The Soil

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 a 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. If you have ears, hear!’ (Matthew 13:1-9)

The first task that must always be completed before anything can be planted in a garden is to condition the soil so that things can take root and grow as they should. In our garden this means removing the layer of pinestraw that had fallen over the winter (to be clear we don’t spread pinesaw over the garden intentionally, but we live in Georgia so the pine trees grace us with a fresh layer every year whether we want it or not), pulling out all the weeds that have sprouted up during early spring, turning over the soil, and mixing in a few bags of new fertilizer. Henry is a 4 ½ year-old boy and is completely enamored with “potty words” (as is the natural state of all young boys), so he finds the act of turning over the soil and blending in fresh fertilizer to be irresistibly hilarious. Garden prep day is a big day for my son.

I’m convinced that the “parable of the sower” is much more about garden prep than it is about scattering seeds. Anyone who prepares soil for planting knows that growth requires more than just planting. It requires diligent preparation. The ground must be opened, cleared, and made ready. Our growth as disciples is no different. Discipleship asks whether the soil of our lives is being made ready for what God wants to grow. The question for the Christian life is not only whether God gives us life, but whether we are becoming the sort of people who can receive it. During the week after Easter, this is a powerful question. The resurrection has happened; the seed of the kingdom has been sown. But are we attentive enough to receive it? Are our hearts hardened by cynicism, scorched by shallow enthusiasm, or crowded by the worries and wealth of life?

As Methodists, we have inherited a great tool through which we can view the state of our own “soil”. The “Wesleyan Quadrilateral” is a fancy name given to an idea championed by John Wesley that we interpret the world and our own spiritual experiences through four lenses: scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. It can help us picture what it means to become good soil for God’s word. Scripture places the seed before us; it is the primary mode of God’s self-revelation. We don’t exist in a vacuum, but are the inheritors of a long tradition that teaches us how all the saints who came before us have received this seed. God has gifted us the capacity for human reason, which helps break up the hardened ground of confusion or resistance. Lastly, our lived experiences and those of others shared with us soften us through the real conditions of life. Together, they describe some of the ways God prepares our hearts to hear, receive, and bear the fruit of the kingdom.

God brings life from the earth, but part of discipleship is allowing grace to soften what has become hard, deepen what has remained shallow, and clear away what chokes life. By the gifts of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience, God gently tills the soil of our hearts so that the word might take root and grow.

Rev. Ryan Young