D. Moody Smith, Jr. - "The Parable of the Sower" (July 9, 1978)

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-	Duke University Chapel Service of Worship,	0:04
	July 9th,	0:07
	1978.	0:09
	(orchestral church music)	0:17
	(orchestral church music)	1:50
	(orchestral church music)	3:48
	(orchestral church music)	5:01
	(choir singing church music accompanied by orchestra)	8:04
	(orchestral church music)	8:36
	(orchestral church music mixed with congregational singing)	9:10
-	Greetings in the name of Christ.	11:36
	If any of you need permission to take off a jacket,	11:40
	please do.	11:44
	If we say we have no sin,	11:47
	and no need to confess our sins,	11:50
	we deceive ourselves,	11:53
	but when we confess our sin,	11:57
	God is always waiting to forgive us,	12:00
	to heal us,	12:04
	to restore us.	12:06
	Let us pray:	12:08
-	Oh God, everywhere we turn,	12:12
	someone is making demands on our time.	12:15
	We spend ourselves frantically,	12:19
	without taking time to be in touch with you,	12:22
	or with ourselves to evaluate what is important	12:26
	for us to be doing.	12:30
	People who need us are often overlooked.	12:33
	Causes which need our energy, are often neglected.	12:36
	Opportunities for real learning are not foreseen.	12:42
	Words which wound are uttered in haste	12:46
	on momentary irritation.	12:50
	In the midst of our haste, we are thirsty for your presence,	12:53
	and the sure knowledge of your love.	12:58
	Help us to spend our time wisely and lovingly	13:01
	as we live and serve in your world;	13:06
	Amen.	13:09
-	Hear these, our personal confessions, oh God, Amen.	13:23
	We give thanks that God is forgiving and loving,	13:28
	that we now can live as forgiven people.	13:34
	Dear people of God, accept the forgiveness	13:39
	which is yours this day.	13:43
	Let us give thanks for God is good	13:47
	and God's love is everlasting.	13:50
-	Thanks be to God who creates us.	13:54
	Thanks be to God, by whose mercy we are redeemed.	13:58
	Thanks be to God, whose Spirit leads us	14:03
	into the future.	14:07
-	Gene Owens who was scheduled to preach this Sunday	14:11
	was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday,	14:15
	and anticipated that he soon	14:17
	would have to have back surgery.	14:19
	We're sorry that he cannot be with us,	14:22
	especially because of illness,	14:24
	but we are grateful, thankful, and privileged	14:26
	that the Reverend Dr. D. Moody Smith, Jr.,	14:30
	agreed to stop work on his manuscript	14:33
	that the publishers are now awaiting	14:35
	long enough to prepare to preach for us today.	14:38
	Moody is well known internationally	14:42
	because of his outstanding work on the Gospel of John.	14:44
	He is just ending a sabbatical year,	14:49
	a time he has used to complete his third book on John.	14:51
	Those of you who have read works	14:57
	in the area of New Testament,	14:59
	know he is one of the people	15:00
	who is always quoted, and footnoted,	15:02
	but Moody is also a scholar who can communicate	15:05
	with us ordinary people.	15:09
	He is a dedicated church person, a caring father,	15:13
	husband, colleague, friend, and teacher.	15:17
	Moody, thanks, and welcome.	15:21
	Let us pray:	15:25
	Oh Holy God, we wait in your presence.	15:29
	Open our minds,	15:34
	still our hearts,	15:36
	that we may hear you speak to us this day; Amen.	15:39
	The Old Testament lesson is selected	15:46
	from the 55th chapter of Isaiah.	15:48
	Hear now, the reading:	15:52
	Ho! Everyone who thirst, come to the waters;	15:55
	And he who has no money, come, buy and eat.	16:01
	Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.	16:06
	Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,	16:12
	and your labor for that which does not satisfy?	16:15
	Harken diligently to Me, and eat what is good,	16:20
	and delight yourselves in fatness.	16:24
	Incline your ear, and come to Me.	16:27
	Hear, that your soul may live;	16:30
	And I will make with you an everlasting covenant,	16:35
	My steadfast sure love for David.	16:38
	Behold, I make him a witness to the peoples,	16:42
	a leader and commander for the peoples.	16:46
	Behold, you shall call nations that know not,	16:49
	and nations that knew you not, shall run to you,	16:54
	because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel;	16:59
	For He has glorified you.	17:03
	For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,	17:07
	and return, not thither, but water the earth,	17:10
