As a faithful person we are called to become sowers of the gospel … or the Good News.
The trouble with such an obligation is that we’re never guaranteed success in our efforts, just as Jesus reminds us about the sower’s plight in Matthew 13:3-8.
“3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
Wait, so you’re telling me I can do all the right things, sharing the Good News with all whom I come across, and I’m never promised that my work will amount to anything?
Nope, that’s why we call it faith, right? … To believe in a power we cannot see. To act out in the firm belief that the Holy Spirit can and will use our efforts even if we never know it.
I’m reminded of this gospel text often in the terms of parenting. Because, after all, as parents we’re really no different than the poor sower in the parable, are we? We can do our best to seed our young ones with our years of collected wisdom, with our values and with our faith. But, again, there are guarantees that our work is going to pay off.
We can throw our wisdom on rocky ground without much soil and watch our parenting work wither in the sun. Other times, we can sow the seeds of our values, and they will fall among the thorns and be choked out. And then we can pray with all of our might that the seeds of our faith we are sowing are finding good soil and will eventually bring forth grain!
And every once in a while, if we’re lucky and attentive, we might catch just a brief glimpse that our sowing efforts are paying off.
Let me share a story …
A couple weeks back our youngest daughter turned 16, and like many other teenagers was very eager to take her road test so that she could obtain her driver’s license. Shelley was out of town the day of Siri’s test, and so I was fortunate to land the role of taking her to the DMV on the morning of test day.
Siri and I had had several talks over the course of the days leading up to the test because she was quite nervous that she wasn’t going to pass. In addition we did a lot of practice driving in the days immediately leading up to the test, as well.
Nonetheless, the night before test day, I could still tell that Siri was nervous, and so I did my best to ease her anxieties by sharing that I had in fact failed my first behind-the-wheel driving test, and so have many others. In fact, after googling it, I found out that about one-fourth of Minnesota drivers fail their first road test.
Besides, I shared with her, even if you don’t pass this first one, you’ll learn something, and then you’ll pass on the second.
By the anxious look in her eyes, I sensed that my words of encouragement weren’t doing much to help. … And judging by the large, black rings under her eyes the next morning, I was right: She was even more nervous on the morning of test day.
Thankfully, Shelley very wisely scheduled the test for 8 a.m., and so there was no time to dwell at home on the challenge ahead. So Siri and I hopped in the car and headed to the DMV, come whatever may.
After arriving, we got out of the car, entered the DMV office and received a paper sheet that contained a set of features on the car that she was going to have to be able to identify for the test official. So we headed back out to the car, and together we ran through the checklist so she could point out where each was to me for practice.
Then the waiting game began. … There were only two road testers and there were a half dozen kids there for 8 a.m. road tests. … Poor Siri had no idea at that point how long she was going to have to sit with her anxiety about the test.
And, at that moment, when she could have chosen a myriad of other ways to cut the tension, she looked up from the driver’s seat at me standing by the door, and urged, “Dubby, pray with me please!”
My heart skipped a beat!
“Wait, did I actually just hear what I think I heard?” I thought to myself.
Just to check, I asked, “Siri, you want to pray together?”
“Yeah! … Of course!” she answered with some urgency.
And so we did. … We prayed together, our 16-year-old daughter and I, right there in the parking lot of the DMV within clear sight of at least a dozen other people. No worries about whether that might look cool or embarrassing. It felt as natural as at church on Sunday morning.
I was awestruck, and in my mind, she had already won the moment, turning to her faith in her fear, rather than allowing the panic to drag her down. … Frankly, I knew right then that regardless of what happened with the test, I couldn’t be any more proud of her that day.
And in a remarkable way, the Holy Spirit reminded me one more time that even though we’re never guaranteed that our work to sow the gospel will bear fruit, every now and again, if we pay attention, we get glimpses of the seeds that did find good soil. And that makes all of the effort of parenting worth the while.
Hang in there fellow faithful, keep the faith! … The work you are doing matters! And you never know when it will bear fruit! Amen!
Oh, and Siri did pass the test, as you can see in the photos!
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