There are so many misguided interpretations to this key parable that it is easy to miss the plain truth. Rather than expository preaching, I thought it might be fun to give you two new parables illustrating two radically different interpretations of the parable of the sower. Here is the first one.

A corrupt politician in a big city wanted to become the mayor of that city. Slowly she went through every precinct in the city promising jobs and favors to anyone who would vote for her. She lavished attention on those who could organize large groups to vote for her. She pulled strings and made it very uncomfortable for anyone who opposed her. Within a few years she became mayor and ruled the city with the same favoritism that got her elected. This went on for some years and many people said they were happy because of the jobs and favors they had received.

One day another politician with even deeper pockets decided he wanted to be mayor, so he used the same strategy and undermined the mayor. Eventually he unseated the mayor and ruled over his favorites for a while. This cycle of favors and elections continued for a long time. People just took it as the truth that those who were not connected to the current mayor would be isolated or even punished.

Here is another parable.

There once was a monk in a huge city in the Far East. The city had millions of people living in abject poverty, and the young monk was filled with compassion for their suffering. Even though the monk was born into a merchant class family and his monastic life was austere, he lived better than most of the poor in the city.

One day he decided that offering prayers to God while so many people suffered outside the gates was an outrage. He got up in the middle of worship one day, went outside the gates of the monastery, and gave away the food from the monastery kitchen to everyone at the gate. His only care was to relieve their suffering, and he did.

Some of his superiors saw how this made many people happy and gave them hope again. Some of them supported the young monk. Others refused to oppose him and did nothing. But some of the older superiors were jealous and said among themselves, “This young buck has not earned his stripes by spending years in the monastery like us. Why should we let him become so powerful?” So they plotted against him.

Months went by and the crowds grew enormously along with donations from all over the city. The monastery increased in size to support feeding all the people. Some people ate the food and never even said thank you. Others ate the food and helped out for a while but returned to their life of poverty. A smaller group ate the food and was so amazed by the generosity of the young monk that they organized to expand the feeding. The young monk was happy and continued his prayers and daily chores at the monastery. The people in the city began to grow; businesses and commerce flourished. The stronger the city became, the more the elders in the monastery plotted.

Finally the superior of the monastery summoned the young monk. He said that the young monk must learn true humility and obedience. So they sent him to another monastery far away in the mountains where no one lived but a handful of old dying monks.

In the parable of the mayors the seed is the false gospel of exclusive claims about religion. Such exclusive claims build up this or that church or leader from time to time, but they have no sustaining power. The jobs and political favors distributed to the insiders are the exclusive claims that God only loves certain people, or that God only loves people who will DO certain things or that God only loves people who BELIEVE certain things. The church and its leaders are the parties who benefit by falling in line behind one mayor or the next.

In the parable of the monastery, the young monk is the Word of God. He is not the earthly person of Jesus, but he is the risen Christ, the Logos, or in John’s Gospel, God’s Word. He is the life giving force that was here before creation and gives life to all of creation. The people who ate the food and did nothing in gratitude were the seeds thrown on the path in Jesus’ parable of the sower. How many of us at one time in our life or another have received blessings from God without giving thanks?

The people who ate the food and helped out for a while but then went back to life as usual were the seeds scattered among the thorns or rocky ground. Do you find yourself weighted down with the cares of the world at times wondering about your family, your health, your financial situation, or your job? Do these things ever hold you back from giving back to others?

The smaller group recognized and received the same generous spirit of the young monk. They could see the suffering and through the same generous spirit they were able to sustain the work. Note that this parable does not refer to any particular religion, but only to the spirit of generosity and the response of the people to it.

The Good News of this teaching is that God’s Word is generously given to everyone at all times in our lives. We do not have to DO anything or BELIEVE anything or BELONG to anything to receive it. At different times in our lives we will find ourselves confronted with situations where we ARE the soil on the path or we ARE the soil amidst the thorns or we ARE the rocky ground. At the times in our lives when we ARE the good soil, will we recognize the blessings we have received and respond with the same generous spirit?