Reading Ahead -- Pentecost 9

"A sower went out to sow some seed ..." It's a familiar parable of Jesus's, one of the first ones he tells. And because of its familiarity, it is easy to let it pass by without really thinking hard about it, with a sort of general appeal to God to make us more like "good soil."

But the word "parable" comes from the Greek parabole, which means to throw alongside. So a parable is a story or series of images that is set into conversation with our own thoughts or ideas about how the world works.

So try this ... very few of us lie around like dirt, waiting for seeds. But many of us keep our own gardens, planting flowers or herbs or tomatoes. How does throwing this image of the Sower of the Word of God alongside your own planting experiences work for you? How are you yourself a Sower of God's Word? How does your spiritual planting work in your life and with the folks you come in contact with? Where do you find thorns? A hardened footpath? Good soil? Where do your words and deeds land with success and where do they fail?