Sunday, July 12, 2026
Seventh Sunday of Pentecost
Text: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Sermon Audio
As we gather… Jesus addresses a great mystery in our Gospel text today. Why do some people believe and not others? Why do some seem to be going along so strong in their faith then suddenly fall away? As we consider the threats to our faith: the devil, persecution, and the worries of this world, we appreciate all the more the blessing it is to have faith in Christ. Perhaps the takeaway is not why do some people not believe? But, rather, thanks be to God anyone can believe! As we consider the threats to our faith, we learn not to take our faith for granted, and to cling tightly to Christ through His Word and Sacrament, knowing that through these means alone the Holy Spirit works in our heart to be the good soil that produces abundant fruit.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“And [Jesus] told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.” What kind of Bozo sows the way that this sower does in this parable?! Who puts seed on a path? Who puts seed on rocky soil or a weed infested field?
We could take the whole sermon to unpack this, but I’ll save you the trouble. Someone sows like this when he knows the the seed will never run out. I know in this life there is no such thing as infinite anything, but it’s like any church potluck. What are you doing at the end of the meal? You’re sending home doggy bags because it’s better in someone’s stomach than rotting in the fridge for the next pastor to discover next year. In a sense, you don’t even care if the person eats your egg bake, you just want it out of Faith’s fridge.
Does wheat grow on a path? Probably not, but let’s see. Do you think we’ll grow some wheat in a rock garden? We have plenty of seed, so let’s give a shot. Don’t you think we should pick the weeds before throwing down the seed? Nah, we have more seeds than time, let’s throw it down and let God sort it out.
Today, let’s rejoice. Let’s rejoice at the gift that Faith Lutheran Church is. Let’s rejoice because WE KEEP ON PLANTING THE SEED. First, I. You kept on planting the seed. First of all, I want to thank the reckless sowers who are gathered here today, even the ones here we can’t see. This church is filled with people who were here when I got here. As we gather today with angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven before the Lord’s table, we know that saints both past and present rejoice at the ministry that has been taking place at Faith.
Maybe you joined the Sunday before Kara, Gwen, and I arrived; maybe you joined when Eisenhower was president of the United States. It doesn’t matter exactly when because you kept on planting the seed.
The year was 1956, the LCMS planted Faith at a high-water mark for Christianity in America. At that time, 96% of Americans would say they are Christians compared to 63% today. About half of Americans were in church on a given Sunday in those days compared to a quarter today. There were many Lutheran churches in La Crosse at the time, why did La Crosse need one more?
Because 96% isn’t as good as 98%, and why stop at half attendance when we could maybe nudge that up to 75%? Laypeople and pastors kept on planting the seed here at Faith, and it’s been this way for years.
Think about how many baptisms took place at Faith Lutheran Church. How many people have heard the Gospel for the first time here, even if their first time was when they were still in diapers? How many young people confirmed their faith here? How many college students reaffirmed their faith after a time apart from the church seeking the pleasures of the world? You kept on planting the seed.
This good news wasn’t enough to keep in La Crosse. Faith helped to plant a church in Onalaska which now has the highest attendance of any church in our circuit. One of our members told me about the time they went out canvassing for the Onalaska church plant, and doors were slammed in their faces, but it doesn’t matter. You kept on planting the seed.
In more recent years, think of the outreaches and ministries you did before I arrived. You had a float in the parade. You held vacation Bible schools year after year. You invited the community to an Easter Egg hunt. You continued to baptize your children, teach them, and confirm them. You took care of this building so that when people visited, they actually wanted to come back! You kept on planting the seed.
Look through the books. Yes, some of the faces in the confirmation photographs you know for a fact that they’ve abandoned the faith. I can think of a couple of sons of the congregation who have left ministry in the Lutheran church. What about the people who laughed at our float in the parade or the doors that got slammed in our faces? What about that family whose kid you baptized, and they promised they’d be in church every Sunday, then you never saw them again? What about that family that left because pastor said you can’t be living together before you’re married? What about that church in Holmen in the early 2000s that just didn’t take off? What about? What about? What about?
Certainly, Christ weeps at these tragedies, but it isn’t our job to wring our hands over past failures. It’s our job to sow. We’re faithful when we share the Gospel faithfully, not only when we plant the seed in fertile ground.
Second, II. We keep on planting the seed. I don’t want a show of hands, but how many of you became part of Faith Lutheran Church after I got here? How many of you have only known Faith Lutheran Church to be shepherded by me, Pastor Eichers? What a joy to have new faces here! What a joy to have kids screaming in church! You didn’t always have that.
There’s always this temptation to believe the hype. “Pastor, you’ve done so much good for this church!” “Pastor, you work so hard!” “Pastor, you’re so organized!” “Pastor, we checked out other churches, but you’re the one pastor who stopped by to visit us after we came to worship.” I know these comments are sincere, and I am thankful for them. However, the church is not built on Pastor Eichers. It is built on Jesus.
Today is a day to rejoice. We can rejoice over the things not that Pastor Eichers has accomplished, but that we the saints at Faith Lutheran Church have accomplished during my time here. We keep on planting the seed!
From the elders and board of directors who come in even on a Saturday to have our business meetings, to the Women of Faith who help to feed the hungry and homeless. From the Sunday school teachers who teach our youngest to the tired grandmas who take the time to say their prayers with their grandkids and teach them about Jesus. We keep on planting the seed!
New members kept on showing up to new member classes, even after they met me! College students and our directors of campus ministry got down on their hands and knees to write promotional messages in sidewalk chalk. Many of you take time out of your busy schedule to even attend Bible studies in addition to Sunday worship! We keep on planting the seed!
We welcomed two vicars, and we spent considerable time and attention helping to get Hill Country Lutheran Church off the ground, and now we keep on praying for their ministry to speed forth and grow. We keep on planting the seed!
Now, the Holy Spirit is calling me away from ministry at Faith in La Crosse to Zion in Menomonee Falls. There is a lot of uncertainty and sadness to see me go, but I have the strongest confidence that III. You will keep on planting the seed.
That’s just it. When it comes to the parable of the sower, the failure lay not in the sower planting seed in these inhospitable places; rather, the failure lay in not planting the seed at all.
There are people who are not here today. I’m talking about the people who will one day join Faith and whom the Holy Spirit will call to the Faith. Yes, that means your children and grandchildren who are not yet born and who have not yet been admitted to this altar. Yes, that means students who have yet to start their college careers at UWL, Viterbo, or WTC, but that also might mean your neighbor next door, or your daughter who lives in town that hasn’t really belonged to a church for some time. There are plenty of empty pews and plenty of opportunities to share the Gospel with others.
Many things in life are finite, but the Gospel is infinite. If you tell one more person that Jesus died and rose for them, you’re not short anything. The only thing that is finite is time. But I know you guys. I know you will keep on planting the seed.
Today might be a day when we shed many tears, but nonetheless, rejoice! Rejoice in the people who have gathered here not because of me, but because of the wonderful message of hope we have in the Gospel. Rejoice in the future you have of continuing to share that message and train disciples. Rejoice that the Lord has planted us here at 14th and Main to continue in this work of sowing seed and leaving the results of the growth to the Holy Spirit.
The Lord has a plan for Faith Lutheran Church even after I leave. The next pastor will have different strengths than I will. He will have different weaknesses, but he will share in my love for Jesus our savior. He will love you and care for you. And ministry will continue on here just as it has for the past seventy years. By God’s grace, you will keep on planting the seed!
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard and keep you in the true faith unto life everlasting. Amen.