URC Daily Devotion 10 January 2026
St Matthew 13: 1 – 23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Reflection
In the Church where I grew up and came to faith, there was a large youth group. An amazing bunch of young people. Several of them had Damascus Road types of experience and others of us came to faith more gradually. We each wrote encouraging words in the front and back covers of our Bibles. For many of us, if not all, these were our first Bibles.
Fast forward several years and I am preparing a service as a young lay preacher and the text for the Sunday is this very text from Matthew’s Gospel. As I was getting my commentaries from the bookshelf I noticed my first Bible that I had stopped using as it was falling apart. I took it off the shelf and read through the comments people had written from the youth group. I remembered the times and the people fondly. Before placing it back on the book shelf I counted the number of people who were still attending church and who still professed a Christian faith., Sadly of the 15 or so that I grew up with, only 3 of us who were still professing Christians.
I often think of that Bible and those people when I read this Parable of the Sower. It saddens me that people I grew up with and loved no longer profess faith. That hasn’t stopped me praying for them and hoping that one day they will come back to Christian faith.
In ministry, I have enjoyed leading Alpha Courses and Christianity Explored courses, where I have seen people’s faith grow as together we learn what it means to be followers of Christ. And for me the church plays an important part as we help each other grow in our faith. May our churches be places where people’s faith can grow and their trust in Christ deepen.
Prayer
Loving God,
thank you that you are the Sower.
May the seed of faith land on fertile ground
so that all may grow strong roots into good soil.
May those whose faith is fragile know that you,
their heavenly Father, love them.
May your church, in all its locations,
be places where faith is nurtured and grows.
In the name of Christ
and in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.