I have in my hand a twenty dollar bill. Since this is my money, I can do with it whatever I want to do. I can keep it and use it for my own needs and/or desires or I can invest it.  Today I choose to invest it. In fact, I choose to invest it in one of you.  Whoever wants this twenty dollar bill please come forward.

If no one received the twenty dollar bill, then it would still be mine. Once someone receives my gift, then the gift becomes theirs. Now that person can do whatever they want to do with it, because the twenty dollar bill now belongs to them. They can spend it, save it or give it away as an investment in others. It is up to them to decide how they will use their gift.

In the parable today from Matthew, Jesus tells the story about a sower who goes into the field to sow his seed.  The sower could have kept his seed and used it for food for himself or for his animals. Instead, the sower takes his seed and sows it in a field with the hope that the seed will produce more seed by bearing fruit.

In order for the seed to become fruit, it first must be sown in good soil. However, this is not what happens to all of the seed that the sower sows. Some of the seed doesn’t land in good soil, but on the path, on rocks, and even in thorns. It is the act of sowing that makes this way of planting less precise than planting individual seeds into the ground. The sower casts the seeds into the air which causes some of the seeds to land in unfruitful areas.

Jesus compares the gospel or good news to the seeds sown by the sower. The gospel is preached indiscriminately to everyone, because Jesus came to save everyone. Yet, not all are able to keep the Word of God in their lives and bare fruit for the Kingdom of God.

In Jesus’ story, some of the seeds fell on the path and were eaten by the birds. Jesus tells us that these seeds or words of the kingdom were heard by people who refused to be changed by the gospel. The gospel fell on hard hearts.

These people remained on the same path in their lives. They did not allow the gospel to change their hearts. Because of this, they were easy prey for the enemy.  The enemy came and snatched away the good news from them, leaving them without the Word of God in their lives. It was as though they had never even heard of the gospel, because there was no sign of God’s Word living within them. They heard the gospel, but did not receive it.

Jesus then tells us that some of the seeds fell on rocky ground, where there was some good soil that allowed the seeds to grow, but only for a little while. As soon as hard times came, the seeds withered and died because “they had no root”. These seeds are like those who hear the Word of God, but when persecution for Christ’s sake comes their way they cannot endure, because they are not grounded in the gospel. They have no roots. Because they have not rooted themselves in Christ, their belief system is easily destroyed.  As soon as the novelty of being a Christian fades away, they seek something else to entertain them and to make them feel good. They choose to live life as easy as possible just like a rolling stone. No deep roots for them. Suffering for Christ’s sake has no value or meaning in their lives. Their goal in life is to eat, drink and be merry.

Then Jesus tells us that some of the seeds fall among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them”. These are the ones who hear the good news and receive it into their lives. They become rooted in the Word of God and begin to grow in the Lord. However, when trouble comes their way, instead of casting their burdens and cares on the Lord, they allow the sorrows of this world to overcome them. Instead of seeking the kingdom of God to fulfill them, they seek after materialism which quenches the Holy Spirit in their lives. Although rooted in the Word, they bear no fruit for the kingdom. The world, not the gospel, becomes their priority.

Finally Jesus tells us about the seeds that fall on good soil and bear much fruit. These are those who receive the gospel into their lives and allow it to change them. They become rooted in the Word of God, because the desire of their hearts is to seek only the Son of God. They know that it is this Son and this Son alone that gives them life. Because they seek not the things of this world, but put the gospel first and foremost in their lives they are able to endure the storms of life. Their delight is in living for Christ. This is why they are able to grow strong in the Lord and to bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God.

The prophet Isaiah encourages us to seek after holy things that endure and to not labor for that which does not satisfy. The prophet compares the Word of God with the seed sown by the sower. He promises those who will seek the Lord that God’s word of promise will come to pass for them. Isaiah writes, “For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace….”

As Christians, St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans that we are called to live our lives on earth in the Spirit and not in the flesh. We who have received the Word of God into our lives are no longer children of this world, but have become children of God. As the children of God, we are His witnesses who suffer now for Christ’s sake so that we may also share in His glory.

As for the twenty dollar bill, like the seeds the Sower cast into the air, it could be used to bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God or it could be used for earthly needs and pleasures. One is a long term investment that bears eternal fruit, while the other gives only short term results. May we all be like the good soil that received the seeds and bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God, “in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty”.