It was pointed out to me this morning that I had not posted my Sunday homily,,, so here it is.

Just recently we held a mini-course about the people, events and issues of the Protestant Reformations of the 16th century.  Among the Reformers there was a far greater emphasis placed on Scripture and preaching upon that Word. John Calvin’s typical Sunday homily seems to have been about 2 hours.  John Knox’s homilies often had intermissions. Hard to imagine, eh?

But it was a different era – not just because Sunday was dedicated to church, worship, and little else – but because for that generation of people, Scripture was coming alive for the first time.  When the Zurich reformer Zwingli first began to preach he started at the beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew. Sunday after Sunday he worked his way through the whole Gospel, proclaiming, teaching, cajoling, and encouraging people to embrace and be embraced by God.  The Word of God set people ablaze.

I have to admit there are times in which I would love to take extra time and share a large portion of Scripture with you. For example, our first reading comes from Isaiah 55. But the whole chapter is awesome, amazing….  It is this wide-open invitation to Grace. And we get just a snippet of it in the first reading.  Here is part of what comes before it.

All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, buy grain and eat;  Come, buy grain without money, wine and milk without cost! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what does not satisfy? Only listen to me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. (Is 55:1-2)

There are no preconditions to this invitation. It is not first to make your life pure and holy, then come. There is no entry fee. There is only “come” and “listen.” It is your choice.

Pay attention and come to me; listen, that you may have life. I will make with you an everlasting covenant (Is 55:3)

God is offering a covenant with you that you can have more than water or grain, you can choose life.

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near…turn to the LORD to find mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. (Is 55:6b-7)

What is in this covenant with God? Grace, mercy and forgiveness – and all you have to do is choose.

And that is just 2 or 3 minutes worth. Imagine what you could unwrap and talk about in 2 hours. And trust me there is a lot more there. A lot more, because that is the power of God’s Word.  In Isaiah 55, God tells the prophet Isaiah about the power of His mighty word – irresistible, unstoppable, compelling

so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. (Is 55:11)

This is the kind of message where I want to say, “Can I get an ‘Amen’ ?” I mean, here is it in a nutshell. God desires that we be saved, God has spoken the Word that can save us, the Word has gone forth in the person of Jesus to do his Father’s will, and that Word will achieve the end for which he was sent. I mean how great is that?  Can I get an “Amen?”

And yet…. in chapters leading up to today’s Gospel, the Living Word, the Son of God, Jesus is experiencing growing opposition, doubt, and “push back.” And so the Apostles are asking Jesus, “What gives?  How can people hear your teaching, see your miracles, witness your cures, and still they ask for another sign?  What is with that?  Why don’t people believe?”

And Jesus responds, “A sower went out to sow” The parable is Jesus’ response to why people do not believe.  We have just heard the parable – and I suspect that as it was being proclaimed, lots of us were thinking – “Oh yeah, I have heard this parable before. Right. Jesus is the sower. The seed is the Word of God and we are the soil….” Pay attention and come to me; listen, that you may have life.  When explaining the parable to the Apostles, four times, Jesus explains, “ the seed sown…is the one who.”

Think about it. We are already in the hand of Jesus, imbued with his Grace, and then sent into the world – free will and all. And we make choices that position ourselves on pathways, on rocky ground, among the thistles, or in good soil. (a) We have the Word and Sacraments, but we never take the time to understand and love them (b) We receive the Word and Sacraments with great joy, but at some point, that joy is lost. Maybe it became less than cool to be known as faithful or holy. Maybe socially cumbersome. The joy is gone. (c) Perhaps one simply heard the siren’s call of luxury, wealth, power, and privilege. Or the worries of modern life became distracting or overwhelming. (d) Or despite all these things, we are intentional about our journey of faith in the midst of modern living.

Today we are the seed sown in one place. And I do mean “today” – because Jesus and the Word of God are still with us today – in the Eucharist and in the Scriptures – in the power of the Holy Spirit moving among us.  We are still in the hands of the Sower. Today we can make new choices. And in every choice, hopefully we are reflective enough to learn anew how God is creating and molding us, tilling the soil of our lives, uprooting thistle and weeds, and preparing us to choose life.  The promise is constant: so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. (Is 55:11).  But we must choose to let the Word into our lives.  Choose to let the love and grace of God flood our lives.  Can I get an “Amen?”