	makin' it bring forth and sprout,	17:14
	giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,	17:16
	so shall My word be that,	17:20
	one that goes forth from My mouth;	17:23
	It shall not return to Me empty,	17:27
	but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,	17:29
	and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.	17:32
	For you shall go out in joy,	17:36
	and be led forth in peace;	17:39
	The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth	17:41
	in singing, and all of the trees of the field	17:44
	shall clap their hands.	17:48
	Instead of the thorn, shall come forth the cypress.	17:50
	Instead of the brier, shall come up the myrtle;	17:54
	And it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,	17:57
	for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off.	18:00
	Here ends the reading of the Old Testament lesson.	18:04
	(orchestral church music)	18:11
	(choir singing church music accompanied by orchestra)	18:50
	Will the congregation stand for the reading	20:33
	of the gospel lesson?	20:35
	Hear the reading selected from the 13th chapter	20:40
	of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew:	20:43
	That same day, Jesus went out of the house	20:46
	and sat beside the sea,	20:49
	and great crowds gathered about Him,	20:51
	so that He got into a boat and sat there;	20:55
	and the whole crowd stood on the beach.	20:58
	And He told them many things in parables, saying:	21:00
	A sower went out to sow.	21:04
	And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path;	21:07
	and the birds came and devoured them.	21:11
	Other seeds fell on the rocky ground,	21:14
	where they had not much soil;	21:17
	and immediately they sprang up	21:19
	since they had no depth of soil.	21:21
	But when the sun rose, they were scorched,	21:23
	and since they had no root, they withered away.	21:26
	Other seeds fell upon thorns,	21:30
	and the thorns grew up and choked them.	21:33
	Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain:	21:36
	some a hundredfold, some 60,	21:40
	some 30.	21:43
	He who has ears, let him hear.	21:46
	Hear then, the parable of the sower:	21:49
	When anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom,	21:51
	and does not understand it,	21:54
	the evil one comes and snatches away	21:56
	what is sown in his heart.	21:59
	That is what was sown along the path.	22:01
	As for that which was sown on rocky ground,	22:05
	this is he who hears the Word	22:08
	and immediately receives it with joy;	22:10
	yet he has no root in himself,	22:13
	but endures for a while,	22:16
	and when tribulation or persecution arises	22:19
	on account of the Word, immediately he falls away.	22:22
	As for what was sown among the thorns,	22:27
	this is he who hears the Word,	22:31
	but the cares of the world and the delight in riches	22:33
	choke the Word, and it proves unfruitful.	22:37
	As for what was sown on good soil,	22:42
	this is he who hears the word and understands it,	22:45
	he indeed bears fruit and yields in one case,	22:49
	a hundredfold, and another 60, and another 30.	22:52
	Here ends the gospel reading.	22:58
	All glory and praise be unto God.	23:00
	(orchestral church music)	23:04
	(congregational singing accompanied by church music)	23:16
-	I bid you good morning,	24:20
	it's good to be here once again,	24:21
	even under rather unfortunate circumstances.	24:23
	Thank you, Helen, for that typically gracious	24:27
	and overly generous introduction.	24:30
	I do want to say, however, that no Christian	24:34
	preacher ought to stand up to preach the gospel	24:36
	thinking that such things as you have	24:40
	just said about me are true.	24:42
	I think the only resolution of this problem	24:45
	is to come before God in prayer,	24:49
	so may I invite you to pray with me, let us pray:	24:51
	May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heart	24:56
	be acceptable in thy sight, Oh Lord our strength,	25:00
	and our Redeemer; Amen.	25:05
	The gospel lesson for this morning	25:10
	is Matthew's rendition of the parable of the sower.	25:12
	Jesus might have been a little amused	25:16
	and I hope not angrily outraged	25:18
	at the spectacle of preachers expounding	25:21
	and explaining his parables.	25:24
	But the preacher who does so is in good company.	25:27
	Saint Matthew himself was no earlier	25:30
	than the second and probably at least	25:32
	the third or fourth preacher to expound	25:34
