, and throw them into the air on a windy day. The wind would pick up the seeds and scatter them. And then the farmer would plow, after the seeds were already on the ground. Some of the seeds found good soil and some didn’t. And isn’t that what life is like, Jesus said. Isn’t that what the Kingdom of God is like?
So, what are we to make of this Parable of the Sloppy Farmer? Well, one way to interpret this parable is to simply use Matthew’s interpretation. Matthew says that the seeds on the garden path, so quickly eaten by the birds, are like people who receive God’s word, but then the Evil One comes and snatches it away before it can do any good. And the seeds on the rocky ground are those folks who receive the good news with joy but then learn that the Christian life requires sacrifice and service. And that’s not what they thought they were signing up for in a New Member Class. And the seeds that fell among the thorns are those people whose spiritual lives get choked off by the love of money and the cares of the material world. But the seeds on the good ground represent those who hear the Gospel and let it produce a harvest of abundant goodness.
Using this interpretation, it’s very easy to divide humans into different categories of receptiveness, and then to judge others and ourselves accordingly. But as far as I can tell, the world is already too full of quick judgments and bellicose pronouncements about who is good and who is not. And besides that, I know that I am only good soil some of the time. The seed of the Gospel only sinks so far into my rocky heart some of the time. And there have been plenty of times when the seed has been snatched away by my own self-interest. And as for sacrifice, well I don’t like sacrifice any more than the next person. I want to be good soil. I try to be good soil. But I only am good soil some of the time.
I don’t think Jesus was dividing people into rigid immutable categories here. I just think Jesus was just describing me on four different days.
Well, that’s an interpretation with the emphasis on the soil. But we could also read this parable with an emphasis on the sloppy farmer. What does it say about God that God has never seen fit to improve her farming methods? What does it say about God that there are just seeds flying everywhere!
The Creator walks around the fields of our lives filled, with the stones of our grudges and the weeds of our regrets - and just throws seeds everywhere, hoping for any chance that they will take root. With abandon, God tosses seeds of justice, mercy, and healing high into the air, while the Spirit blows them in all directions. And God does this again and again even though God knows that most of it will not find root. But some of it will. And apparently, God thinks it’s worth it.
But we could take that emphasis on the sloppy farmer even further. This interpretation is a little out there, a little edgy, but I think it I think it has wings. And it is simply this: maybe God is not the farmer at all in this story. Maybe we are.
Now, in case you haven’t noticed, churches are very methodical places – especially New England Congregational churches! We are obsessed with planning and methodology and verifiable results. We never have more animated discussions in this church than the ones about budgets and bottom lines and membership trends.
But here’s a newsflash: while the modern church might indeed be a business, the Gospel of Jesus most definitely is not. And maybe our obsession with planting such straight rows is not the most faithful way to farm. Maybe this church’s job is to throw as many seeds into the air as we can and leave the rest to God.
Now, I am not talking about wasting the church’s money or resources. But I am talking about a joyful extravagance when it comes to kindness and justice and mercy and acceptance and hospitality and grace and peace. We must never be stingy with those seeds. We ought to be emptying our seed bags as fast as we can go, handful after handful scattered to the four corners.
Because there is no such things as a diminishing return in the Reign of God. You never run out of seeds in the Reign of God. Every time we reach into the bag for more justice and love and mercy, there is always more. And just about the time your arm gets tired and you think that all of this is a waste of time, suddenly a patch of green appears. And a life is changed. And hope blooms. And there is human flourishing.
And sometimes the humans that flourish are us. Because in the wild, windy fields of the Lord, some of that seed we so generously scatter, will fall back on us. And find root. For as Jesus once said, “You reap what you sow.”
Sunday, July 12, 2026
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!” “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
What did you want to be when you grew up? What was your dream profession? And did any of you actually do it?
Well, in addition to my own childhood dreams of wanting to be a doctor or a lawyer or a journalist or a professor, I also really wanted to own a greenhouse. And long before I ever moved to Manhattan, I dreamed of a place like Cheshire where people would buy my plants and seek my advice and create beauty in their own little corner of the world.
It was a perfectly natural dream for me because as a kid, I always seemed to have my hands in the dirt - whether it was by force in my mother’s garden or whether it was in the seedlings I planted and nurtured as a young boy. Some of my most vivid childhood memories are directly connected to the earth. I remember eating blackberries fresh from the brambles and still warm from the sun. I remember the peppery goodness of a radish pulled from the ground and washed under a garden hose.
But these experiences are not unique. me. We humans are part and parcel of the earth – made from the earth, one with the earth. And perhaps that is part of the reason why the parables of Jesus continue to speak to us. We can all relate to his agrarian images -– even if our idea of a plentiful harvest is the produce section at Whole Foods.
