The Sower

The kingdom of heaven always comes in weakness, and we see this in countless ways: in the trials of Joseph in Egypt, in  the Israelites being delivered from the mighty Egyptian army, in the little army of Gideon, in the armorless David against the giant, and in Jesus himself, scourged, beaten, crucified, dead, and buried. But thereby he redeemed the world and rose from the dead on  the third day. So it is also that the sower sows his little seeds, which face many impediments: birds of the air, rocks and scorching sun, thorns and thistles. Yet somehow it still produces a crop, an hundredfold. This is always the way of the kingdom of heaven. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; and herein lies the secret of the kingdom, and the secret of contentment. For in life among us as well, the weakness that surrounds us on every hand shrouds the power of God in the word that is sown among us, even today. By grace we have ears to hear, and we hear, and the kingdom grows among us by the sheer power of God and his grace alone.  Sermon for Sexagesima.