Fling the Seeds of the Kingdom - Community Missioner Ed Carrette's Homily for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

SummaryCommunity Missioner Ed Carrette draws on the Parable of the Sower to invite us not only to cultivate receptive hearts but to sow the word of God freely and fearlessly wherever we go. Grounded in the assurance of Romans 8:1 — that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" — Ed reminds us that this parable is not a verdict on our failures, but an invitation to trust the Sower and join in the sowing. Like Grace Church's Thursday food ministry, we are called to fling seeds of hope, dignity, and compassion without worrying about where they land, because the harvest belongs to God.A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew                 Matthew 13:1-9,18-23Jesus 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.”