I used to be very good at growing strawberries. All through summer I would get multiple punnets every week. Even in winter I had to pick fruit and eventually remove all the flowers just to give my plants a rest. Then I got a rescue puppy and Jack decided he liked strawberries more than I did. I haven’t had another strawberry since because he has eaten them all. Needless to say, I wasn’t planning on spending the time and energy needed to grow strawberries just for my dog to enjoy the produce.
Strawberries do take quite a bit of effort. I needed to get potting mix, and plant them in pots or baskets because the soils is so poor. The reticulation needs checking, there is fortnightly fertilising, and dead leaves need to be removed. All this, just for me to enjoy them – they were not a source of income.Needless to say, I would hardly be scattering around the seeds randomly. Nor is this how a competent farmer would have spread the seed in Jesus’ day. But in the parable of the sower, the seed is flung everywhere. On the carefully prepared soil, on the path, the rocks, in the weeds. No care is taken as to where it will land.
If we set aside the traditional interpretation of this parable, then we get an image of grace. God doesn’t worry about what sort of soil we are: we are all offered God’s love.