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“Some seed fell on fertile soil and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty, or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear” (Matthew 13:9).
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Fertile soil.
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Fertile soil only gives life because it has been wounded.
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Think about it.
In order to make soil fertile, you must break it open and repeatedly separate it.
Smash it. Toss it about.
Only after this set period of chaos is the ground ready to receive life.
And when placed inside that soft, broken ground, seeds begin to grow. Many become strong, sturdy plants.
Thus any plant that’s borne fruit was once a tiny seed placed inside broken, fertile soil.
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In the Gospel, Jesus describes fertile soil as the type that bears one hundred, sixty, or thirty-fold, as opposed to rocky and thorny soil, which is largely useless.
Does this mean that Jesus blesses being fertile? Does he bless being broken?
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Perhaps.
But only in the sense that he has the power to bring good out of that brokenness; like healthy fruit out of fertile soil.
For example, when we experience crushing sorrow in our lives through the death of a loved one, our hearts are instantly fertile, broken like fertile soil.
That person’s life – and absence – changes us; it bears fruit in our lives.
But we have a say in what type of fruit that will be.
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Understandably, some seeds sprout, but they’re choked by bitterness and anger.
But that doesn’t have to be the end of the story.
The Lord can transform our grief into hope, empathy, and a stronger belief in the resurrection.
Jesus promises this: good fruit grows from fertile soil, which must be broken first.
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Similarly, imagine a person who’s been freed from the cycle of poverty.
Often such people give back to their communities selflessly because they know the twinge of an empty stomach, and they don’t want another child to ever feel that way.
They can say, “Poverty tilled my life; it made me fertile. But now I give back; I bear good fruit.”
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It’s a fascinating truth:
Fertile soil only gives life because it has first been broken.
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When has my life been tilled like fertile soil? What experience has made me feel broken?
Has any good fruit come from it yet? Or am I still hoping?
Jesus reminds us today that we must never give up. Good fruit will come.
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Visualize this idea on a national level.
America is fertile.
The soul of our nation has been tilled by the Coronavirus; isolation; culture wars; the toxicity of politics; hate speech; protests against racism; the feeling of being small and unimportant; job and economic insecurity; and frustration across the board.
These experiences have already changed us. We are different.
Some say America is a house divided; we are broken.
But maybe that’s a good thing.
Jesus promises good fruit can come from broken soil, and by extension broken societies.
Meaning, we have tremendous opportunities before us:
Opportunities to grow; to problem solve; to work together for real structural change where needed; to extend an olive branch, breaking racial and political lines; to co-exist as one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
We should be optimistic about our future, as Americans always are, because we all have a hand in writing it.
You and I will help determine what type of fruit is borne in 2020 and beyond.
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So, what would constructive dialogue between opposing sides sound like in our homes or in society? What would the reform of systemic injustice look like?
Most importantly, what does peace look like? And, how do we get there?
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These are questions I don’t claim to have an answer to.
But I do believe that the path to peace begins when we acknowledge the fertility of the moment.
People are frustrated, fatigued, and angry across the board.
We want an end to the Coronavirus. We want a healthy economy. We want our children to go to school without fear. We want to live in a safe and supportive nation.
We want to bear good fruit.
We become the change we want to see. Extending the peace we want to feel. Speaking the words we need to hear.
By living the Golden Rule: treating others the way that we want to be treated.
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“Whoever has ears ought to hear,” Jesus says.
Our future is fertile. Our soil is rich. This is the land of opportunity.
We are the seeds planted in the soil of America. Together, we can build a healthier society. We can bear good fruit, “a hundred, or sixty, or thirtyfold.”
Why shouldn’t it begin with us?
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