Today's service focussed on the parable of the sower/soils.  A familiar story, and one of the few where the Bible offers us an explanation, so finding something new to say is always something of a challenge.  My new angle came to me one day as I was walking to church, and involves stepping back from the story in order to glimpse a new pespective.

So, I chose to centre on the farmer - someone who knows his trade and knows his land.  He knows that there are weeds at the edge of the field; he knows where the rocks are; he even knows the reality that flocks of birds will arrive on the lookout for an easy meal.  He also knows the value of the seed - saved from a past harvest, packed with potential, incredibly precious and containing his future hope.   So here is his choice: to go out and broadcast the seed - knowing that some will be gobbled by the birds, knowing that some will be trodden under foot, knowing that some will be choked by the weeds - or to keep it safe in a barn and miss out on the hidden potential.  He chooses risk - feeds the birds (and probably the slugs or other garden creatures), watches as the weeds stifle some of the tiny seedlings and hopes for harvest.  And so it happens... full grain in the ear, enough to feed the family, enough to sell to pay the workers and enough for another year's planting.

So, do we keep the seed safe in the store or do we choose the risky option: do we cast it widely, knowing some will never get the chance to germinate let alone reach the harvest?  Perhaps there are two polar dangers we face, one that we cast our seed without the expectation of harvest, the other that fear paralyses our courage to choose risk; in either case we miss reaping the reward that makes possible another season of planting...