IS ANYTHING REALLY POSSIBLE WITH LOVE?

This homily is based on Matthew 13:1-23.

Reading the familiar Parable of the Sower this morning reminded me of one of the last Tears for Fears songs.  It’s called “Sowing the Seeds of Love.”  Written by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, the song was No. 8 in the Billboard Charts in 1989.  Some critics claim the song is a rip-off of “I Am A Walrus,” but most do acknowledge it as a tribute to the Beatles.

As in other TFF songs, the lyrics are not easy to understand, but the refrain is a dead giveaway:  “Sowing the seeds of love.  Anything is possible when you’re sowing the seeds of love…”

If you ask me, the words in the refrain are pretty motherhood, but the duo sings it with such sincerity and intensity that they actually get away with it.  But as we think about the Lord’s parable, I can’t help but ask myself if I agree with such an optimistic view. “Is anything really possible with love?”

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a nice thought, and I certainly wish it were true, but my experience of the world, especially these most recent events, seems to show otherwise.  Yes, love is no guarantee that you can do things or change things, is it?

In his parable, the Lord tells us that God sows his seeds everywhere:  He makes sure that he scatters his Word and his love–a bit too extravagantly, if you ask me–regardless of who we are and where we are.  But God’s love, which is capable of making anything possible, requires our response for it to actually do its work.  The problem is that many of us aren’t ready for God’s seeds of love to make a difference in our lives and in the world.

The Lord gives us three symbols–the wayside, the rocky ground, and the thorny soil–to illustrate how people may not be prepared for God to work on them.  He speaks of soil, but he’s really referring to our soul.

According to the Lord, some of us may have souls that are closed, as symbolized by the wayside, where the first set of seeds may fall, but will never have a chance.  If our sooul is already closed in the first place, we will never have the chance to let God’s seeds take root and grow in us.

Or maybe our soul is like the rocky soil, where the seeds take root but soon wither and die because their roots never grew deep.  Maybe we’re too shallow for God’s word.  If our soul is shallow, we may have the desire to hear God’s word, so that it begins to take root in you, but it doesn’t grow and it doesn’t last.

Or perhaps our soul is like the thorny ground, where the seeds take root and actually grow but are soon choked by thorns.  Our soul may be much too cluttered with all sorts of concerns, so that God becomes just one item in a long list of concerns.  If that’s the case, we may have too many attachments—be they possessions or people—that we end up devoting more time and energy to.

Which soil best represents our soul? The music video of “Sowing the Seeds of Love,” which won the Best Breakthrough Video at the MTV Music Video Awards that year, features a scene where Roland Orzabal is tilling the soil, and as he looks around him, sees others tilling their soil.  That’s what we should be doing, nurturing our soil and preparing our soul.  But how?  Well, it depends on what type of soil/soul we have.

Is your soul symbolized by the wayside?  If your soul closed?  Ask yourself a simple question: “Do you have a desire for God’s word?”   In other words:  “Do you even want to know what God has to say to you?”  If you don’t even have this desire, no matter how loud God speaks to you, chances are, you won’t hear it.  If you don’t feel that desire for God’s word right now, that’s all right.  Just pray that God gives you this desire so that you’ll be able to open your heart to Him.

Is yours a shallow soul, as symbolized by the rocky ground?  Ask yourself how much time you actually spend with God in your life.  After all, the only way to allow his word to take root in your life is to make time for him, praying over his word and giving Him room in your life.  If you feel that your soul is like the rocky soil, then you can begin changing that by praying for generosity, the generosity to give God more time in your life.

Or could it be that your soul is more like the thorny ground?  If this is the case, you may need to rearrange the furniture of your life, as it were.  In order to do this, you need to pray for freedom, the freedom to cut yourself from your attachments so that you can prioritize God in yor life.

Depending on where you are and what type of soil best represents your soul and your readiness to receive God, you need to ask for any of these three graces:  The grace of desire, the grace of generosity, and the grace of freedom.

The good soil is a soul that is open to God’s word, one that allows God’s seeds of love to sink into our souls and to take root in our lives in order to bear much fruit.  But as we have seen, we can do this only if we have the desire for God’s word, only if we are generous enough to make time for him, and finally, only if we have the freedom from people and things that keep us from following God’s word.

Note:  Here are the lyrics of the song “Sowing the Seeds of Love.”  I’ve also uploaded the award-winning music video in case you’d like to watch.

(image:  www.tearsforfearsfans.com)

SOWING THE SEEDS OF LOVE

High time we made a stand & shook up the views of the common man
And the love train rides from coast to coast
DJ’s the man we love the most
Could you be, could you be squeaky clean
And smash any hope of democracy
As the headline says you’re free to choose
There’s egg on your face and mud on your shoes
One of these days they’re gonna call it the blues, yeah yeah

(Sowing the seeds of love) anything is possible
(Seeds of love) when you’re sowing the seeds of love
(Sowing the seeds of love)
(Sowing the seeds of love) anything is possible
(Seeds of love) sowing the seeds of love (Sowing the seeds)

I spy tears in their eyes
They look to the skies for some kind of divine intervention
Food goes to waste, so nice to eat, so nice to taste
Politician Granny with your high ideals
Have you no idea how the majority feels
So without love and a promised land
We’re fools to the rules of a government plan
Kick out the style, bring back the jam

(Sowing the seeds of love) anything (seeds of love)
(Sowing the seeds of love) (Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love)
Sowing the seeds, the birds and the bees, my girlfriend and me in love

Feel the pain, talk about it, if you’re a worried man then shout about it
Open hearts, feel about it, open minds, think about it
Everyone read about it, everyone scream about it
Everyone (everyone, yeah yeah)
Everyone (everyone) read about it, read about it
Read it in the books in the crannies
And the nooks there are books to read…Chorus!!!

(Sowing the seeds of love) Oh, the seeds of love
We’re sowing the seeds, sowing the seeds

We’re sowing the seeds of love. we’re sowing the seeds
Sowing the seeds of love, we’re sowing the seeds of love
(Mr. England sowing the seeds of love)

(Time to eat all your words, swallow your pride, open your eyes)
Time to eat all your words, swallow your pride, open your eyes
High time we made a stand (time to eat all your words)
And shook up the views of the common man (swallow your pride)
And the love train rides from coast to coast (open your eyes)
Every minute of every hour “I Love a Sunflower” (open your eyes)
And I believe in love power (open your eyes)
Love power, love (open your eyes) power

(Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love…Sowing the seeds of love)
(Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love)
We’re sowing the seeds (sowing the seeds of love)
Sowing the seeds of love, we’re sowing the seeds (seeds of love)
Sowing the seeds, an end to need, and the politics of greed with love
(Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love, sowing the seeds of love)
(Sowing the seeds of love) anything (seeds of love) anything
(Sowing the seeds of love, Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love)
(Sowing the seeds, an end to need, and the politics of greed with love)
(Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love, sowing the seeds of love)
(Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love, sowing the seeds of love)
(Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love, sowing the seeds of love)
(Sowing the seeds of love, seeds of love)

Here’s a Quick Question for you:  “Which type of soil are you? What do you think can you do to till your soul?”  Think about it, and share a thought, a feeling, or a question.  Who knows?  It might help another reader.