Hearing That Bears Fruit

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Lord, give us eyes to see and ears to hear, that we may learn Your Word together as a family. We give You all praise and honor and glory, in Jesus’ holy Name. Amen.

Good morning, my fellow Encouragers.

Last Sunday, on Septuagesima, the Church placed us at a threshold. We’re not yet in Lent, but we’re no longer standing comfortably in Epiphany. We began to learn again the posture that must come before discipline—the offering of ourselves to God, not as a résumé of effort, but as an act of trust.

Today, on Sexagesima, the Church continues that gentle turning. The road toward Lent becomes clearer, and with it comes a deeper question—not what we will do for God, but how God prepares us to receive what He gives.

Pre-Lent is not about effort yet. It is about soil. About readiness. About whether the Word of God is truly able to take root in us.

That is why today’s Gospel is not a command, not a warning, and not a list of religious tasks. It is a story about seed—and about hearing.

The Cry for Help

The Introit gives us the tone immediately: “We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us…” This is the voice of those who know they cannot sustain themselves by memory alone. Later, the psalm cries, “Awake! Why sleepest thou, O Lord?”

This may sound like the writer isn’t being very reverent, but that’s not the case. It’s faith speaking honestly. The psalmist knows where help must come from, even when God seems distant.

That’s the posture of Sexagesima: people who know they must hear God’s voice again because life is hard, it’s pressed hard upon them.

The Servant Who Listens

Our Old Testament reading from Isaiah deepens this posture. “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.”

Notice the order. Before the servant speaks, he listens. Before the tongue is trained, the ear is awakened. “He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.”

This is disciplined listening—formed over time, shaped by obedience, strengthened by trust. The servant doesn’t resist. He doesn’t turn away. He remains open even when the path leads through suffering.

This is the kind of hearing God desires—not curiosity, not information, but availability.

The Sower and the Seed

That brings us to our Gospel. Jesus tells a parable we think we know well—the Parable of the Sower. But familiarity can dull its edge. This is not a lesson about farming. It is a revelation about the human heart.

The seed is the same in every case. The Sower, God, doesn’t discriminate. Grace is generous. The difference is in the soil.

Some seed falls on the path—trampled, exposed, never given a chance to take root…….Some fall on rocky ground—received with joy, but are unable to endure…….Some fall among thorns—choked by the slow pressures of life……..And some fall into good soil—where it takes root, grows patiently, and bears fruit over time.

Jesus is not scolding His listeners. He is inviting them to self-recognition. The question is not so much which soil do you want to be in. Instead, the question is more about which soil are you becoming?

Hearing That Holds

Notice how Jesus explains the parable. “The seed is the Word of God.” And what matters most is not how loudly the Word is spoken, but how deeply it is held.

The good soil, Jesus says, are those who “having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

Keep it. ----- Hold it. ----- Remain with it.

This is where Pre-Lent presses gently but firmly upon us. Hearing God’s Word is not the same as allowing it to shape us. Many hear. Fewer hold. Fewer still allow it to change the pace, direction, and priorities of their lives.

Paul’s Honest Ministry

Saint Paul helps us here—not by offering a model of success, but by offering a truthful picture of faithfulness. In today’s Epistle, Paul does something astonishing. He boasts—but not in strength. He recounts weakness. Beatings. Shipwrecks. Hunger. Fear. Exposure.

Why? Because Paul knows that trust in God cannot grow in soil fed by self-reliance.

Paul’s ministry bears fruit not because he is impressive, but because he is dependent. His life has been broken open enough to receive grace.

This is deeply Anglican wisdom. Our faith has never rested on spiritual heroics, but on humble perseverance—on prayer said again, sacraments received again, obedience practiced quietly over time.

The Soil of the Heart

The Psalms appointed for today give us language for this perseverance. Psalm 71 is the prayer of someone who has lived long enough to know where help comes from: “Thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.”

This is the voice of soil that has been worked by time, weathered by suffering, softened by mercy. Faith deepens not through constant excitement, but through steady reliance.

The Collect Tells the Truth

Our Collect gathers all of this into a single prayer: “O LORD God, who seest that we put not our trust in any thing that we do…” That is not self-hatred. That is clarity.

Pre-Lent reminds us that before we take up discipline, before we examine our lives, before we fast or repent, we must admit the truth: we cannot save ourselves by effort alone.

We need God’s power—not as a supplement, but as our defense.

From Hearing to Offering

And that brings us back to the altar. In a few moments, we will speak words that are never casual: “And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies…”

That offering does not begin with action. It begins with hearing. ----- The soil must be ready before the seed can bear fruit. ----- The ear must be open before the life can be shaped. ----- The heart must be softened before discipline can heal rather than harden.

Sexagesima teaches us that Lent is not about forcing fruit, but about preparing the ground.

A Pastoral Word

Some of us feel worn down. ----- Some feel distracted. ----- Some feel eager but unsure how to begin.

The good news is this: the Sower is still generous. The Word is still living. The Spirit is still at work, even now, cultivating hearts quietly.

If you feel like rocky ground—ask God for depth. ----- If you feel tangled—ask God for clarity. ----- If you feel dry—ask God for patience.

The Church does not rush you. She walks with you.

Conclusion

Sexagesima stands between offering and endurance. Between hearing and bearing fruit. Between grace received and discipline formed.

Today, the Church asks only this: Are you willing to listen deeply enough to be changed?

If you are, then the seed will grow.

And in God’s time, fruit will come.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.