“Once upon a time,” Jesus said, “there was a farmer who went out to plant seeds. But some of those seeds fell on the garden path. And the hungry birds, who are always watching, swooped down and gobbled them up. -- Some other seeds fell on rocky New England-type soil and quickly sprang to life. But the rocks kept their roots from going deep, and when the hot sun came out, they quickly withered and died. -- Still others of those seeds fell among the thorns and the weeds. And we all know how strong weeds can be. And they chocked out the crop. -- But some of those seeds actually hit the mark and fell on good soil. And those seeds took root and grew. And they didn’t just grow – they went crazy, like they had been doused with Miracle Grow, and produced 30, 60 and even 100 times more than usual.
We call this story the “Parable of the Sower.” But after hearing about all those seeds being scattered hither and yon, perhaps a more accurate description might be the “Parable of the Sloppy Farmer.”
But here’s the thing: that’s the way they farmed back in Jesus’s day. The farmer would walk into a field, grab a handful of seeds from the bag he carried, and throw them into the air on a windy day. The wind would pick up the seeds and scatter them. And then the farmer would plow, after the seeds were already on the ground. Some of the seeds found good soil and some didn’t. And isn’t that what life is like, Jesus said. Isn’t that what the Kingdom of God is like?
So, what are we to make of this Parable of the Sloppy Farmer? Well, one way to interpret this parable is to simply use Matthew’s interpretation. Matthew says that the seeds on the garden path, so quickly eaten by the birds, are like people who receive God’s word, but then the Evil One comes and snatches it away before it can do any good. And the seeds on the rocky ground are those folks who receive the good news with joy but then learn that the Christian life requires sacrifice and service. And that’s not what they thought they were signing up for in a New Member Class. And the seeds that fell among the thorns are those people whose spiritual lives get choked off by the love of money and the cares of the material world. But the seeds on the good ground represent those who hear the Gospel and let it produce a harvest of abundant goodness.
Using this interpretation, it’s very easy to divide humans into different categories of receptiveness, and then to judge others and ourselves accordingly. But as far as I can tell, the world is already too full of quick judgments and bellicose pronouncements about who is good and who is not. And besides that, I know that I am only good soil some of the time. The seed of the Gospel only sinks so far into my rocky heart some of the time. And there have been plenty of times when the seed has been snatched away by my own self-interest. And as for sacrifice, well I don’t like sacrifice any more than the next person. I want to be good soil. I try to be good soil. But I only am good soil some of the time.
I don’t think Jesus was dividing people into rigid immutable categories here. I just think Jesus was just describing me on four different days.
Well, that’s an interpretation with the emphasis on the soil. But we could also read this parable with an emphasis on the sloppy farmer. What does it say about God that God has never seen fit to improve her farming methods? What does it say about God that there are just seeds flying everywhere!
The Creator walks around the fields of our lives filled, with the stones of our grudges and the weeds of our regrets - and just throws seeds everywhere, hoping for any chance that they will take root. With abandon, God tosses seeds of justice, mercy, and healing high into the air, while the Spirit blows them in all directions. And God does this again and again even though God knows that most of it will not find root. But some of it will. And apparently, God thinks it’s worth it.
But we could take that emphasis on the sloppy farmer even further. This interpretation is a little out there, a little edgy, but I think it I think it has wings. And it is simply this: maybe God is not the farmer at all in this story. Maybe we are.
Now, in case you haven’t noticed, churches are very methodical places – especially New England Congregational churches! We are obsessed with planning and methodology and verifiable results. We never have more animated discussions in this church than the ones about budgets and bottom lines and membership trends.
But here’s a newsflash: while the modern church might indeed be a business, the Gospel of Jesus most definitely is not. And maybe our obsession with planting such straight rows is not the most faithful way to farm. Maybe this church’s job is to throw as many seeds into the air as we can and leave the rest to God.
Now, I am not talking about wasting the church’s money or resources. But I am talking about a joyful extravagance when it comes to kindness and justice and mercy and acceptance and hospitality and grace and peace. We must never be stingy with those seeds. We ought to be emptying our seed bags as fast as we can go, handful after handful scattered to the four corners.
Because there is no such things as a diminishing return in the Reign of God. You never run out of seeds in the Reign of God. Every time we reach into the bag for more justice and love and mercy, there is always more. And just about the time your arm gets tired and you think that all of this is a waste of time, suddenly a patch of green appears. And a life is changed. And hope blooms. And there is human flourishing.
And sometimes the humans that flourish are us. Because in the wild, windy fields of the Lord, some of that seed we so generously scatter, will fall back on us. And find root. For as Jesus once said, “You reap what you sow.”
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