	and explain the parable of the sower.	25:38
	Saint Mark preceded him,	25:41
	and in all probability there was a tradition	25:44
	of interpretation or preaching before Mark.	25:46
	Yet, at best, there's something faintly ludicrous	25:51
	about explaining Jesus' parables.	25:54
	It would seem that the parable itself	25:57
	is intended to make something clear.	25:59
	If the parable is not entirely explicit	26:03
	in its message, that has to do with its quality	26:06
	and character as parable.	26:10
	Presumably, Jesus himself had some purpose	26:13
	in putting his message in to parabolic form.	26:16
	He did so, so often.	26:20
	Not long ago, I read a book on the uses	26:24
	of structuralism in biblical exegesis	26:26
	and interpretation.	26:30
	Now those of you who are familiar	26:32
	with structuralism will know all about that,	26:34
	and those of you who are not,	26:37
	would scarcely profit from my explanation of it.	26:38
	After a learned exposition of several leading	26:43
	exponents of structuralist method and thought,	26:46
	the author set about to demonstrate	26:50
	its usefulness in biblical interpretation	26:52
	by applying it to the parable of the Good Samaritan.	26:55
	I read the author's erudite discussion with amazement,	27:00
	but then wondered whether it might be	27:04
	just another sophisticated way	27:06
	of leaving the man attacked by robbers	27:09
	in the ditch.	27:13
	I had read and heard Jesus' parable	27:15
	and I had thought I had understood enough	27:19
	to be disquieted by it.	27:21
	Now, I felt myself being led down paths	27:24
	of restful confusion	27:27
	and through valleys of amazed perplexity.	27:30
	One recalls Karl Barth's dictum,	27:33
	uttered in another context,	27:36
	that God did not intend for us,	27:39
	first to learn Chinese in order to understand the gospel.	27:41
	And I think Barth would also have agreed	27:46
	that the Chinese would not have to learn English	27:48
	in order to understand the gospel.	27:51
	Or there's the story about Halford Luccock,	27:55
	the late professor of preaching at Yale Divinity School.	27:57
	He emerged from listening to a lecture	28:02
	on revelation by his distinguished colleague,	28:04
	H. Richard Niebuhr, but not much had been revealed	28:06
	to him, and as he came out he was heard to mutter,	28:10
	"I'm thankful that the Lord said feed my sheep,	28:14
	"and not feed my giraffes."	28:18
	In other words, it suffices to put the cookies	28:21
	on a lower shelf.	28:25
	We have an innate sense that the gospel of Jesus	28:28
	is simple enough to be understood by simple people,	28:31
	and we're surely not wrong in that sensibility.	28:35
	One reason that we think this, is the presence	28:40
	in the New Testament, especially in the gospels,	28:43
	of so many parables of Jesus.	28:46
	Here are brief and simple stories	28:49
	told in the language of a predominantly rural society.	28:52
	Stories which do not seem to put too great a strain	28:56
	on our understanding or our intellectual capacity.	28:59
	And for centuries, or at least until the emergence	29:04
	of modern and technological society,	29:07
	these parables have spoken an almost universal	29:10
	language of seed, time, and harvest.	29:13
	The shared experiences of people	29:17
	who lived close to nature and close to the land.	29:19
	Tell me the stories of Jesus; I love to hear.	29:22
	We expect to hear something familiar.	29:26
	In fact, most people, who down through the centuries	29:29
	have heard Jesus' parables,	29:33
	have heard things that are familiar to them.	29:35
	Perhaps there is no more familiar parable	29:40
	than the parable of the sower.	29:43
	We just heard it read.	29:46
	Of course, you all listened attentively	29:49
	while that gospel lesson was read, I'm sure,	29:51
	but on the other hand, just because the sermon	29:54
	topic of the parable of the sower was announced,	29:56
	might not necessarily mean that someone	29:59
	is actually going to address himself to that text.	30:01
	And moreover, what is familiar can become too familiar.	30:05
	So familiar, in fact, that we do not even hear it.	30:08
	So, perhaps, at this point, we'd do well to remind ourselves	30:11
	of what we're talking about.	30:15
	Our text falls into three parts:	30:17
	First, there's the parable itself.	30:19
	Second, there's the disciple's question,	30:22
	and Jesus' statement about the purpose	30:24
	of parables, generally.	30:27
