He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."
˜ Mark 4:2-8
As a child growing up in a Baptist church, I heard this story often. The Parable of the Sower was a favorite of our preacher, and it made such an impression on me that I still think of it quite often. Our preacher used this parable to guide the congregation in their efforts at evangelism. As good Baptists, we were all expected to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to everyone we encountered. Many of us, though, came to realize that not everyone is eager to hear the Good News. Our seat mate on a flight from New York to Atlanta might sigh and roll their eyes at the first utterance of the word "Jesus." Others might hastily put on their headphones to block out the noise of what they perceived as "Bible thumping."
Even when I worked at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in New York City, I made errors in our ministry to the unhoused people who slept on our pews every day. When I first started handing out toiletry bags to them, I came up with what I thought was a very holy and edifying booklet containing carefully chosen prayers and readings. Every day, I would find those booklets strewn under the pews or crumpled up in the side aisles. These people, I realized, didn't need words on paper. They needed me to show them the love of Christ by being compassionate toward them. Over the next few years, they taught me a great deal about evangelism.
The different areas Jesus describes in the parable represent the various kinds of responses to our proclamation of the Good News. Some people are like good soil, eager to learn and grow their faith abundantly, then germinate that faith in the world. Others are not as receptive, and they only receive the Good News temporarily before they are distracted away from it. Still others are closed off and unlikely to receive Christ's message at all. It takes a unique level of compassion to share the Gospel in a way that draws others in rather than drives them away.
Reflect: How might you share the Gospel in ways that feel welcoming and meaningful?
This Lenten Meditation can be found at Episcopal Relief and Development