Welcome to the final podcast of this week.  It has been a pleasure to bring these reflections on Matthew’s Gospel to you over the last few days.

We are finishing the week by looking at a well known parable that Jesus told – the Parable of the Sower.  It’s a very long passage so I won’t be reading it at the end, but you can find it in your Bibles later, in Matthew Chapter 13 vs1-23.  Today we are going to focus on verses 8, 9, 12 and 16, and I’m using the New Century Version.

“Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more.Let those with ears use them and listen……Those who have understanding will be given more, and they will have all they need…… You are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears.”

REFLECTION:

When we are experiencing challenging times, there can be a tendency to become a bit inward looking, and to always focus on the difficulties and the problems regarding our current situation.  In our Christian faith, this might be expressed through constantly looking at what God hasn’t done or isn’t doing, or the areas where our prayers have remained seemingly unanswered.

In the coronavirus challenges that face my family, the narrative might sound something like this:

“I’m a Headteacher during Covid, I don’t have a senior team that lead with me, and the workload is just unbelievable……and what about our eldest son – he could be facing weeks on end sat in his tiny student flat, having no face-to-face contact with his lecturers, plus I really don’t know when we will see him again.  What on earth will Christmas be like if he is not with us……and anyway Christmas is pretty much a write off because we are a family of 5, so we can’t see any relatives.  If Alan can’t see his Dad this Christmas, then once this all ends it will probably be 2 years since he last saw him.  And then poor Max – he is just going to school each day not knowing if he is even going to take his A-levels in the summer, he’s trying to choose a university, but he can’t visit any of them, and at any moment his bubble could be sent home because there is a case in school, and he has already missed so much teaching time.  This could really impact his future.  Oh and then Faith – well social distancing is just a nightmare for her.  She’s visually impaired and she can’t actually see 2 metres away.  How is she going to make friends in her new school when she can’t even see people’s faces?  Oh Lord – you have to do something about this.”

I am sure you could write a version of this for your own situation, and you may be facing some personal challenges that are far greater or much more serious.

However, in Matthew Chapter 13 vs22, Jesus says this, “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

In this challenging time, are we being choked by the worries of this life?

Are the thorns or the weeds around us preventing us from growing and being fruitful?

So far this week, we have seen that in challenging times, Jesus promises us rest, He gives us hope and He promotes relationship.  In today’s Bible reading we see that in the midst of challenging times, Jesus tellsus that we are blessed.

“Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more.Let those with ears use them and listen……Those who have understanding will be given more, and they will have all they need…… You are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears.”

As Christians, we have seen Jesus – we have looked at who he is and understand that he is our Saviour.