	Third, there's the explanation of the parable of the sower.	30:29
	Now, Matthew tells us that Jesus was so pressed	30:35
	by the crowds along the lake shore	30:38
	that he got into the boat and addressed the people,	30:39
	standing in the boat.	30:43
	Jesus spoke to the crowd in parables	30:45
	and Matthew then relates this parable,	30:47
	presumably as a kind of specimen of what Jesus said.	30:50
	A sower sows seeds which fall in different places.	30:54
	Along the path, where birds devour it.	30:58
	On rocky ground, where it is soon scorched by the sun.	31:01
	On thorns, where it is soon choked out.	31:05
	And yet, some does fall on good soil, and bears fruit.	31:09
	A hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold.	31:13
	"He who has ears to hear, let him hear.", says Jesus.	31:17
	Now if we were not told that this was	31:25
	a parable of Jesus, and also later in the text,	31:27
	if we were not told what its interpretation might be,	31:30
	our reaction to it might not be entirely positive.	31:34
	We might think "far out" or even "off the wall"	31:36
	or more than likely, "so what?"	31:39
	Even the importance of the subject,	31:42
	the harvest does not seem so immediately urgent to us.	31:45
	At least it doesn't seem urgent until we encounter	31:49
	yet another round of price increases at the supermarket,	31:51
	or see farmers on TV,	31:55
	declaiming their determination not to plant again	31:57
	unless they get better prices.	32:00
	But, as a matter of course, we don't feel the urgency	32:02
	of the issues involved in the imagery of this parable.	32:06
	Now, of course, we are right in sensing	32:10
	that the parable is not about agriculture,	32:12
	but farming provides imagery that's appropriate.	32:15
	For what is at stake, Jesus seems to imply,	32:19
	is no less a life and death matter	32:23
	than the success of the harvest.	32:26
	Still, the meaning of the parable is not so obvious.	32:30
	Not such a simple matter.	32:34
	Now Matthew, the evangelist, here apparently follows	32:37
	one of his sources, the gospel of Mark.	32:40
	And he next portrays the disciples asking Jesus	32:44
	why he speaks to the crowd in parables.	32:47
	Now, that part was not read in the lesson this morning,	32:50
	but I do want to make one or two comments about it.	32:52
	And their question about why speak in parables,	32:56
	reflects a perplexity which any hearer	32:59
	or reader might feel at this point.	33:02
	And in answer to this question,	33:05
	Jesus gives them a rather long answer.	33:07
	He seems to be saying that	33:11
	what is clear to the disciples,	33:14
	must be stated in parables to the multitudes.	33:16
	But it's not really clear to me	33:20
	whether the parables are to help the crowds understand,	33:21
	or Jesus' speech seems parabolic to them	33:25
	just because they don't understand,	33:29
	and this, I think, is a difficult passage,	33:32
	but Matthew is not as difficult as Mark at this point.	33:35
	In Mark, Jesus says quite explicity	33:39
	that he speaks to the outsiders,	33:42
	to non-disciples in parables in order that,	33:45
	so that, they will not understand and be forgiven.	33:48
	Now that was too much for Matthew.	33:54
	Matthew evidently thought that the Lord	33:56
	could not have said such a thing,	33:59
	so he changes the wording just enough	34:01
	so that Jesus doesn't say that,	34:04
	and then he quotes Isaiah more fully	34:06
	to the effect that unbelief is the fulfillment of scripture.	34:08
	Whatever Matthew's reasons or grounds	34:13
	for departing from Mark,	34:15
	he was in all probablity right in one thing;	34:17
	That is, right in refusing to represent	34:21
	Jesus' parables as a means of obfuscation,	34:24
	confusion, condemnation, rather than as a means	34:28
	of communication and grace.	34:32
	That much is certain.	34:35
	Then after what almost amounts to a filibuster	34:40
	against Mark's parable theory,	34:42
	Matthew gives Jesus' interpretation	34:45
	of the parable of the sower.	34:48
	And it's pretty much like Mark.	34:51
	The seeds falling upon the various soils are equated	34:54
	with different bearers of the Word.	34:57
	Finally, the seed sown in good soil	35:00
	are those people who hear and understand the Word,	35:03
	and bring forth fruit. It all sounds so obvious now.	35:06
	In all probability, even this interpretation	35:12
	which is familiar to most of us,	35:15
	even this interpretation is some early preacher's idea	35:17
