Once again in Scripture, the realities of being human come up against the reality of an infinite, mysterious, magnificent God. And – not for the last time – the ‘ways of God’ are presented as a collection of puzzling, angry, messed-up behaviours. Saul messed up. Israel’s first king had his own ideas. He went with his gut – saved the best of the spoils of war – spared the life of his enemy. These are ordinary, human, and maybe even compassionate impulses, yet 1 Samuel 15 reports that God was NOT pleased. And just like that, it’s time for a new king.

Then Samuel is given a dangerous task: to anoint the next king. Dangerous because Saul still rules the land. Saul still commands the army. God may be disappointed – God may have other plans – but the government stands. Samuel is right to be worried. While it may be his holy duty to anoint the new king, this is an act of treason in the eyes of the old king.

So, on divine advice, Samuel disguises his trip as a holy pilgrimage. Samuel doesn’t understand – and he doesn’t much like it – but Samuel does as he is asked.

David is introduced as the youngest of Jesse’s sons: ‘ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.” Interesting. And considering the earlier insistence that it’s ‘what’s inside that counts,’ we learn nothing of David’s character until much later, when he will be revealed as…well, as entirely human and spectacularly fallible.

All these characters are doing what seems best to them – their impulse to rule, to obey – to serve – guided by their understanding of how God works.

ALL of Scripture is concerned with the intersection of our spectacularly fallible humanity and the magnificent mystery of God. And that makes this morning’s parable particularly important for me. It has become one of my favourites, as it always seems to have a little more to say than I first imagine.

A sower went out to sow – and here at the end of planting season, we might be forgiven for scoffing at this particular farmer’s methods. What sort of farmer scatters their seed in such a random manner? I’ve worked among farmers for a long time. They are careful with their resources – the ground is always well prepared. None of the precious seed is wasted. Inputs are directly related to income, and they should be delicately managed.

So, at first hearing, it might seem we are also being warned about wastefulness.

If it is about the WORD (and the gospel explains that it is) then shouldn’t the ‘sower’ do some work first? Shouldn’t some care be taken, so the seed doesn’t go to waste? SO that every effort bears fruit, yielding 30, 60 and 100 fold?

We can be forgiven for feeling accused when we hear this parable. Is it possible that our best efforts aren’t good enough?  We want to have the best results – all the time. We have (to extend the metaphor) the best seed stock. We should be getting better results…shouldn’t we?

When things don’t go so well – when numbers shrink, and new generations scoff at our ‘tired old religion’ – we have panicked meetings and worried conversations and study groups.

We blame media, and Sunday shopping, and all manner of other things. Some imagine that if we simply sow more seed, we might magically return to those thrilling days of yesteryear. We long for the (so called) good old days, when (we imagine) all was well, and our religion was the ‘backbone of society.’ But this parable is also a reminder of the ‘clash of realities’ that I’ve mentioned before.

The reality is God loves the world. And we are among those who believe that God is active and alarmingly present in ways that are surprising and delightful.

The reality is that WE are finite and ambitious and glorious and horrible and always doing what seems best in the moment…to mixed results.

Saul took matters into his own hands. He wanted to control the result so that it favoured his vision of the future. It worked for a while – He was king until, eventually, he wasn’t. The human reality (even in Scripture) is visible and enduring, and before long we imagine that it is the only thing that matters.

Jesus reminds us of something else.

Our efforts -even those in the service of God – go wrong as often as they go right. A sower goes out to sow, and much of the seed goes to waste. That’s not because the sower is careless, but because they are generous. And the seed that fails not because the sower has done something wrong. The word goes unheard because people are people. The human instinct to have our own way – to manage things to our advantage – to go with our gut and do what seems best to us in the moment – all of this runs against the impulse of faith… and rubs up against the reality of God at work in the world.

The good news in this parable is two-fold. First, that the sower has confidence in a mystery that is too big for their comprehension. The sower has faith that their role is to do what they do – sow the seed – spread the love – proclaim the unimaginable; that Jesus is risen, and God is at work.

The rest of the good news is that when the seed does thrive, it produces a harvest beyond our imagining. Maybe not in the places we expected. Perhaps not in the way we imagined. The successful planting is adapted to its environment.

Every generation of the church has had its own challenges to face. And each time, the church has adapted in ways that illustrate the constant tension between our impulse to do what seems best, and God’s loving, generous guidance.

May we be open to that clash of realities as we navigate all that comes our way.