Text: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23   

“More-Than-Full”

You can look at this Gospel reading this morning (a challenging one!) as the glass being either half-full or half-empty. You could go either way with it.

If you tend to see the glass as half-empty, you’ll look at this reading and go: “Well, golly, it’s so unfair! ¾ of the people have no chance here. Some of the seed of God’s Word lands on a rock hard path and a bird of the air, that is the devil, snatches it away before they even knew it was there for them. Just because they aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer, huh? But how can they help being stupid? How can God blame them for that?

“And the second group is hardly any better off. I mean they are happy to hear the Gospel, it sounds great to them and they receive it with joy. But okay, they are a little bit shallow, not a lot of depth to them (But hey, that’s not their fault right? I mean God made them shallow right?) and so when the seed sprouts up and grows, then the hot sun, trial and persecution for Christ’s sake comes along, and they stumble and fall away from Christ. But again, who can help being shallow?

“And the third group, how can you blame them either? They’ve worked hard and done well. They sold their stocks when the market hit 14,000 and have a nice windfall socked away in Euros. And with a lot of wealth comes responsibility. So they work long hours to do well with their investments and so they don’t have as much time for bible reading and stuff. Who does, really? But it sounds like God punishes them for their diligent labors and good stewardship by letting all that choke the Word from their hearts. That’s not nice of God is it?

“Only the last group hears the Word and believes. And what do they have going for them? Nothing! All Jesus says is they hear His Word and understand it, so the more they understand, they more they want to hear, and they just store up more and more of the Word in their hearts. And good for them—but how does their faith in Christ help anyone else? It’s kind of selfish isn’t it? Yet, that’s the group, the Marys who just sit at Jesus feet, do nothing but hear His Word, that’s the group Jesus favors—they get all the heavenly treasure, while the Marthas do all the work! Not a very edifying story. Not one of Jesus’ best.”

That’s how you see this Gospel, if you see the glass half-empty. That God doesn’t work faith in the hearts of most people who hear His word, but lets their stupidity, shallowness, and wealth carry them away, while the selfish ones who hoard the Gospel of Christ for themselves make out like bandits. And it makes you wonder about how kind and loving such a God really is…

It might go without saying, but I think I better say it anyway to be clear: I’m not a glass half-empty kind of guy. That’s not how I hear this parable and teaching of Jesus. I see how you could have those troubles, but they don’t trouble me. Here’s why:

I hear the story like this: first off, God sends the Word of Christ everywhere! How cool is that? There isn’t anyone in the story who simply doesn’t get to hear the Word of Christ’s Gospel. No one is left out. God sincerely offers His kingdom to any and to all. That makes me feel good about God’s grace and mercy—it is unlimited.

I’ve noted before that lots of people these days worry that maybe there are people lost because they simply never heard the Word of Christ, maybe because Christians were too lazy to reach out to them. It’s very comforting (as an oft times lazy Christian myself) to hear Christ assure us that He covers all our errors, sins, mistakes—to be assured by Him that getting the Word out is God’s business and He takes care of it! He sees that the sound of Gospel preachers goes out to the ends of the world and the corners of the earth (see Romans 10:18, Col 1:23 if you are still worried on this point). He even uses the feet and mouth of unworthy guys like me to do this, which is extra gracious of Him. So one big worry of the modern church is taken care of here. The seed is sown everywhere. My glass is filling up already!

And the next thing that fills my glass even more is hearing some people are saved! It needn’t have been that way, you know. We tend to think that salvation is something that God owes everyone. Remember that 70’s book that fretted about why bad things happen to good people? We all worry about that. Seems hard to love a God like that doesn’t it?

But Dr. Luther noted a long time ago this is a straw man, a false and foolish question to ask why bad things happen to good people. Because there are no good people in the world (well, there was One Guy, but when He showed up, we nailed Him to a cross showing how we stand against goodness). Again, if you are in doubt about this, read Romans chpt. 3 for a veritable pile of bible quotes proving we are all sinful and bad. So there are no good people. God would have been entirely justified to simply kill the whole lot of us in the Flood, including Noah and Co. He’d be entirely just if He sent another Flood today to destroy us all.

No, the question, Luther says, is why do good things happen to bad people? Because that’s reality: we all sin and fall short, and yet God makes the rain to fall on the unjust and showers heavenly and earthly treasure even on the most wicked of men. Complain about that, if you want to complain!

Yet in this parable, I hear Christ giving salvation to all the wicked world, and even though ¾ or more has no interest in being saved, yet God sees to it that some of us slackers hear and receive the Word of Christ that brings us into His kingdom of life and light. Even though all should be destroyed, God insists that some, even many are saved! This is really getting good…

But here’s what makes me say the glass is not half full—no, it is overflowing actually: I find myself in all four of these groups. Sometimes, I am as stupid as they come and I don’t get the Word of God at all. Sometimes, I’m as shallow as can be and care about frivolous things far more than I care for Christ. Sometimes, I’m consumed with care for material things and earthly riches and neglect the Word of Christ badly. But sometimes I hear the Gospel of Christ and it is the sweetest song I’ve ever heard and it captures my heart and sweeps me away to a better world than I could ever have imagined; where I live and reign with Christ my Lord.

I am all four seasons, all four groups at once. Yet Jesus does not scorn or spurn me for it. Nope, instead He showers me with the Gospel Word and Sacraments and by this ministry saves me. For no good reason except He feels like sharing all that is His with the likes of you and me.

How can you not love such a Gospel? How can you not love such a Lord?—Who throws away the seed of His Kingdom like a prodigal Son, and saves the lowest and least? That’s my kind of Lord. My kind of God. And I think when you get that about Him, you get it all, and your cup overflows with the Peace that surpasses understanding, that guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Forever. Amen.

Rev. Kevin Martin