	of what Jesus meant.	35:21
	As a matter of fact, very seldom in the gospels	35:24
	does Jesus offer such an interpretation of his parables.	35:27
	The parable of the sower, as a matter of fact,	35:33
	appears in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas,	35:35
	without this interpretation.	35:38
	Also, the language, the technical terminology	35:40
	of the interpretation, reflects the situation	35:43
	of the early Christian church.	35:45
	For example, the term "the Word" here	35:47
	means the Christian gospel.	35:50
	The parable is about the success of the gospel	35:53
	among those who at first accept it.	35:56
	Actually, elsewhere, Jesus does not speak in this way,	35:59
	and we hear witness to the earliest interpretation	36:03
	of one of Jesus' parables.	36:05
	The first Christians understood that parable	36:08
	in relation to their own situation,	36:11
	and that was not such a bad, or such a wrong idea.	36:13
	And yet, Jesus first spoke this parable	36:18
	with his own situation in view.	36:21
	As the messenger who announces the reality	36:23
	and coming of God's Kingdom, God's rule,	36:26
	Jesus himself is the sower who goes forth to sow.	36:29
	His preaching and His ministry find different receptions	36:34
	among different people.	36:37
	A lot of people react positively,	36:39
	he gets an enthusiastic reception.	36:40
	Yet, many more wither in the heat of the day	36:43
	than endure or persist.	36:46
	Now, as we see, reading the Gospel of Matthew,	36:51
	is a little like looking down a kaleidoscope	36:55
	or a stairwell, or peeling off the layers of an onion.	36:58
	One can distinguish what Matthew added to Mark,	37:04
	what Mark wrote,	37:08
	what Mark got from the early church's preaching,	37:10
	and what Jesus himself said.	37:14
	They're layers of meaning,	37:16
	but there's no reason to doubt	37:18
	that Jesus himself spoke this parable.	37:20
	It's also as certain as can be that Jesus wanted	37:24
	to say something about the Kingdom or the rule of God.	37:26
	All the gospels, but Matthew, particularly,	37:31
	put the sower at the head of a group	37:33
	of parables of the Kingdom, and in doing so,	37:35
	they preserved the original intention of the parable.	37:40
	Moreover, as I read Matthew, I don't see just	37:44
	competing or conflicting meanings.	37:47
	There's a unity in what is said,	37:50
	even if it's said by more than one witness.	37:52
	Furthermore, and I should like to underscore this,	37:56
	Matthew puts his finger on an important thread	38:00
	that runs through the text, and runs from the text	38:03
	back to Jesus himself.	38:06
	In the interpretation of the parable,	38:09
	only Matthew writes:	38:12
	when anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom,	38:14
	and does not understand it, understand it,	38:17
	The evil one comes and snatches away	38:22
	what is sown in his heart.	38:24
	At the end of the interpretation, Matthew writes:	38:26
	He who hears the Word and understands it, bears fruit.	38:30
	Only Matthew speaks of understanding	38:36
	and at the end of the whole parable collection	38:39
	in Matthew 13, Matthew, and Matthew only,	38:41
	has Jesus ask his disciples:	38:45
	Have you understood all this?	38:48
	And they answer, yes.	38:51
	It's pretty clear we have uncovered here	38:54
	an important and distinctive motif of Matthew's gospel.	38:57
	Christian discipleship according to Matthew	39:02
	is not only obeying Jesus, it is also understanding Him.	39:04
	But I think there's more to it than that.	39:10
	That is, more to it than just an important theme	39:12
	of the Gospel of Matthew.	39:14
	Matthew is pointing to something ingredient to,	39:16
	essential to, being a disciple, being a Christian.	39:19
	I'd like to take a few moments now	39:24
	to look at the ways in which Matthew's emphasis	39:26
	on understanding really makes sense of the parable.	39:29
	That is, it makes sense of this specific parable,	39:33
	and makes sense also,	39:36
	of Jesus' habit of speaking in parables.	39:37
	Jesus didn't appear on the scene discussing theology,	39:43
	or even debating questions	39:47
	about the interpretation of the Law.	39:49
	He came announcing the advent of God's Kingdom.	39:52
	He spoke in hyperbole, or so it seems,	39:57
	about turning the other cheek and going the extra mile.	40:00
	He spoke in parables in answer to questions	40:05
	or in order to make a point about God's Kingdom,	40:07
