Most people in our parish know that I was born in southwest Kansas, the heart of the wheat growing region in the Midwest.  Wheat farming was developed in the Near East around the area of the Holy Land where Jesus lived.  Domesticated farming of wheat can be traced back to sometime before 8800 BC.  People have been farming wheat for thousands of years.  In the early days of wheat farming, the seed was sown using a method known as broadcasting.  Seed was scattered by the farmer over a wide area of land and the seed that fell on good soil would produce the harvest.  As Jesus points out in our gospel parable for today, the method of broadcasting seed was not particularly efficient.  Much of the seed would encounter conditions that were not favorable to growth.  The seed that would fall on good ground however would produce a rich harvest. 

     Today our methods for sowing seed are much more efficient and wheat production has increased quite dramatically.  Seeds are no longer broadcast but are now drilled into the soil.  The seeds have a much greater chance of producing a yield.  The seed drill has made farming a much more efficient and profitable enterprise.  Not only is the seed placed more carefully into the soil but the soil is more efficiently farmed by tractors that use disc harrows and tillers to cultivate the soil and to control weeds.

     Not only has the farming, tilling and planting of seed changed and developed over time but the seed itself has changed.  Not all seed is created equal.  Wheat seed is constantly tested to determine the protein content of the seed.  Whole wheat is a great source of vegetable protein.  Seeds today have a much higher yield of protein and they are developed to be resistant to various diseases that afflict the wheat and to produce a higher yield.  If you travel through the Midwest you will often see signs in the farmer’s fields that advertise what type of seed the farmer is sowing.  Even with all of the changes that have taken place over time, wheat is still wheat and is a source of life and nourishment for many.  The wheat that is grown in Kansas is sent all over the world to feed and nourish people and to give them life.

     In our gospel parable today the seed of grain is used as a metaphor for the Word of God.  The seed of God’s Word is the finest seed available for true life.  Just as it is a farmer’s vocation to sow the wheat and to produce a harvest that will feed the world, it is the vocation of the disciples of Jesus to spread the Word of God and to give life to the world through this Word.  God’s Word is effective and will accomplish its purpose of growth, nourishment and increased life.  The seed of God’s Word is high yield and will not return to God void.  It is not like other seeds, other words and ideas that are out there in our world today.  God will provide the growth, nourishment and new life for those who receive the Word.  It is the vocation of the disciple to prepare the soil, sow the seed and reap the harvest.  This is where the problems may arise.

     We can use old methods of evangelization that are tantamount to broadcasting seed.  We can just throw the Word out there and hope that it takes root somewhere.  However, our success will be limited by the poor condition of the world to receive the Word of God today.  Effective discipleship requires that we be more intentional in our discipleship and more creative in the way in which we witness to the Word of God in today’s culture.  New times require new methods of evangelization and outreach to those who hunger for the Word of God.  The tools of modern media and technology afford us a more effective means to reach the hearts of young people today.  In recent years the Church has been  speaking about the need for a New Evangelization.  This New Evangelization is not “new seed” as the Word of God is eternal and effective but it is a call to use new methods and new vigor in sowing the seed among those whom God intends for his Word to reach. 

     God has provided us with the finest high yield seed in his Word that will grow into the fullness of life.  We need to get that seed into the soil of human hearts and minds where it can produce its harvest.  Sowing the seed of the Word must be an intentional task that we take on each day as disciples of Jesus.  The work of the New Evangelization is something that we are all called to participate in through whatever means is available to us today.