Welcome to the final podcast of this week.  It has been a pleasure to bring these reflections on Matthew’s Gospel to you over the last few days.

We are finishing the week by looking at a well known parable that Jesus told – the Parable of the Sower.  It’s a very long passage so I won’t be reading it at the end, but you can find it in your Bibles later, in Matthew Chapter 13 vs1-23.  Today we are going to focus on verses 8, 9, 12 and 16, and I’m using the New Century Version.

“Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more.Let those with ears use them and listen……Those who have understanding will be given more, and they will have all they need…… You are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears.”

REFLECTION:

When we are experiencing challenging times, there can be a tendency to become a bit inward looking, and to always focus on the difficulties and the problems regarding our current situation.  In our Christian faith, this might be expressed through constantly looking at what God hasn’t done or isn’t doing, or the areas where our prayers have remained seemingly unanswered.

In the coronavirus challenges that face my family, the narrative might sound something like this:

“I’m a Headteacher during Covid, I don’t have a senior team that lead with me, and the workload is just unbelievable……and what about our eldest son – he could be facing weeks on end sat in his tiny student flat, having no face-to-face contact with his lecturers, plus I really don’t know when we will see him again.  What on earth will Christmas be like if he is not with us……and anyway Christmas is pretty much a write off because we are a family of 5, so we can’t see any relatives.  If Alan can’t see his Dad this Christmas, then once this all ends it will probably be 2 years since he last saw him.  And then poor Max – he is just going to school each day not knowing if he is even going to take his A-levels in the summer, he’s trying to choose a university, but he can’t visit any of them, and at any moment his bubble could be sent home because there is a case in school, and he has already missed so much teaching time.  This could really impact his future.  Oh and then Faith – well social distancing is just a nightmare for her.  She’s visually impaired and she can’t actually see 2 metres away.  How is she going to make friends in her new school when she can’t even see people’s faces?  Oh Lord – you have to do something about this.”

I am sure you could write a version of this for your own situation, and you may be facing some personal challenges that are far greater or much more serious.

However, in Matthew Chapter 13 vs22, Jesus says this, “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

In this challenging time, are we being choked by the worries of this life?

Are the thorns or the weeds around us preventing us from growing and being fruitful?

So far this week, we have seen that in challenging times, Jesus promises us rest, He gives us hope and He promotes relationship.  In today’s Bible reading we see that in the midst of challenging times, Jesus tellsus that we are blessed.

“Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more.Let those with ears use them and listen……Those who have understanding will be given more, and they will have all they need…… You are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears.”

As Christians, we have seen Jesus – we have looked at who he is and understand that he is our Saviour.  We have heard Jesus’ words – we have listened to his teaching and understand that this is the best way to live our lives.  We are blessed.

From there, this passage of Scripture tells us that those who have understanding of who Jesus is, and how he wants us to live, not only have all they need…..but will be given more.  30, 60 or even 100 times more.  We are blessed.

We’ve seen with our eyes, we heard with our ears.  We are blessed.

And the things we have seen of Jesus and the things we have heard of Jesus haven’t changed.  They haven’t stopped being true.  Covid-19 has not changed Jesus.  And therefore no matter what external circumstances we face or inner struggles we wrestle with – we are blessed.

Living in challenging times is……challenging; but how can we make sure that we are not choked?

I don’t mean that we should just throw away the facemasks, act recklessly and live in denial of this global pandemic.

But these verses do challenge us to recognise that we are blessed at all times, and that God’s desire is that we should grow and be fruitful in this season.

How might we do that?

Firstly, we need to change our perspective andour focus.  October is often associated with thanksgiving.  Rather than feeling choked by the worries of life, let’s choose to focus on thankfulness and joy.  Maybe write down one or two things every day that you’re thankful to God for.  Write a list of the ways that God has blessed you over the last 7 days or the last 7 months.  In our cell groups, or around the dinner table, let’s talk with friends and family about the ways in which God has given us all we need.

And secondly, rather than looking inwards at the difficulties and struggles, how can we engage in something that blesses others? Perhaps you have never taken part in the Streets of Light trail before – why not sign up this year and share a message of light, love and hope with your neighbours?  Or maybe you could ask colleagues to contribute to the Foodbank Harvest collection that is happening next week at church?  A simple way to bless the most vulnerable in our city.

As we move our focus away from the weeds, and onto the blessings of God in our life, so we will find ourselves no longer choking, but growing in good soil.  As we stop looking at the thorns that challenge us, and instead choose to look for ways in which we can bless others, we will find that we have been given all we need to be fruitful in this season…..because we are blessed.

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for all the ways in which you have blessed us.  Help us to change our perspective, so that we focus on these things, not the things that choke us.  Fill us with your Holy Spirit, so that we can be fruitful and be a blessing to others in this challenging season. Amen.

BIBLE READING: Matthew 13:1-23

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.’

The disciples came to him and asked, ‘Why do you speak to the people in parables?’

He replied, ‘Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

‘Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: when anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.’