	or God's rule.	40:10
	In fact, in the gospels, Jesus never answers	40:12
	or speaks directly to the question,	40:16
	What is the Kingdom of God?	40:18
	Scholars remark that Jesus seems to assume	40:21
	his hearers will understand what he means	40:24
	by Kingdom of God; that may be right,	40:27
	and yet it is not altogether clear	40:30
	that even all of Jesus' Jewish contemporaries	40:32
	would have understood the same thing by that phrase,	40:35
	Kingdom of God.	40:38
	Jesus' language is suggestive, evocative,	40:40
	his parables illicit understanding	40:44
	on the part of the hearers.	40:47
	The question that his parables pose for the hearer	40:50
	is something like this:	40:52
	Do you grasp what I'm talking about?	40:55
	Can you perceive what's going on?	40:57
	And the answer is not a matter of purely	41:02
	intellectual understanding, or assent.	41:04
	With Jesus, it has to do with the nearness	41:08
	of God's rule.	41:10
	With the earliest church that produced Matthew's gospel,	41:12
	it has to do with the good news that God's rule is now,	41:15
	in a sense, present in Jesus.	41:18
	And then it becomes a question of whether people	41:22
	are going to accept it,	41:25
	and Matthew makes explicit	41:27
	that this is a question of understanding,	41:29
	but in either case, the question implicit in Jesus' parable,	41:33
	the parable of the sower,	41:38
	is what one makes of Jesus himself.	41:40
	Do you understand who I am, what I'm doing, he's asking.	41:44
	Why I'm here?	41:49
	But that question is never a silly, irrelevant,	41:52
	abstract, or pointless question.	41:55
	The question about Jesus is not just	41:59
	an other-worldly question, either.	42:02
	It's put to the disciples, to the church,	42:05
	where they are.	42:08
	It is not asked in the cloister, so to speak,	42:10
	but in the world of people and of events.	42:13
	The sower went forth to sow.	42:16
	He scatters seed among all sorts and conditions of people.	42:19
	He comes saying "the reign of God is at hand."	42:24
	(clears throat) His Kingdom is near.	42:27
	We are caught short.	42:32
	Is this rather strange, itinerate preacher	42:34
	who casts out demons, heals the sick,	42:38
	and associates with undesirables,	42:42
	somehow the token and embodiment of God's rule?	42:44
	Does he have a right to make demands on us?	42:48
	In fact, he does so,	42:52
	but his demand is at the same time, a question,	42:55
	and thus he speaks in parables.	42:59
	The sower went forth to sow.	43:02
	Do you know what's happening?	43:05
	A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho.	43:07
	Which of these three do you think proved neighbor	43:12
	to the man who fell among robbers?	43:16
	Jesus speaking in parables, is itself,	43:22
	a challenge to understand.	43:25
	Believing and obeying, are of course, essential.	43:28
	But a meaningful obedience of faith requires understanding.	43:32
	To be a disciple of Jesus, one must know not only	43:38
	who he is, and where he is,	43:43
	but who we are, and where we are.	43:47
	Jesus' probing parables call forth a response.	43:51
	A response, not intellectual sophistication,	43:56
	but what we might call moral and spiritual insight.	43:59
	Matthew rightly speaks of understanding.	44:04
	The simplest person is capable of it.	44:09
	The most sophisticated intellectual may miss the point.	44:12
	Several years ago, I was observing a divinity student,	44:18
	leading a discussion in a youth group	44:22
	at a church not far from here.	44:24
	We might describe it as a working class church.	44:26
	The subject of the discussion was communism,	44:29
	and the discussion was going pretty badly.	44:32
	The young person doing most of the talking	44:34
	apparently had some canned material from Life Line	44:37
	or some such source, but eventually the talk got around	44:40
	to such matters as school, integration,	44:44
	Duke student demonstrations,	44:47
	which had just then been going on,	44:49
	and other matters closer to home,	44:50
	and as it did, the discussion got a lot better.	44:52
	The young people, it was clear, could understand	44:56
	their parent's strong feelings against some of these things,	44:58
	but they thought that their parents were really	45:01
	a little intolerant.	45:03
	And finally, the girl who had been reading	45:06
	the anti-communist propaganda had a flash of insight.	45:08
	As Christians, she said, we should love everybody.	45:12
