2026-07-13
Brooke Strong
Sermon Text...
Take Root
The Federated Church / Pentecost 7A
Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23/ Take Root. Grow. Bear Fruit. Sow.
Rev. Michael Anthony Howard
Sunday, July 12, 2026
Please join your heart with mine as we lift them up to God—
Welcoming Creator, Living Word,
Take flesh among us once more.
May the words of my mouth,
and the meditations of all our hearts,
bear witness to your Welcome,
for you are our strength,
our hope,
and our peace.
Amen.
INTRODUCTION
(At the Pulpit)
Good morning.
Before we begin, I want to ask you a question.
How many of you have ever planted a garden?
Or a tree?
Or really... anything?
Good.
I was going to ask my next question:
"How many of you gardeners think you know how the world works?"
...but I decided I'd save that one for another Sunday.
Instead...
turn to someone sitting near you.
You have about thirty seconds.
Here's the question:
What's the very first thing you do before you plant a garden?
Go.
(30 seconds.)
PSALM 1
Ashrei ha'ish asher lo halach ba'atzat resha'im,
u'vederech chata'im lo amad,
uv'moshav letzim lo yashav.
Ki im b'torat Adonai cheftzo,
u'v'torato yehgeh yomam va-laylah.
V'hayah k'etz shatul al palgei mayim...
Blessed is the one whose delight is in the Torah of the Lord.
Who meditates on it day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water...
yielding fruit...
every season.
(Walk from the pulpit down toward the soil.)
Stone Hill
Growing up in the hills of central Kentucky...
when my stepdad bought our farm on Stone Hill...
one of the very first jobs I remember...
was pulling my little Radio Flyer wagon around the field.
(Picture on screen.)
I'd fill it with rocks.
At the time...
I thought we were cleaning up.
Years later...
I realized...
we were preparing the ground.
If you've ever driven through Kentucky...
you've seen those beautiful stone fences.
They're not just property lines.
They're monuments.
Every one of those rocks was picked up...
one at a time...
by somebody who wanted the field to bear fruit.
Before a gardener plants...
a gardener prepares the ground.
The Seed
(Pick up the bowl.)
What does this want?
Now...
right now you might be thinking,
“Well... I want a salty sunflower seed.”
Sure.
Have one after church.
But that’s not my question.
Not... What do you want from the seed?
What was it created for?
What does it want?
It wants soil.
It wants sunlight.
It wants water.
It wants nourishment.
It wants a place...
where life can happen.
(Keep one seed in your fingers for the rest of the sermon.)
3. Matthew's Story
(Walking back toward the chancel.)
Think back over the last few weeks.
Jesus looked out over the crowds.
Matthew says...
he was moved with compassion.
Splagchnizomai.
Because they were harassed and helpless.
Like sheep without a shepherd.
Then Jesus sends the disciples out.
Heal.
Welcome.
Proclaim the kingdom.
And they come back exhausted.
Of course they do.
They've just discovered...
how hard it is...
to bring life into a hurting world.
Jesus says,
“Come to me,
all you who are weary
and carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
Learn from me.”
Now...
what kind of work...
is this yoke?
Matthew answers.
Jesus takes them into a field.
And he says,
“The Logos of the Kingdom...”
“...is like a seed.”
Church...
I think we've often misunderstood this parable.
We’ve used it to criticize the soil.
“Which one are you?”
“Why aren't you more receptive?”
But remember how the story began.
Not with criticism.
With compassion.
Jesus looked out...
and saw people carrying burdens.
People worried about tomorrow’s meal.
People wondering if they would be safe.
People crushed by grief.
People overwhelmed by life.
Of course the seed struggles to grow.
Sometimes the rocks are grief.
Sometimes they’re shame.
Sometimes they’re fear.
Sometimes the thorns are anxiety.
Sometimes they’re poverty.
Sometimes they’re loneliness.
The question isn't,
“What’s wrong with the seed?”
The question is,
How do we prepare the ground?
Sometimes...
the most faithful thing we can do...
is move a rock.
Sometimes...
It’s sit beside someone.
Sometimes...
It’s bring a meal.
Sometimes...
It’s simply make room for hope.
That's the work of the kingdom.
That's the yoke Jesus places upon us.
Gardening...
can be hard work.
4. The Logos
(Lift the seed.)
Jesus says...
the Logos of the Kingdom...
is like a seed.
I’ve been fascinated by that word...
for years.
Logos.
I think of it this way.
The Logos...
is the dream of God.
(Hold up the seed.)
The dream of God...
wants to take on flesh.
It wants to come alive.
It wants to bear fruit.
It wants to become...
a world.
Genesis begins with God speaking.
Psalm 1 imagines people becoming trees.
Jesus says the Logos is a seed.
John says,
“The Word became flesh.”
Now hear Psalm 1 again.
Blessed is the one...
who meditates on the dream of God...
day and night.
They are like trees...
planted by streams of water...
yielding fruit...
every season.
Ezekiel saw that river.
He called the city...
Jehovah Shammah.
The Lord is there.
Revelation ends beside that same river.
The tree of life.
Its leaves...
for the healing of the nations.
That’s where the story has always been going.
The Logos of the Kingdom.
The dream of God.
Wanting to take on flesh.
Wanting to bear fruit.
Wanting to become a world.
So this week...
don't ask...
“Am I good soil?”
Ask instead...
What rock can I move?
What thorn can I clear?
How can I prepare the ground...
so God’s dream can take root?
(Lift the seed one last time.)
The Logos wants to take on flesh.
The Word wants to become a world.
Amen.
