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Lectionary for July 12, 2026
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 55:10-13; Psalm 65:1-13;
Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
I find myself absolutely giddy for the summer in Year A and parable time! I enjoy epistles, genealogies and law lists as much as the next person (and probably more …), but the narratives that include parables are my favorite. Jesus’ deeply contextualized parables are deliciously present to those for whom they were first intended. In the Gospel passage for this week, Jesus points out that the context in which we hear the text immediately shapes how we receive it (or not).
The parable of the seed sower is one of the most well-known of the teaching stories in Jesus’ repertoire. A planter walks through farmland, almost certainly a system of terraced fields where a single handful of tossed seed can land on different kinds of ground. Some seed lands beside a road and is eaten immediately by the birds that follow the planter for a free meal. Some seed falls in thin, rocky soil, probably at the base of a terrace wall. The seed springs up but soon withers in the intense heat radiating off the rocky soil and nearby wall. Other seed falls among the thorns that serve as a living fence between terraced properties. The thorns, being more established and hardier, choke out the young plants. But some seed—perhaps most of it unless the sower is particularly unskilled—falls on good ground and will grow a massive harvest.
Jesus told this brief story and then continued on with his speech. But his disciples interrupted him. Why not speak clearly so that everyone understands? Jesus’ response is shocking: the wisdom to know the mysteries of the kingdom is just not for everyone. What? Does this mean that God doesn’t love everyone, or that the kingdom is just for the smarty-pants who are better at Bible study and metaphor than everyone else? Of course not! Using the words of Isaiah, Jesus pointed out that people frequently use the language of Scripture to serve their own purposes, thereby injuring others and themselves (Matthew 13:13-17). It’s like people hear sometimes but just don’t hear, you know?
Jesus taught that if we just hear the words but don’t make efforts to really study and understand them in our contexts, that is like seed eaten by birds before it can grow
As an example, I believe one of the great perversities of our time is a short video featuring the secretary of defense reciting the Lord’s Prayer. While asking God to forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, images of warplanes, rifles, smoke and an eagle flash across the screen. At least to me, it’s unclear: Are we forgiving others or are we preparing to kill them? We hear the words but are we really understanding them?
The disciples heard Jesus’ words, but they didn’t really understand his point. So they pressed Jesus to explain himself. Jesus taught that if we just hear the words but don’t make efforts to really study and understand them in our contexts, that is like seed eaten by birds before it can grow (19). If someone receives God’s word with joy but lives in a context that doesn’t produce persistence and endurance to counter trials and persecution, that person fades quickly as if a plant with no depth. The image of Ingrid Rasmussen on the cover of Living Lutheran (summer 2026) is the exact opposite of this—the pastor stands firmly and doesn’t wilt while being persecuted for her faith, because the word of God has grown deep in her life and ministry.
Jesus pointed out that many people hear God’s words in contexts in which they are “distracted” (merimna in verse 22 in the Greek is probably best understood as “divided attention”) by the times or fall prey to the fundamental lie of wealth. They are like plants trying to thrive amid well-established thorns. It simply won’t work. Lastly, there are people who plant themselves in contexts in which they make space and time to dig in and understand God’s word, letting it take root in their lives deeply. They return an amazing harvest of fruitful living.
Context matters. Do we hear God’s word and then treat it as window dressing and go about life as usual? Or do we allow the word to be planted deeply, allowing it to grow unencumbered by overarching commitments to nationality, economics or political party? Jesus is telling those with ears to hear that our contexts shape how we receive the word.