	We must love communist, and black people, and Duke people.	45:17
	Well, I stifled a laugh, and for years,	45:23
	I have told this story in a rather condescending way.	45:26
	It seemed to me to illustrate so marvelously	45:30
	the way in which people in town think, some people,	45:32
	and how they regard Duke University, and Duke people.	45:35
	But now I have some second thoughts.	45:40
	This young person had a perfectly valid	45:43
	and important Christian insight.	45:45
	It came home, especially as far as black people	45:49
	and Duke people were concerned, to right where she was.	45:52
	Now, I might say parenthetically as the years have passed,	45:56
	I've found that loving Duke people	45:59
	is not such an inconsiderable challenge after all.	46:01
	As members of an academic community,	46:06
	we can be insufferably self-assured	46:08
	and self-righteous, but such learning and prestige	46:10
	as we possess is no guarantee, may not even be	46:15
	any evidence that we have the kind of insight	46:18
	and understanding which Jesus demands.	46:20
	Indeed, we do not always agree,	46:24
	and in fact, we are not always right.	46:27
	William F. Buckley once said that he would	46:30
	rather be governed by the first 1000 people	46:32
	listed in the Boston telephone book	46:35
	than by the faculty of Harvard University.	46:37
	Now, I'm not sure whether I agree entirely with that,	46:41
	or whether I'd like to apply it	46:43
	to Duke and to Durham or not, but be that as it may,	46:44
	the longer I reflect, the more I rejoice	46:48
	in a young girl's spontaneous insight,	46:52
	that the gospel lays upon her the demand	46:55
	to love her neighbors even if they are Duke people.	46:58
	And it occurs to me to think that the reverse of that	47:02
	is also true for us.	47:06
	We who are members of an academic community,	47:10
	for all our penchant for self-criticism and debate,	47:13
	we find it easier to esteem and in a real sense,	47:16
	love our colleagues.	47:20
	We find it much less easy to esteem and to love those	47:22
	who do not share our intellectual and related commitments.	47:26
	And whom we do not esteem as equal before God,	47:31
	we can scarcely, meaningfully love.	47:35
	For those of us who had lived at once in the University	47:39
	and in the church of Jesus Christ,	47:45
	there may be a painful but necessary acknowledgement.	47:47
	It is certainly true that the values and goals of the two,	47:51
	the church and the University, in many ways overlap	47:55
	and are mutually supportive.	47:58
	The goals of the University are valid and valuable.	48:01
	I do not, for a moment, disparage them.	48:04
	In many ways, as many of you do,	48:06
	I live out of them and for them.	48:08
	And yet, the understanding which, according to the	48:12
	New Testament Jesus calls for, is not the same	48:14
	as the understanding we seek in the University.	48:18
	That distinctively Christian understanding	48:23
	is not based upon erudition,	48:26
	but upon an insight born of faith.	48:29
	It is not available to the arrogant	48:33
	and the haughty of this world, but to the lowly,	48:36
	and to people who have put all pretense aside.	48:41
	Whoever can hear and understand the parables of Jesus,	48:48
	will gain this saving knowledge.	48:53
	So, at the conclusion of the parable of the sower,	48:56
	what does Jesus say?	49:03
	He who has ears to hear,	49:06
	let him hear.	49:11
	So be it,	49:16
	may we indeed hear;	49:18
	Amen.	49:22
	(orchestral church music)	49:32
	(orchestral church music mixed with congregational singing)	50:00
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	52:02
-	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	52:05
	who has come in a truly human Jesus,	52:11
	to reconcile and make new,	52:14
	who works in us and of us by the Spirit.	52:17
	We trust God, who calls us to be the Church,	52:22
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	52:27
	to love and serve others,	52:30
	to seek justice and resist evil,	52:33
	to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,	52:37
	our judge and our hope	52:41
	in life, in death,	52:44
	in life beyond death,	52:47
	God is with us.	52:50
	We are not alone.	52:52
	Thanks be to God.	52:55
-	The Lord be with you.	52:57
-	And with your spirit.	53:00
-	Let us pray:	53:01
	Oh holy God,	53:14
	we bow before you in awe and adoration.	53:16
	We are overcome with a sense of our infinitude	53:23
	when we consider your greatness, and your power,	53:26
	and your love.	53:28
	We are confused, troubled people.	53:32
	We live with the complexity of our existence.	53:37
	We want to be your people through whom your Word	53:42
	and your truth is manifest,	53:44
	and yet we struggle and become discouraged.	53:47
	So we ask you to teach us to pray	53:51
	for ourselves and for others.	53:54
	Hear these our prayers of petition and intercession.	53:59
	We pray that the way we spend our leisure time	54:05
	may be a living witness to you,	54:08
	and that we may never forget the many who are enslaved	54:11
	to the industry of entertainment,	54:15
	and the poor who have no leisure or only their leisure.	54:18
	Show us ways that all of our time will be used	54:24
	for your glory.	54:27
	We pray, oh God, that what we do with our abilities,	54:31
	and our energies will be a living witness	54:35
	to your love and concern for this world.	54:38
	May we never forget the many who cannot choose their work,	54:43
	those who find no satisfaction in their work,	54:47
	those who have no work, or only their work.	54:52
	Direct our social and political struggle toward	54:57
	a society where all can love you	55:00
	and their neighbor in the midst of their daily work.	55:04
	We pray that the style of life we have chosen	55:10
	may be a living witness to your love,	55:13
	and that we may never forget the many,	55:18
	who married, or unmarried, find no hope	55:20
	or joy in their future.	55:24
	Redeem our destructive relationships.	55:27
	Release us from loneliness.	55:32
	Renew your church so we may become truly your family,	55:35
	the new caring humanity.	55:41
	To you, oh God, we bring our failures,	55:45
	our compromises, and the joys of our achievements.	55:49
	Hear now, our prayers for those who are facing	55:56
	special crises, illness,	55:59
	unemployment, death.	56:04
	We mourn the loss of those who have recently died.	56:09
	We give you thanks for the lives	56:14
	of Carlyle Marney and John Wheeler.	56:16
	And we pray that their family and friends	56:20
	will be sustained by your comforting presence.	56:22
	Send us your Spirit, oh God, with all your healing power.	56:26
	When we are grieving, console us.	56:33
	When we are fragmented, make us whole.	56:36
	When we are desperate, help us to walk in hope.	56:41
	When we're separated, unite us.	56:45
	We pray in the spirit of the one who taught us to pray.	56:49
-	Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	56:55
	Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,	57:00
	on earth as it is in heaven.	57:04
	Give us this day our daily bread;	57:07
	and forgive us our trespasses,	57:10
	as we forgive those who trespass against us;	57:13
	and lead us not into temptation,	57:17
	but deliver us from evil.	57:20
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	57:23
	and the glory forever; Amen.	57:26
	(orchestral church music)	57:34
	(choir singing church music accompanied by orchestra)	58:56

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Item Info

Title:

D. Moody Smith, Jr. - "The Parable of the Sower" (July 9, 1978)

Description:

Matthew's version of the parable of the sower helps us see the importance of "understanding" Jesus and his message to the work of discipleship. But this understanding is not merely a matter of intellecutal assent; it is a matter of faith. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 24:20. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 42:25.
Key quotation: “Christian discipleship according to Matthew is not only obeying Jesus, it is also understanding Him.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r43n20v0h

Date:

July 9, 1978

Speaker:

Smith, D. Moody, Jr.

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0964
ref7131_x5p
uachapelsermaud
duke:320790
dcrau001844
ark:/87924/r43n20v0h
ad549a5c-32bf-4aee-892f-8a7a4d94d222

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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D. Moody Smith, Jr. - "The Parable of the Sower" (July 9, 1978)

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1. D. Moody Smith, Jr. - "The Parable of the Sower" (July 9, 1978)

Duke University Archives

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D. Moody Smith, Jr. - "The Parable of the Sower" (July 9, 1978)

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Duke University Archives

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